the influence that religion has on general culture either in Poland or in Russia isn't as strong as it would seem to be at first sight.
Yes, but neither is it so weak as to be immaterial.
Many Russians, myself included, have long wondered whether it is something about Orthodoxy that makes the societies of Russia, Greece, Serbia, Georgia, etc... relatively less "efficient" (the kindest way I can put it) in comparison to Western societies.
It certainly provides a stronger immunization to the various obscenities emerging in the modern west... but also - as I said above - puts a certain "brake" to the similarly strong need to evolve.
In another thread, I was having a discussion with Ironside about "Russian fatalism". The smart people that write about this specific type of fatalism, often "blame" Orthodoxy.