MOUNT ATHOS (Greece), September 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived at the Holy Mount of Athos, the world's only Orthodox monastic republic.
He is expected to view several monasteries and meet with representatives of the Holy Kinot, the mountain's governing body.
Mount Athos is a peninsula in the northeast of Greece with 20 monasteries - 17 Greek, one Russian named after St. Panteleimon, one Bulgarian and one Serbian. The 20 monasteries rule Athos through their representatives that make up the Holy Kinot (council). No women are allowed into the republic.