Figure 1.-- These youth had their portraits taken probably about 1910. One holds a book entitled 'Mecca'. Presumably he is a Muslim from the Caucasus or Central Asia. They may have been assimilated Muslims. We do not know at this time much about Tsarist policies toward Islam.

The principal religion of Russia for a millennia was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Russia's Russian Orthodox Church is believed to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, although this is by tradition rather than any real historical records. St. Andrew may have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. One tradition reports Andrew reaching what was to become Kiev. St. Andrew's Cathedral today is reportedly located where At Andrew planted a cross. Better historical records show the influence of Byzantium and the Eastern Church on Slavic lands by the 9th century. Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic (863-869). This was an important step in the Christianization of the Slavs. Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios at Constantinople sent the first Christian bishop to Novgorod (866-67). Christianity had begun to make inroads with the Kievian nobility (mid-10th century). Greek and Byzantine priests were active. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus to convert to Christianity (945/957). Olga's grandson, Vladimir the Great, made Kievan Rus' a Christian state. Prince Vladimir I of Kiev officially adopted Byzantine Rite Christianity (988). The Russian Orthodox Church has come to see this date as the creation of the Russian Orthodix Church. The Church thus traces its apostolic succession through the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Kievan church was a Metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As Kiev began to decline with the Mongol invasions, the Metropolitanate and thus the center of the Russian Church moved to Moscow (1326). While the Mongols conquered Russia, they did not attempt to destroy the Church. By the time Ivan drove out the Tartars, Russia was thoroughly Orthodox Christian. The fall of Constantinople (1453) made Moscow to claim the role as the center of the Orthodox Church. Religious diversity occurred as a result of Tsarist military campaigns. Western rite Roman Catholics were brought into the Empire with the acquisition of the Western Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. The conquest of Estonia and Finland brought Protestants. Catherine's success against the Ottomans in the south brought Muslims into the Empire. The Russian Revolution brought the Communists to power who promoted atheism (1917). Stalin pursued a ruthless program to suppress religion, including both both the Orthodox Church and Islam. The program had considerable success, but did not succeed in totally destroying religion and there has been a revival since the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991). Today in Russia boys dress up for special occasions which now includes attending church or outings of various sorts.

Christianity

The principal religion of Russia for over a millennia was Christianity which came to be dominated by was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Russian Russian Orthodox Church is believed to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, although this is by tradition rather than any real historical records. St. Andrew may have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. One tradition reports Andrew reaching what was to become Kiev. St. Andrew's Cathedral today is reportedly located where At Andrew planted a cross. Better historical records show the influence of Byzantium and the Eastern Church on Slavic lands by the 9th century. Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic (863-869). This was an important step in the Christianization of the Slavs. Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios at Constantinople sent the first Christian bishop to Novgorod (866-67). Christianity had begun to make inroads with the Kievian nobility (mid-10th century). While the Mongols conquered Russia, they did not attempt to destroy the Church. By the time Ivan drove out the Tartars, Russia was thoroughly Orthodox Christian. The fall of Constantinople (1453) made Moscow to claim the role as the center of the Orthodox Church. Religious diversity occurred as a result of Tsarist military campaigns. Western rite Roman Catholics were brought into the Empire with the acquisition of the Western Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. The conquest of Estonia and Finland brought Protestants. Until this time, Jews were not permitted in Russia. These conquests brought large numbers of Jew in to the Empire. Catherine's success againt the Ottomans in the south brought Muslims into the Empire.

Judaism

Christians for centuries after the fall of Rome (5th century AD) generally tolerated and coexisted with Jews and anti-Semitic eruptions were limited. At this time there were very few Jews living in Eastern Europe. Beginning with the Crusades (11th century) this began to change. Anti-Semitic laws, vicious programs, and expulsions spread in waves over Western Europe. European Jews fleeing the oppression of Roman Catholic Western Europe moved east to Poland and other Eastern European states. The Tsars did not tolerate Jews within their empires and as Muscovy expanded their were mass killings in newly acquired cities. The Tsar adopted an openly,virulently anti-Semitic policy (1721). Areas conquered by the Russian Army were cleared of Jews, such as the Ukraine (1727). This was normally done with great brutality. Ironically the Jews of Greater Russia developed into the largest and most important Jewish community in the world. This was in large measure the result of the Polish Partitions (1772-95) and the incorporation of Poland into the Tsarist Empire. Russian Jewry became the heart of the Jewish world and the origins of the Zionist movement. The oppressive policies of the Tsars also lead many Jews to embrace socialism and revolutionary politics. As many as 5 million Jews are believed to have lived in Russia before World War I and the Revolution. Jews played a prominent role in the Revolution and Bolshevik movement. Tsarist Russia became the Soviet Union and finally the Confederation of Independent States (CIS) with a diminished, but still very sizeable Jewish population.

Islam

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