The head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Alexy II, who played an influential role in denouncing the KGB coup against Michael Gorbachev, has died.
The church said the 79-year-old died at his residence outside Moscow on Friday. It did not give the cause of death, but the patriach had suffered from a heart ailment - and was known to be seriously ill earlier this year.
The outspoken cleric had led the world's biggest Orthodox church since 1990, presiding over a flock that by most estimates numbers two-thirds of Russia's population of 142 million. guardian.co.uk