Diffuse Concept
The Russian Orthodox Church and the “Russian World”
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In Russia, the idea of a specific Russian civilization has been propagated for several years. The concept of the “Russian world” is vague, and many of its oft-cited elements contradict one other. This also applies to the variant of the concept espoused by the Russian Orthodox Church. On the one hand, Russian culture and the Russian language are to provide cohesion. On the other hand, the church distances itself explicitly from an understanding of the “Russian world” constricted by nationality. The contradictions also have to do with the fact that while the church seeks proximity to the state, it at the same time wants to maintain its independence and tries not to act as the Kremlin’s proxy.
(Osteuropa 3/2016, pp. 3–18)