Russian Orthodoxy and Nationalism

Abstract

The temptations of extremism were not countered by the revival of institutionalised religion. Historically, Orthodoxy played an important role in forming and preserving Russian national consciousness: it embodied Russian culture during the Mongol domination and, from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century, Orthodoxy was fundamental to the Russian’s sense of identity and statehood.1 In the light of this heritage, it might have been expected to play an influential and beneficial role in inspiring the new Russian nationalism, which emerged with the decline of Soviet power. However, it failed to do so and the reasons for this are to be found in the history of its relations with the state and society and the problems it faced in the post-Soviet period. These resulted in religion’s having a weak moral influence: instead, attempts were made to capture the authority of Orthodoxy and harness it to narrow political ends.KeywordsAuthoritarian RuleRussian StateRussian CultureRussian PeopleRitual MurderThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.