A “Holy Rus” no espaço pós-soviético: um fator de desunião em torno do “Russkiy Mir”

Abstract

Vladimir Putin has taken up a religious discourse around the "Russkiy Mir" that defends the existence of a supposed identity-based, cultural and political unity in the post-Soviet space. By cultivating internal and external co-operation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the Russian state presented itself as a guarantor and defender of traditional spiritual values. This article argues that while the sharing of religious values in the post-Soviet space is important, they are not a sufficient condition to enable a union around “Russkiy Mir” given that 1) the “spirituality” that the Church and political elites advocate does not reflect individual religiosity, but rather cultural proximity; 2) the relationship between the ROC and the national churches has shown signs of conflict; and 3) the concept of “Russkiy Mir” has come very close to the concept of “Holy Rus”, a project of transnational society that advocates a new way of making sense of identity in the Soviet space, where Russia, Belarus and Ukraine would form its core, and which has acquired irredentist meanings.

Keywords

• Russian Orthodox Church
• post-Soviet space
• Russian Federation