The first public figure to address the Russian people was Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who is extremely active in all state matters.

俄罗斯东正教主教基里尔，是首位向俄罗斯民众发表讲话的公众人物，他对所有国家大事都异常积极。

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Turkey even appears to have colluded with the Russian patriarch, Kirill, to limit the powers of the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Istanbul, Bartholomew I, usually seen as first among equals in the Orthodox hierarchy.

ECONOMIST: Turkey and Russia: Old rivals, new partners | The

Patriarch Kirill congratulated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when they met at a Christmas Eve service in Moscow's Christ The Saviour Cathedral on Friday night.

BBC: Russian Church head Kirill urges Kremlin policy change

In a letter to Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Mr Yerofeev apologised for inadvertently hurting the feeling of believers, but blasted the church for siding with a group of anti-Semitic, militant radicals.

ECONOMIST: Church and state in Russia