False Identities and Interpretations of Paganism in Russian History: Between the 21st and 12th Centuries

Abstract

The paper investigates the problem of the national identity and modern attempts of its deconstruction. Neopaganism as a serious challenge to Russian and all-Russian identity is examined. The author believes that the main danger lies in the fact that neopagan concepts are rooted in the discourse of the national museum, cultural and educational communities. The paper provides examples of successful dissertations that, from the author’s point of view, cater for the idea of a real change of identity among Russian residents, including schoolchildren. The so-called modern Merya ethno-futurism movement is described, which promotes the abandonment of the Russian identity by the inhabitants of Central Russia and its substitution with some supposedly real traditions of the Finno-Ugric Merya tribal union. This union actually disappeared almost a thousand years ago. The author believes that modern neopagan developments are largely based on the reconstruction of Slavic paganism made by researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Those, in turn, relied on a number of written sources. The author proves the necessity to subject these literary monuments to new critical studies, verifying the reliability of the information about Slavic paganism contained therein. For example, he draws research conclusions on the basis of ancient Russian morals (preaching). However, these morals were compiled by the Old Russian scribes who were centuries apart from the time of the baptism of Russia, received a pro-Greek education in a monastic environment and strictly adhered to Byzantine rhetorical patterns. One example is the well-known Word (Slovo) about Idols. As a result, these morals, from the author’s point of view, cannot give a real picture of Slavic paganism. The author shows the reasons for the emergence of false pseudo-historical literary myths about Slavic paganism in the Laurentian Codex and the Legend of the Construction of the City of Yaroslavl. He believes that the modern neopagan identity, actively planted not only by marginals, but also by representatives of the cultural and educational community, relies in reality on literary myths generated by carriers of the non-Russian identity of the past.