AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH METROPOLITAN KIRILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 003011

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PINR SOCI RS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH METROPOLITAN KIRILL


Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reason: 1.4 (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) At a June 18 private lunch, Russian Orthodox
Metropolitan Kirill related to the Ambassador his concerns
about social issues, in particular the large gap between rich
and poor and Russia's lagging regions. He described
reaction, both in the West and in Russia, to the recent
merger of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) with the ROC
abroad as frequently overblown. Kirill praised Roman
Catholic Pope Benedict as more pragmatic than his
predecessor. Kirill worried about corruption's corrosive
effects on Russian spiritual life. End summary.

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Rich-Poor Gap
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2. (C) Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Kirill reviewed
with Ambassador at a June 18 lunch a series of social issues
with which he was particularly concerned. Although there had
been much lip service paid recently to the yawning gap
between rich and poor in Russia, Kirill worried that too
little was being done to actually address the problem.
Kirill suggested that the GOR should consider a replacement
of the current flat tax with a graduated tax and, perhaps,
the introduction of a luxury tax, as well. Russia's social
safety net needed to be improved, Kirill thought. His
position as Metropolitan of Smolensk gave him the opportunity
to travel to one of Russia's less prosperous regions, and
what he saw there concerned him. Kirill believed that the
purse strings on the stabilization fund should be loosened in
order to ameliorate the problems encountered by those at the
bottom of society. Kirill thought the creation of the For A
Just Russia party had helped stimulate debate on these
issues. (In an aside, Kirill dismissed Other Russia and
independent presidential candidate, ex-Prime Minister Mikhail
Kasyanov as largely irrelevant to today's Russia.)


3. (C) In addition to the income gap, Kirill was concerned
about corruption and the "petty tyranny of bureaucrats,"
which had increased as a result of the expansion of the
bureaucracy and its prerogatives. Kirill worried that the
increasing institutionalization of corruption was having a
corrosive effect on the spiritual life of Russians. While he
was aware that the issue was getting greater attention from
the GOR, not enough was yet being done.

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Significance of Church
Merger Overblown
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4. (C) The reaction to the recent union of the Russian
Orthodox Church with its overseas counterpart had been
overblown, both by those in Russia, who saw it as proof of
the church's resurgence and by those outside Russia, who
thought they saw in the merger an elaborate conspiracy. The
merger, said Kirill, "doesn't make much difference" one way
or the other.


5. (C) Kirill saw more possibilities for development of ROC -
Roman Catholic relations during the papacy of Benedict.
While his predecessor, John Paul, had been smart, his Polish
roots predisposed him to be too critical of Russia. John
Paul had overstressed the importance of a visit to Russia as
a way of improving relations between the churches. Benedict
was more careful, Kirill reported, and had indicated he would
be willing to meet at any time and in a third country if that
were more appropriate. One complicating factor was the
health of Aleksiy, which Kirill described as "not great."

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Thinking Through Gay March
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6. (C) The May 27 gay rights parade had caused Kirill to
think much about "issues of human freedom." Although the
Metropolitan said nothing definitive to the Ambassador, it
was clear he was wrestling with the issue, and the dilemmas
it posed for the church.
BURNS