@U S Spacy I believe it's a matter of shifting perspective. Russia, being historically the heir to Constantinople's Byzantine Empire it was considered the Christian EAST - hence it's expression of Christianity is Orthodoxy not Catholicism. Of course after the Age of Exploration of the 16th century, the designation "the East" or in Latin the Orient was applied to Asian cultures of China, Japan, etc. So actually Russia is Western in contradistinction to other non-Christian societies. But with the secularization of the West with liberalism, socialism and Communism most forget the Christian heritage!

@Orthocat I’m no expert in Russian history, but I believe that there is centuries of secular conflict in Russia that goes back at least to Peter the Great. He was a great patron of western architecture in Russia, certainly. He named his own city Saint Petersburg, rather than giving it a proper Russian name. I believe he also outlawed beards and traditional dress, though he was resisted by the clergy, who also resisted the reforms he wanted to make in the Church. It is a very interesting country, on the border between Eastern and Western Christianity, as well as the Muslim world.