The feeling of Russian revanchist exclusivism, supported by both political elites and the citizens, is the main cause of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, expert Igor Boţan stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. According to him, the Russian Patriarchate supports this barbaric aggression, calling the war in Ukraine a “holy war”.
The expert noted that the war in Ukraine was a predictable one, after Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly spoke about Ukraine as a danger to the Russian Federation. In addition, Putin unequivocally expressed his imperialist ambitions.
“The war waged by Russia against Ukraine is an absolute evil. The motivation behind the outbreak of this war seems to me to be devoid of any basis, common sense. The feeling of Russia’s revanchist exclusivism is the root cause of this war. And it does not go only to the Russian elites, but also to the citizens who, according to opinion polls, support this war. The most important point of the outbreak of this war is the famous article signed by President Vladimir Putin - “Ukraine as anti-Russia” - in which Putin, treating the historical events in retrospect, demonstrates that Ukraine is an existential danger to the Russian Federation and then the wiser minds had and insight and announced that we are on the verge of a war. Before the war, the Russian Federation tried to justify itself, saying that it advocated a new world order. Strange thing for many people, since Russia was one of the architects of world order after World War II. Now Russia claims that it wants a new world order, the transition to a multipolar world,” said Igor Boțan.
According to the expert, the Russian Orthodox Church is used by the Kremlin to justify the military aggression and strengthen the spirit of sacrifice of the Russian people.
“The worst thing is that in this war, the religious factor is also involved in justifying these aggressive activities. The Russian Orthodox Church is a church that borrowed Byzantine values when the king’s power brought the Church under control. Peter the Great abolished the Patriarchate and the Synod appeared, then the Church became a tool in the hands of the Tsar, who contributed greatly to the imperialist expansion of Russia - something that we now find in the policy pursued by the Russian Patriarchate. Patriarch Kirill says that Russia has never waged any aggressive war. It has not occupied anyone. It has only liberated. But what about the wars in the Caucasus, which lasted for almost 50 years? What about the wars of conquest of Central Asia? But what was the war in Afghanistan?”, asked Igor Boțan.
He expressed his bewilderment at the “hallucinating” statement made by the Russian Patriarchate, which called the invasion of Ukraine a “holy war”. In March 2024, the participants in the Russian People’s Council chaired by Patriarch Kirill adopted an “order” in which they described the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “holy war” through which Moscow defends the world from the “West fallen into Satanism”.
“On March 27 this year, Patriarch Kirill declared Russia’s war against Ukraine a holy war. A question arises, if the Russian Orthodox Church did not remain an instrument of Russian imperialism. What kind of holy war is waged by mercenaries? Mercenaries who sign a contract and have a bonus of 2 million rubles, an unimaginable amount for the ordinary people of Russia,” said the permanent expert of IPN’s project.
The public debate entitled “War, Religion and Church” was the 315th installment of the project “Developing political culture through public debates”. IPN Agency implements the project with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
