It was tied to the State long before Stalin, as far back as Peter the Great or further. Nothing has changed. It’s the state church of Russia, and everything it does is done in Russia’s national interest.
Campion: True but at least before the USSR, it was at least tied to a Czar who was Russian Orthodox. But yes, you are correct it is very similar to the King of England and the Anglican-Protestant Church of England being a state church that was tied to the national interest of England.
Just to clarify. With Putin, a former KGB agent, one never knows what he believes. So this alliance with The Moscow Patriarch, Krill, to launch an invasion into Ukraine does seem problematic. This idea being put forth about launching a war into Ukraine over gay pride is crazy. This sounds like what happens in Islamic fundamentalist countries. There is no justification for a war on those grounds. That is a moral issue yes, a serious one yes, but that is not grounds to carpet bomb cities.
So as you note, in the times of the Czar’s in Russia, those men were Russian Orthodox Christians. With Putin, who knows? Is there such a thing as former KGB agent?