Patriarch Kirill considers collapse of the USSR a decay of historical Russia

16.11.2011, 14:39

"This year we recall the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Union's collapse. In this connection I prefer to speak about collapse of historical Russia," the Patriarch said at a mutual session of the guardian, supervisory and public councils of the church and scientific center Pravoslavnaya Encyclopedia taking the floor after the State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov.

"This year we recall the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Union's collapse. In this connection I prefer to speak about the collapse of historical Russia," the patriarch said at a mutual session of the guardian, supervisory and public councils of the church and scientific center Pravoslavnaya Encyclopedia taking the floor after the State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov, Interfax informs.

According to him, many ask the question why the USSR collapsed and there are many answers, but "among the reasons is certainly the decay of national self-consciousness, nation pride, perceiving history in its integrity, understanding that historical community of people has a great meaning for their material and spiritual prosperity".

On the eve of the parliamentary elections the primate urged the Russian society to care "for the growth of national self-conscience and dignity so that the events of the early 90s would never happen again and so that references to unsatisfactory governing, incorrect ideology could never force people to destroy statehood as they targeted at the regimen, but hit historical Russia."

"God grants that our nation will be securely protected from such temptations, which we went through loosing historical Russia," the patriarch said.