The Times of Malta recently reported that “Russia, once an officially atheist State, has made a stunning turnaround since the fall of the Soviet Union with the majority of Russian people now identifying themselves as Orthodox Christians” (May 12).

How did this turnaround come about?

Part of the answer is provided in Will Durant’s The lessons of history, published in 1968 when the Soviet Union was at its height as a superpower: “If the socialist regime should fail in its efforts to destroy relative poverty among the masses, Communism may lose its fervour and efficacy and the State may wink at the restoration of supernatural beliefs as an aid in quieting discontent.”

This ‘prediction’ is confirmed in the same report quoted above: “Although most Russians are not observant, the Kremlin has been eager to harness faith to promote its own agenda.”

In other words, Vladimir Putin, the wily ex-KGB officer, in cahoots with the Russian Orthodox Church, uses religion – “the opium of the people” – as an “aid in quieting discontent”.

“As long as there is poverty there will be gods.”

John Guillaumier

St Julian’s