The article deals with the history of the Orthodox segment of Runet, tracing its origins and uncovering key tendencies of its development. Specifically, it discusses ‘colonization’ of the internet by the Russian Orthodox Church, emergence of the most important Orthodox information web-portals, and formation of religious online-communities. The author argues that religious organizations in Russia favor the internet over other media channels. Likewise, for the grassroots the internet has become the most important source of the information about the Church and faith.

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