Covid-19 Driving Russian Orthodox Church To Desperation: Sputnik-V Doesn’t Work – OpEd

It is becoming increasingly evident that Vladimir Putin’s regime is utterly inept in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is evidenced by the grim numbers of those infected and online videos depicting piles of bodies in hospitals and morgues of Russia’s largest cities, as well as by the regime’s religious leaders who are strangely categorically against Russia’s newest medical achievement, i.e. the Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik­-V that was ridiculously advertised by the Kremlin’s media outlets. Russians consider the vaccine a complete fake, and it just happens that the vaccine is named after the Kremlin’s notorious propaganda giant Sputnik.

Interestingly, the Russian Orthodox Church has decided to actively “combat” Covid-19 using the tools available to it – tools that have been borrowed from science fiction. The church stated that something must be done because the number of Covid-19 deaths in Russia is growing rapidly and that it’s clear that Putin’s praised Sputnik-V vaccine is nothing more than a pile of crap.

The Russian Orthodox Church pointed to deputy of the State Duma Valeriy Gartung who actively participated in the development of the vaccine, got vaccinated himself but in the end still contracted Covid-19. And this is just one of numerous such cases.

The reality is that the Kremlin’s once most devoted fans from the Orthodox Church are more often making public statements that the time has come to stop believing the Kremlin and finally turn to God. Russian priests and clergymen say that God will make everything right, while at the same time they are violating numerous Covid-19 restrictions as if they intentionally wanted to spread the disease to as much Russians as possible.

For instance, in Vladimir Oblast priests decided that it’s time to fight Covid-19 with the ancient and proven method of holding a march with crosses, icons, holy water, the remains of saints and countless other bogus attributes. They are going from one village to another, attracting large swathes of people – evidently because they want every person to feel the love of Covid-19.

It is reported that the Russian Orthodox Church has been holding similar events already since the beginning of autumn. So, it’s no surprise that morgues in Russia are filled with bodies. What matters is that the faithful continue believing in illusions because no one else can give them the answers to their questions. Therefore, the church decided to seize the opportunity to brainwash the nation a little bit more and cash in some donations at the same time.

Roaming around villages with body parts of saints and holy water isn’t the only weapon God has given them in their fight against Covid-19. In spring, when the pandemic was in its early stage they took to the skies with their crosses and ashes and flew over different populated areas in Russia, but – only God knows why – this had absolutely no effect.

We can see that it’s not only Sputnik-V that is ineffective – the tools given by God don’t work as well. Perhaps it’s time to try leeches or bloodletting? This means that not only Putin & Co who are in trouble, but the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church as well, and this explains its bizarre activities.

It seems that Putin’s clique has finally had too much caviar and thus lost any connection to reality, because previously they actively participated in the propaganda show by injecting Sputnik-V in their swollen bodies, despite the vaccine being barely tested or internationally recognized.

I get the impression that they are grasping the last straw if they have decided to risk the health of their people. What concerns God’s faithful servants, it looks like they’ve lost their minds – how else would you explain religious marches with crosses during a pandemic?

By continuing to confuse and deceive the nation, Patriarch Kirill continues to amass huge amounts of money from people who still believe in the miracles of God. There are photographs online showing that people are forbidden to enter churches until they buy face masks that the church sells – even if people arrive with their own face masks. Evidently, these masks have been sent by God himself and – if we look from point of view the point of view of marketing – are even more special than the indulgences sold during the Middle Ages

This is mass psychosis and the church doing business, not anything related to devotion or spirituality. The saddest thing in all of this is that people blindly believe the lies of the Orthodox Church, forgetting that they should retain some common sense as well. Sadly, thousands of people in Russia have given in to the hypnosis by Kirill and Putin, and it seems that it’s already too late to wake up – if a person were to contract Covid-19now they would most likely die because there is a shortage of hospitals, morgues and medical staff in Russia. Moreover, Covid-19is rapidly spreading among doctors, and this is the case in Latvia as well.

I feel truly sorry for doctors, nurses and other medical workers who must work their fingers to the bone and risk their own health and lives to save those who have stupidly chosen to believe Kirill’s and Putin’s lies and put themselves at risk of leaving this world with a positive Covid-19diagnosis.

That is why I ask you to respect and support medical workers now more than ever. And remember – faith in God comes from the heart, so there’s no need to run around villages holding ashes and crosses during a pandemic and infecting more and more people with Covid-19.

P.S. Let’s keep each other safe by wearing masks, using alcohol in a way we see fit and listening less to Covid-19 deniers. Which ones? You know which ones – I don’t want to name them all.

*Augusts Augustiņš, Reserve Sergeant of the Latvian National Guard