Today, on November 20, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, on his 75^th birthday, gave an interview aired on the government TV channel.

Starting with a recollection of his formative years which made him a faithful Christian in opposition to the godless totalitarian Soviet power, His Holiness turned to the events of the present day, so markedly different from the recent past. Considering a few letters he received from U.S. residents who expressed their desire to move to Russia, the Patriarch said:

"I have no doubt – please, listen carefully – that Russia today is the leader of the free world. I can imagine the reaction to my words from whatever side, but such is the reality. We are free from the most powerful influences from abroad, we are travelling our own road, and may the Lord grant us success on our way, to be an example for others."

"We have no bones of contention to split the society, to bring about any deep controversy, and this is truly a mercy of God. While the existing diversity of opinion on various issues is normal in a free society, it contributes to the creative process of national development."

Touching on the anti-Christian and anti-religious attitudes so common in the modern world, His Holiness remarked:

"This hatred of God is hardly explainable in rational terms. In our totalitarian past, the state officials had to toe the prescribed anti-Christian line, but that stance was by and large formal. Religious values and heavenly pursuit are inherent in a normal human soul… Not so for the Christ-haters of today." Patriarch Kirill then remarked, “Satan is fighting God in human hearts,” quoting The Brothers Karamazov, a famous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.