"The president and his wife, Ludmila, attend church services on a regular basis, and Putin often visits churches and monasteries all across the country in the course of his travels. The Russian press has also displayed an interest in reports that, in keeping with classic Russian traditions, both Putin and his wife turn for advice and counsel to monastics. Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow is often identified as an advisor to the president, while his wife reportedly has a long-standing relationship with her "spiritual mother," Mother Ludmila of the Snetogorsky cloister."