Christianity in Russia is most strongly associated with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose history is connected to the Christianization of Kyivan Rus, Byzantine religious culture, monasticism, and the development of Russian state and national institutions. Russia also includes Old Believers, Catholics, Protestants, and other Christian communities.
Christianization and Orthodox heritage
The traditional date for the Christianization of Kyivan Rus is 988, during the reign of Prince Vladimir. Byzantine Christianity influenced liturgy, church architecture, icon painting, monasticism, and religious literature. Over time, Orthodox institutions became central to the religious life of Muscovite and imperial Russia.
The Russian Orthodox Church
Orthodox worship centers on the Divine Liturgy, sacraments, icons, fasting, feast days, and a rich tradition of chant and monastic spirituality. Historic monasteries and cathedrals remain important religious and cultural sites. The church has also been closely connected with debates about Russian identity and state power.
Old Believers and other Christians
The seventeenth-century reforms associated with Patriarch Nikon led to a schism with communities later known as Old Believers. Russia has also long included Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, and other Christian populations, often connected to particular ethnic groups, migration histories, or revival movements.
Soviet repression
After the 1917 Revolution, Soviet authorities promoted state atheism and subjected religious institutions to confiscation, closure, surveillance, imprisonment, and at times lethal persecution. Policies changed across different periods, but religious life was heavily constrained. Some churches continued under state oversight, while other forms of worship survived privately or underground.
Post-Soviet revival and contemporary life
After 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church experienced major institutional revival, including the reopening and rebuilding of churches and monasteries. Religious identification increased, although formal affiliation does not always correspond to regular worship. Contemporary Russia also includes Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, other Christians, and nonreligious people.
Christianity in Russia should therefore be understood through its Byzantine inheritance, Orthodox institutions, internal diversity, Soviet-era disruption, and post-Soviet transformation.
