Russia should not copy Western democracy, Eastern caliphate – Russian Orthodox Church

Stavropol, December 12, Interfax – Russia will not copy foreign political models, no matter if it is Western democracy or a world caliphate, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations, said. “I hope that the history of Russian statehood and Russian pubic processes, especially those that occurred in the past twenty years, showed convincingly that Russia has a right and is able to independently determine the philosophical, spiritual, and ideological foundations of its statehood,” Father Vsevolod said at the World Russian People’s Assembly held in Stavropol on Wednesday. The priest believes Russia “does not need to borrow anything from anyone.” “We have solid foundations to choose our historical path independently,” he said.