Russia: Church vs. corruption

Tens of thousands of citizens and many Russian Orthodox priests demonstrated in Moscow in December, protesting alleged election fraud in Russia's parliamentary elections.

Fyodor Lyudogovsky, an instructor at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, said the election was "a very rare model of lies and hypocrisy" that "Christians should not and cannot tolerate."

Another priest, Aleksei Pluzhnikov, reported groups of priests being told to encourage parishioners to vote for a particular party.

The Russian Orthodox Church called for stricter controls over the election process.