Putin might quote Jesus, but he’s no saviour of Christianity

Opening a Moscow youth centre, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has compared himself to Jesus. It’s the latest in a long line of populist leaders using religious rhetoric for political gain, says Tony Wilson

President Putin has been criticised for using Bible verses to defend Russia’s traditional values as he opened a new youth centre earlier this week in Moscow. Drawing on Jesus’s call to Andrew and Peter to become fishers of men, he asked young Russians to reject ‘Satanic’ Western morality and promote their own conservative cause.

Putin said: “Do you remember how Jesus came to Galilee and saw the fishermen beside the Sea of Galilee?

“One was catching fish, another was fixing his net. And he said to them: ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, fishers of human souls.’ They became his evangelists, his students.