RELIGION
Russia is a multinational country where people of different faiths live. Here are the most important religions in Russia:
Christianity. The most widespread religion in the country. It has three main confessions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The majority of Russian believers are Orthodox Christians.
Orthodoxy in Russia is represented by the Russian Orthodox Church, Old Believer associations, and a number of non-canonical (alternative) Orthodox organizations of the Russian tradition. According to traditional historiography, the official state foundation of Orthodoxy in Russia was laid by Saint Prince Vladimir in 988. According to statistics, more than 41% of the inhabitants of Russia profess Orthodoxy.
Catholicism in Russia has a long history, dating back to the early times of the Old Russian state. The first Western (Latin) bishop to visit Rus’ was Adalbert of Magdeburg, who was sent from Germany to Kievan Rus in 961 at the request of Princess Olga. Currently, the Catholic community in Russia numbers several hundred thousand people and includes Catholics of the Latin rite, the Byzantine rite, and the Armenian rite.
Protestantism appeared in Russia in the 16th c. The first Protestants came to Russia as merchants: Lutherans in the 1520s, Anglicans under Ivan IV (1533–1584), and Calvinists at the end of the 16th c. Nowdays a maximum of 5% of the population now consider themselves Protestants. At the same time, Protestants have managed to significantly expand their communities compared to both the Soviet era and the period of the Russian Empire.
The followers of Islam in Russia are mainly Sunni Muslims. The majority of Russians who profess Islam live in the North Caucasus, Tatarstan and Bashkiria. Currently, about 10% of the country’s population are Muslims. There are about 7,000 mosques in Russia. The largest are considered to be 4 mosques: 3 are in Chechnya and one in Moscow (the Great Cathedral Mosque: 18.9 thousand square meters).
Buddhism in Russia is one of the religions widespread mostly in Buryatia, Tuva, Kalmykia, the Altai Republic and the Zabaikalsky Krai. There are also Buddhist communities in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities. Traditional for Russia is Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug school, to which most Buddhists in the Russian Federation belong.
Judaism is a religious, national and ethical worldview that originated among the Jewish people in the 2nd millennium BC, the most ancient religion of mankind in existence. About 150,000 Jews live in Russia. Adherents of Judaism in our country are less than 0.5% of the population. There are about 160 synagogues and Jewish centers in Russia. The largest synagogue in Russia is the Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg (the prayer hall is designed for 1,200 people) and it is also the second in Europe after Budapest.
Shamanism is a traditional worldview of the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East. It is professed, for example, by the Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts and others. Shamanism is based on an animistic picture of the world, belief in spirits and deities of nature, the existence of the soul. Each object in the universe, be it a person, bird, stone or tree, has its own spirit and character and can influence the world around it. About 1.2% of Russians believe in shamanism, adhering to the beliefs of their ancestors.