Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov … said that “communists and all the leftist patriotic forces [in Russia] understand that communism is [as] close to Christianity as much as the form of capitalism that exists in our country and our economy today is far from Christianity.”...
It's likely no accident that the candidate in the coming presidential election who is regarded as Putin's chief competitor is the candidate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
It's well-known that Putin responds politically to changes in national mindset and sentiment.
RT
Putin: Communist ideology similar to Christianity, Lenin’s body like saintly relics
see also
RT
Putin: Communist ideology similar to Christianity, Lenin’s body like saintly relics
see also
"I can only say that the communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the centre of the Gospel," the 77-year-old pontiff told Il Messaggero in an interview to mark the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, according to Reuters.
"Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian,'" he said, laughing, when asked about a blog post in the Economist magazine that said he sounded like a Leninist when he criticized capitalism and called for radical economic reform.
Christian Post
Pope Francis Says Communism Stole 'the Flag of Christianity'
Anugrah Kumar , Christian Post Contributor
Pope Francis Says Communism Stole 'the Flag of Christianity'
Anugrah Kumar , Christian Post Contributor
