Faith and Power: Putin, Sobyanin Attend Easter Service in Moscow

President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attended an Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Despite a declared ceasefire, fighting in Ukraine continued. The service highlighted Orthodox Easter's importance and Kirill's advocacy for the Russian government.

President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin joined fellow worshippers for an Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Kirill, a steadfast supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine, conducted the procession while the Russian leader attended, holding a lit candle and donning traditional attire.

The service, an integral part of Putin's public display of faith, unfolded just hours after he announced a unilateral Easter ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine—a gesture Kyiv dismissed as ineffectual given the continued hostilities. On this holiest of Orthodox days, Kirill urged for lasting peace in the historical lands of Rus, referencing the territories of modern Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.

With Russia's religious heritage intertwined in its geopolitical posture, Patriarch Kirill's positioning underscores the complexity of church-state dynamics, especially as the war marks its fourth year with heavy casualties and widespread displacement. This Easter service exemplified the fusion of spiritual rhetoric and political narrative in the heart of Russian leadership.

(With inputs from agencies.)