Making good sense of what has happened within the Russian church of late is not so easy, I believe.
For all the decades I can remember there have always been a sense of prudent 'distance' at very best from the MP. The relationship with other jurisdictions was not so clear cut, certainly from the time of Metropolitan Philaret, of blessed memory. Yes, a stance against ecumenism but a less clear cut stance on the nature or relationships between ROCOR and other jurisdictions. Certainly I went with a priest and parishioners to Pan Orthodox vespers at the Serbian cathedral, all with the blessing of Vladika Nikodem (the only advice to the ROCOR priest was to distance himself from any MP clergy present). The strict convent of the Annunciation in the same diocese was regularly served by the then Father Kallistos (Ware) of the EP, and a lovely Serbian priest alternately.
The recent Synod get to together appeared to have the hall-marks of 'spin' and party management more appropriate to a New Labour party political conference than a serious and sober church event of such importance.
The MP involvement in ecumenism, interfaith activity, etc., seems not to have changed at all. If that is so, what has changed and what does anyone who struggles to make sense of the course of events, and the widely conflicting positions on both sides to conclude from it all?