Russia reportedly sees its mission as restoring traditional values to the world, over against the “libertine West.” This is involving a new alliance between Vladimir Putin’s government and the Russian Orthodox Church. The immediate goal is to spread the ideal of “holy Russia” throughout Eurasia. So says Forbes contributor Paul Coyer, excerpted after the jump.
I’ve heard some conservatives praise Putin’s administration for its opposition to gay rights and other socially liberal movements. Can or should American Christians get behind the Russian effort? What would be the problems with that? I’m curious too to hear from American orthodox folks. I realize that not all Orthodox churches are Russian Orthodox. But are any of you in that tradition, and, if so, do you go along with “holy Russia”? Are any of you other Orthodox in favor of what Putin is trying to do?
From Paul Coyer, Putin’s Holy War And The Disintegration Of The ‘Russian World’:
Vladimir Putin and Alexander Dugin’s vision of “Holy Russia,” which is shared with the Russian Orthodox Church, sees Russia’s mission as being to expand its influence and authority until it dominates the Eurasian landmass by means of a strong, centralized Russian state aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, championing “traditional” social values over against the cultural corruption of a libertine West. The partnership between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has been aimed not only at articulating this sacralized view of Russian national identity to the domestic audience, but also in advancing the mission of the Russian nation abroad. The manner in which the Russian state and the Church has been cooperating, however, is undermining their jointly-stated goal of building a “Russian world” that dominates Eurasia under Moscow’s benign imperial oversight.
The Church, for its part, acts as the Russian state’s soft power arm, exerting its authority in ways that assist the Kremlin in spreading Russian influence both in Russia’s immediate neighborhood as well as around the globe. The Kremlin assists the Church, as well, working to increase its reach. Vladimir Yakunin, one of Putin’s inner circle and a devout member of the ROC, facilitated in 2007 the reconciliation of the ROC with the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile (which had separated itself from the Moscow Patriarchate early in the Soviet era so as not to be co-opted by the new Bolshevik state), which reconciliation greatly increased Kirill’s influence and authority outside of Russia. Putin, praising this event, noted the interrelation of the growth of ROC authority abroad with his own international goals: “The revival of the church unity is a crucial condition for revival of lost unity of the whole ‘Russian world’, which has always had the Orthodox faith as one of its foundations.”
[Keep reading. . . ]
During the Cold War, liberals and leftists were often accused, rightly or wrongly, of being Russian sympathizers and subversives investigated by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Imagine a new Cold War in which conservatives are accused of being of being Russian sympathizers and subversives investigated by a new House UnAmerican Activities Committee.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In