Since the fall of Communism Russia has seen a 20-30% a year rise in gambling. Yesterday, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, condemned gambling as one of the social ills that have plagued Russian since the early 90s. His words came during a service to celebrate his saint's day.

The Patriarch isn't the only Russian to express concern over Russian gambling. Last November, Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was reported in the Moscow News as wanting to rid his city of 90% of its slots. A year ago, Dmitry Dostoyevsky - the great-great-grandson of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky - was involved in legal action demanding that an image of his existentialist ancestor was taken off Russian lottery tickets. Dostoyevsky, who's work includes The Gambler, suffered from an acute gambling compulsion

Russia has no federal laws to regulate the gambling business. There are about 800 legal casinos in Russia, with 10% - more than in the entire UK - in the capital. Moscow also has an estimated 67,000 slot machines.

source: en.rian.ru