RUSSIAN CIVILIZATION: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORTHODOX ISOLATION AND TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The article is devoted to analysing the influence of Eastern orthodox isolationism on technological development of Russia. Russia was an isolated orthodox civilization and according to S. Huntington, there were civilizational splits along its borders. These were zones of constant wars between civilizations. The Orthodox Church preached religious messianism; the Orthodox Christians considered representatives of other religions to be “unholy”, strayed away from communicating with them and avoided borrowing anything from “the unholy". The Mongol invasion led to the loss of many technologies borrowed from Byzantium in the previous period; in particular, the brick building technology was lost. Although the Golden Horde constructed buildings of bricks and used cast iron and gunpowder, the Russians did not adopt these advances. This resulted in the fact that having passed the Russian grounds, metallurgical and gunpowder technologies reached Europe, and it was Europe from where they came to Russia approximately two centuries later.

Keywords

• orthodoxy
• cultural isolationism
• technical development
• technology transfer
• western experts in russia