The 7th World Council of the Russian people was held in Moscow on 16 and 17 December. It brought together the highest authorities of the State, professors, businessmen and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and of the “traditional religions” (including the mufti Talgat Tajuddin, representing Islam, and the chief rabbi of Russia, A. Shayevich, representing Jews). At the centre of discussions: the challenges of globalization, the processes of the political transformation of the country and the relation between economics and ethics. In a message of good wishes, Patriarch Alexis II exhorted those present to overcome the “profound moral crisis” in which the country has fallen and to direct “the national economy to the good of all the citizens of our country”, especially “those who are unable to earn their daily bread”.
