[NRx]

I’m Orthodox and have a lot of respect for the Russian Church which survived the most brutal persecution in the history of Christianity and is one of the few churches that is firmly holding its ground against the tide of relativism and secularism as well as Islamo-Facism. But... this guy has a reputation of long standing as a nut job.

[familyop]

On Russia and religion,...


Russia has military friends in its Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO: members listed below).

All of the following excerpts are from the CIA World Factbook (as accessed on 4MAY14).

Russia
Religions:

Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.) note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule

Kazakhstan
Religions:

Muslim 70.2%, Christian 26.2% (Russian Orthodox 23.9%, other Christian 2.3%), Buddhist 0.1%, other 0.2%, atheist 2.8%, unspecified 0.5% (2009 Census)

Kyrgyzstan
Religions:

Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5%

Tajikistan
Religions:

Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)

Belarus
Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.
Religions:

Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Armenia
Religions:

Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)

Collective Security Treaty Organization
Wikipedia

Member states[edit]

Current members
Armenia (2002)
Belarus (2002)
Kazakhstan (2002)
Kyrgyzstan (2002)
Russia (2002)
Tajikistan (2002)

Observers
Afghanistan (2013)
Serbia (2013)

Possible candidates
Iran

Former members
Azerbaijan (joined 1994, withdrew 1999)
Georgia (joined 1994, withdrew 1999)
Uzbekistan (joined 1994, withdrew 2012)