Russia’s “Civilizational Choice”

(Note: this column was written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/russias-civilizational-choice/) This week, Vladimir Putin and a large number of national and foreign dignitaries and guests have inaugurated the biggest mosque in Europe: the new Moscow Cathedral Mosque. This was a big event, much awaited by the many tens of thousands of Russian Muslims who live in the Russian capital and who, in the past, have had to pray in the streets