Not So Traditional After All? The Russian Orthodox Church's Failure as a "Moral Norm Entrepreneur"

"Traditional values" is a key trope in the conservative rhetoric dominant in Russian political and social discourse since Putin's return to the presidency in 2012. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has been a major source of this "conservative turn" - with Patriarch Kirill arguing the need for a return to "traditional values" ever since the early 2000s, long before the Kremlin began to push the same agenda. Viewing moral and ethical questions as its special preserve, the ROC has sought, in relations with Russian society (and with the world at large), to act as an agenda-setter in developing and promoting moral norms, taking up the role as a "moral norm entrepreneur."