RELIGION : Communists May Get Russian Orthodox Vote Despite the Past

There is only one way good Christians can stop the evil stalking their land, Father Alexander Shergunov believes. They must go to the polls in Russia’s presidential election next Sunday--and vote Communist.

“Evil is growing. Communism is not the worst evil,” Shergunov argues. His eyes burn above a thin black beard as he repeats the sermon he preaches regularly to his Russian Orthodox congregation.

“Seventy years of Soviet godlessness created a vacuum, but it is now being filled by something worse--moral genocide. We must protest.”

The irony of the Russian Orthodox voting Communist is obvious. Under Soviet rule, the religious were subjected to decades of persecution. Churches were destroyed or turned into museums of atheism.

Only under President Boris N. Yeltsin has freedom of worship become the norm. There are an estimated 60 million Orthodox believers--two of every five Russians--and their church is Russia’s most venerated institution. A poll by the Institute for Comparative Social Research showed that 88% of respondents had a “positive attitude” toward the church.

Its support is a prize worth winning in a close election; after months of campaigning, Yeltsin has slipped slightly ahead of Communist challenger Gennady A. Zyuganov in recent polls. Neither is leaving any stone unturned in the search for even the most unlikely of backers.

On the face of it, Christians have nothing to gain from voting Communist and defying the pro-Yeltsin Orthodox leader, Patriarch Alexi II.

“Today, in this fateful time for Russia . . . Yeltsin has played a great role in uniting the people,” Alexi said. “If the old regime comes back to power, the country will suffer new tremors.”

Despite such warnings, Shergunov is not alone. He is one of a dozen priests publicly calling for an end to Yeltsin’s experimental democracy. Many more, scared of speaking out, quietly sympathize.

“There are priests who actively oppose the Communists, but they represent the smaller percentage. More favor Zyuganov,” said Father Alexander I. Nezhny, a liberal priest. “It’s stunning how believers can forget about the past.”

Why are many of the faithful turning against Yeltsin?

Outrage at new Russia’s sexual license plays a part. Shergunov’s parishioners are appalled by what they see as real-life horrors on television: contraceptives at schools, pornography on the streets, experiments on embryos. They believe that Yeltsin’s warmth toward the West has opened a Pandora’s box of imported capitalist evils to pollute their faith.

Orthodox Christians’ politics are often nationalist: Many want what they see as Russia’s humiliation by the West to end, which draws them to Zyuganov.

The Communist candidate has tried to prove his reformed party has Orthodox Christians’ welfare at heart. He condemns Soviet religious persecution. He is willing to keep out the foreign missionaries who are flooding into Russia.

“Religion is window-dressing for Zyuganov’s nationalism,” said reformist Father Georgy A. Kochetkov of the Assumption of the Virgin church. “Under Zyuganov, the church might have more privilege, it might even be the state religion again, but it will never be free.”

Zyuganov is not the only politician to offer rewards to church leaders. The skyline of Moscow showcases Yeltsin’s biggest gift--a new Cathedral of Christ the Savior to replace a church blown up by Stalin.

Sergei Markov, analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said divisions in the church neutralize its influence on voting. “In its soul, the church is inclined to support Zyuganov because he’s a Russian nationalist. But in its head it supports Yeltsin because he’s the chief and has the resources to finance its revival.”

Nevertheless, some liberals are bracing for a Communist victory. During a sermon at his simple church, Father Alexander Borisov quoted a passage from the Gospel of St. John in which Jesus bids farewell to his disciples: “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice.”

He added: “The same is true of our life. Even if the Communists come back, we should not despair because it’s the path God has put before us.”