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Article: Religion in Russia is big business. (Russian Orthodox church investments in tobacco, banking and petroleum)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Humanist
- Article date:
- September 1, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 American Humanist Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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These days, the Russian Orthodox Church is selling more than candles and orthodox literature. Administrative branches of the church have been in on oil-export and tobacco-import deals worth millions of dollars. Never known for shying away from making money to stay solvent, the Orthodox Church factory continues to produce and sell icons and candles; bishops bless automobiles in exchange for money; and one diocese has entered into a high-profile, bottled water venture with private partners. But all of this is small potatoes when compared to the church's overall business interests. It is founding banks, importing duty-free cigarettes in a program that has cost the Russian ...