Putin’s Out, What About Putinism? Scenarios for the Russian Orthodox Church in a Post-Putin Russia

This paper discusses the potential scenarios for the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) once Vladimir Putin has ceased, for whatever reason, to wield power in Russia. This paper assumes that the utility of the ROC as a legitimacy provider and promoter of the state sanctioned discourse is what shapes its options in a post-Putin reality. Thus, as this paper argues, future scenarios for the ROC are determined less by the fate of Vladimir Putin than that of Putinism, i.e. the ideological agenda co-created and promoted by the Church leaders. This assumption leads to two main scenarios – the ‘continuator’ and the ‘challenger.’