Each nation and leader in Civilization 6 has its own strengths and weaknesses, steering them towards or away from certain victory conditions. Playing to the strengths of a chosen civilization is the key to victory in Civ 6, whether through Domination, Culture, Diplomacy, Science, or Religion.
Just like getting a religious victory in Civ 6, the key to spreading the true faith across the world lies in Faith generation and religious units. If there's one civilization that excels in both these areas, drawing huge faith and creating early, effective religious units, then it's Peter the Great's Russia.
All about the Lavra
Russia's religious strength revolves around its unique District, the Lavra. A cluster of hermitages with a church in the center, in the real world Lavras are common in Orthodox and Eastern Christian countries. In Civilization 6 the Lavra replaces the Holy Site District, and comes with a wide range of bonuses that affect not only religion but also Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians.
The two of these bonuses most important to a religious victory are that the Lavra costs half the normal Production to build, and that it produces double the Great Prophet points. These special features combine to pretty much guarantee that Russia gets one of the first religions on the map. This is crucial because it's much easier to spread a religion to cities that don't already have one, giving Russia the chance to gain a huge head-start.
 Mother Russia
While the Lavra can give Russia a significant head-start toward religious dominance, next they need to capitalize on their gains through Missionaries and Apostles. These religious units must be purchased at a Lavra through Faith, which needs to be generated by the District's adjacency bonus, buildings, or other tile improvements. Fortunately, this is another area in which Russia does well, mostly through their Mother Russia ability.
Mother Russia not only claims additional tiles in each newly settled cities, but also causes Tundra tiles to generate bonus Faith and Production. While this bonus is a little dependent on the civilization's starting location and surroundings, it can turn Russia into a powerhouse of Faith generation. This bonus is especially useful when combined with the Dance of the Aurora pantheon, as well as the St. Basil's Cathedral Culture Wonder. After Gathering Storm, Russia has been given further Tundra-based bonuses, including immunity to Blizzards and a Blizzard weakness for invaders in their territory.
Civilization 6Â is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
