KDAiS lecturer: "Russian World" is a political concept

Professor Volodymyr Bureha. Photo: UOC

Volodymyr Bureha, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Theological Work at the Kyiv Theological Academy (KDA), presented a report titled "The Genesis of the 'Russian World' Ideology at the Turn of the 20th-21st Centuries and its Main Features," reports the press service of the UOC.

In his report, Professor Bureha noted that a special resolution is expected to be adopted soon by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers. This resolution will regulate "the procedure for reviewing cases concerning the use of religious organizations to promote the 'Russian World' ideology." As Bureha emphasizes, "the procedure for banning a religious organization for promoting the 'Russian World' ideology will differ from the procedure for banning one affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate." Therefore, he believes it is essential to understand what this term entails.

In his report, the professor traced the evolution of the "Russian World" idea and showed how this concept, which emerged in liberal circles in the 1990s, gradually became one of the ideological justifications for Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

According to Bureha, in the political context, the concept of the "Russian World" was originally used to create a positive image for Russian-speaking communities outside of Russia. In 1998, this concept was employed to prevent Russia's cultural isolation. Later, the "Russian World" came to refer to a network of communities united by a common language and culture. This became a significant marker that the Russian government used to justify its geopolitical interests in the "near abroad". "Where there are people who speak Russian and respect Russian culture, there is the 'Russian World', and thus Russia has geopolitical interests there," Bureha explains.

By 2008, the term "Russian World" had firmly established itself in Russian politics, becoming part of the state discourse. It was used not only by philosophers and PR specialists but also by top state officials.

The professor noted that Patriarch Kirill began using this term, but for him, the main marker of the "Russian World" is not language or culture but Orthodox faith. According to the head of the ROC Primate, the "Russian World" exists wherever the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate extends. Furthermore, the patriarch believes that modern Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples form a single people of the "Russian World".

Bureha also emphasized that, according to this logic, the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is impossible for the ROC since "the foundation of the Russian World is the Orthodox faith, received in the baptismal font of Kyiv", meaning Kyiv is an integral part of the "Russian World".

After the annexation of the Crimea and the war in Donbas in 2014, the concept of the "Russian World" was used as an ideological justification for Russia's interference in Ukraine's internal affairs. Patriarch Kirill employed the doctrine to justify aggression, claiming that the conflict with Ukraine was a civilizational struggle between the "Russian World" and Western elites.

Professor Bureha stressed that the idea of the "Russian World" is not part of church doctrine. It does not involve teachings about God and His relationship with the world and humanity. "And although Patriarch Kirill tried to imbue this ideology with elements of church doctrine, it is clear that the concept of the 'Russian World' has a completely different nature," Bureha said, adding that the ideology of the "Russian World" has become a form of civic religion, far removed from the divinely revealed teachings.

Thus, Professor Bureha concludes that, today, the "Russian World" ideology is used both by the Russian state and the Moscow Patriarchate to justify military aggression against Ukraine.

As reported by the UOJ, the UOC does not support and dissociates itself from the "Russian World" ideology. Moreover, the UOC’s position has been publicly expressed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine: "We are not building any Russian world; we are building God’s world."

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