The interview was prompted by Belkovsky's article "The Pope Pointed the Way to the Patriarch" in Moskovsky Komsomolets, in which, by his own account, he explained why the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as a "single bureaucratic whole" should be liquidated. Several deputies from the United Russia faction in the State Duma proposed launching a criminal case against the political analyst, suspecting him of extremism and inciting religious hatred.
Belkovsky said he was surprised by the scale of the reaction, but not by its nature. In his view, the involvement of several members of the Duma faction of United Russia at once indicates the seriousness of their intentions, and the "Pussy Riot scenario" against him is "quite feasible." At the same time, he argued that a trial against him would be "the last nail in the coffin" of the church's reputation, since, unlike the Pussy Riot members, he would not restrain himself in his assessments.
Asked whether the deputies had distorted the meaning of his article, Belkovsky confirmed that he indeed considers it necessary to liquidate the Russian Orthodox Church as a single bureaucratic whole and transform it into a confederation of independent parishes, where power would flow not from top to bottom but from bottom to top. He also said he did not understand why law enforcement agencies should be involved in this if the church is separated from the state.
According to Belkovsky, no representatives of the church had approached him. He expressed the opinion that the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as an institution is rapidly losing authority, especially quickly under the current primate, Patriarch Kirill Gundyayev, and therefore seeks to block any channels of criticism. He argued that the church is not seeking compromise with the active part of the flock, but wants to show that the state's repressive machinery is on its side.
Asked whether he feared a criminal case, Belkovsky replied: "Of course I'm afraid, like any normal person. And I don't want to sit in prison." At the same time, he said that a trial would give him a platform to expose the vices of the current Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and to prove the justification of his reform program. He also said he saw no great problem in the fact that a case could be launched, since, according to him, in this country "you can always put a person in jail."
Belkovsky did not rule out that the authorities might have alternative motives for settling scores with him, but noted that he had always tried to treat Vladimir Putin in a balanced way and had never called him "either an executioner or a tyrant." He added: "This regime is not bloody. It is ineffective, but not bloody." In his view, in this case it is a settling of scores on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which compensates for the fall in its moral and spiritual authority by trying to demonstrate that the state's repressive machinery is at its disposal.
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