Moscow, July 30, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate urges to condemn the Bolshevist regime as soon as possible in order to deprive other countries of an opportunity to equal Russian people and crimes of the Soviet times.

"Probably, to prevent any attempts to equal the Soviet Union, its people and Bolshevist leaders, we in Russia should clear out our attitude to the Bolshevist regime that seized power and sentenced its own people to hard sufferings and to the place of its symbols in our life. Besides, we should anticipate Ukrainians or Estonians," deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said on air of Russian News Service.

He also believes it necessary "to take the stars off the Kremlin, the cemetery on Red Square is out of place and monuments to criminal Bolshevist leaders a-la Lenin shouldn't remain in the center of our cities."

"The sooner we assess crimes of the Soviet period the quicker we disarm the forces that strive to equal Russian people and crimes of the Soviet time," the priest stressed.

In his comments on the Soviet symbols ban in some ex-Soviet countries, Fr. Vsevolod stated that national feelings "especially of many Ukrainians and Estonians are comprehensible."

He noted, "They were repressed under these symbols," however, he further said, "all people of Russia were repressed under the same symbols."

"I don't think we should condemn the Soviet Union as a state. There were good and bad moments, positive achievements and shameful affairs. I don't think that anyone can challenge our right to use the symbols of victory in World War II, including flags with red stars. I am basically against equaling symbols of the Soviet Union and Hitler Germany," the Russian Church representative stated.