ABSTRACT
Since perestroika, the Russian Federation has undergone tremendous reforms in the political and religious sectors. Russian Orthodoxy in particular, once severely persecuted and almost eliminated from the public sphere, reemerged and today plays a crucial role in Russian society. If the church-state relation of contemporary Russia does not meet up to its own hypothetical ‘symphonia’, neither does it match traditional sociological expectations. The dichotomous juxtaposition of power and authority, as introduced by Max Weber and still at the root of much of our understanding of church-state relations, is problematic. The most important institutional entanglement between Russian Orthodoxy and politics is the right of the Russian Orthodox Church to consult and comment on laws with the Duma. This is highly important because it allows for preferential and substantial influence over legislation. Religious education has been included in public schools throughout the Russian Federation since 2012.
