When it comes to politics or espousing a political structure traditional Orthodox are basically living in a never never land. The Byzantine structure of government was quite pathetic (as a whole) although there were some good emperors here and there. In a nutshell, the Emperor and Patriarch are a mutually supportive entity. It’s not exactly a theocracy but definitely a system that espouses a state church having a big say in government. Russia definitely needs to more fully embrace her Christian Orthodox heritage, but embracing a fully Byzantine world view is not the answer.