Dynamics of political preferences of orthodox believers in Russia

The article is devoted to the study of political preferences of Orthodox believers in Russia during the period from 1991 to 2011. The author analyzes statistical data and the results of sociological polls published in the Russian periodical press and makes a conclusion that electoral preferences of a significant part of Orthodox believers committed a drift from democratically focused parties to social conservative party of the ruling power in two decades. Moreover, about 10% of Orthodox believers drifted towards support for the Communist party of Russia. The article also reveals reasons of transformation of political preferences of Orthodox believers. In addition, the authors brought up an issue of interconnection between political preferences and religious characteristics.