“Let no one scare us with Russian nationalism. Russian nationalism does not exist in nature, everyone knows this. But to talk about the importance and the Role of the Russian people in preserving our multinational country - I think that this is an important topic that we should also address to appeal," said Patriarch Kirill at the extraordinary congress of the World Russian People's Council.

According to Patriarch Kirill, Russian citizens have the right to expect from visitors from the CIS countries and Central Asia respect for the traditions of the country and knowledge of the Russian language, and this is considered a legal requirement.

At a special session of the World Russian People's Council, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' emphasized that the main threat posed by migration is the reluctance of foreign citizens to respect the culture and traditions of the country in which they arrived for the purpose of further employment:

“Brotherly peoples live around us, with whom we have always strived to build good neighborly relations, understanding the difficult economic situation that has developed in a number of countries of the former Soviet Union. At the same time, we have the right to demand respect for our foundations and culture on the part of those who come to Russia from these countries,” said His Holiness the Patriarch.

The Patriarch noted that Russians have the legal right to put forward certain requirements for foreign citizens, such as knowledge of the Russian language.

Patriarch Kirill pointed out the connection between the terrorist attack in Crocus and the attempt of some opponents of Russia to interfere in internal affairs using religious differences:

“An attempt was made to pit two traditional religions against each other, an attempt was made to divide people according to religious principles and also pit one against the other. Of course, we cannot allow anything like this in Russia.”