Russian President Putin: Communism Is No Different from Christianity

Russian President Vladimir Putin drew a parallel between Communism and Christianity, saying that Communism implemented the same principles and that "they didn't invent anything new." His statements were aired on prime time Russia 1 TV on January 14 as a promo for a movie about the Orthodox Valaam Monastery. After the movie's production, its director, who interviews Putin in the promo, was appointed as press secretary of Putin's election headquarters.

Vladimir Putin: "Communist ideology is very similar to Christianity: freedom, brotherhood, equality, justice. All those things are in the Bible. Take The Moral Code Of The Builder Of Communism, for example. This is a projection, a simple extract from the Bible. They didn't invent anything new. For example, they put Lenin in the Mausoleum. Is that any different from hallows for Orthodox Christians? For any Christian, in fact."