 Alexy II, who is often credited with reviving the Church after the fall of Communism in Russia, was elected Patriarch a year before the Soviet Union dissolved, making this Russia's first patriarchal election of the post-Soviet era. 250px|Kirill (right) meets with then-President Vladimir Putin in 2006.
<clarity>  Alexy II, who is often credited with reviving the Church after the fall of Communism in Russia, was elected Patriarch a year before the Soviet Union dissolved, making this Russia's first patriarchal election of the post-Soviet era. 250px|Kirill (right) meets with then-President Vladimir Putin in 2006.
 Alexy II, who is often credited with reviving the Church after the fall of in Russia, was elected Patriarch a year before the Soviet Union dissolved, making this Russia's first patriarchal election of the post-Soviet era. 250px|Kirill (right) meets with then-President Vladimir Putin in 2006.