Source: PostPravda.info 18.08.2025.
URL: https://postpravda.info/en/stories/freedom-of-speech-en/kremlins-quasi-religion/
URL: https://postpravda.info/en/stories/freedom-of-speech-en/kremlins-quasi-religion/
A new quasi-religion for traditional faiths in Russia. Photo: duma.gov.ru
The Kremlin demands unconditional loyalty from all religious denominations, including those it systematically persecutes. In 2014, during Russia’s invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin was still satisfied with declarations of political neutrality from Russian religious organizations, provided they did not speak out in support of Ukraine or their Ukrainian co-believers. However, after the start of the full-scale war, the Kremlin demanded more – namely, religious justification for the war against Ukraine. On March 29, 2022, in the building of the State Duma, representatives of various confessions jointly formulated the foundations of a new doctrine – Manichaean necro-imperialism. Its essence lies in the idea that Russia must once again become a great empire in order to destroy the “evil” embodied by the West and Ukraine. This new quasi-religion is incompatible with genuine religiosity, regardless of denomination.
Discrimination and Repression Against Religious Organizations in Russia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an unprecedented level of religious freedom in its history. However, after Vladimir Putin came to power, the concept of the “traditional religions of Russia” began to be imposed, within which all other confessions were regarded as inferior and subjected to discrimination – initially subtle, but increasingly severe with each passing year.
The war in Chechnya also provoked repression against Muslims, despite the fact that Islam is considered one of the “traditional” religions. For career and material gain – promotions and bonuses – FSB officers began searching for “extremists” in other regions as well. As a result, the list of extremist materials banned in Russia came to include works by Muslim theologians and philosophers studied around the world. Even one translation of the Qur’an was banned.
Moreover, adding any “non-traditional” denomination to the list of extremist organizations provided Russian security services with an easy way to improve their “performance” statistics. In 2011, the prosecutor’s office, at the initiative of the FSB, initiated a trial against a sacred Hindu text – the Bhagavad Gita with commentary by the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Srila Prabhupada. Had the court declared the book extremist, practicing Krishna devotion in Russia would have become a criminal offense punishable by a long prison sentence. Thanks to protests by civil society in Tomsk and support from India, these plans were thwarted, delaying – but not preventing – the escalation of religious repression.
In 2016, amendments to legislation (the so-called “Yarovaya package”) were adopted, restricting the public dissemination of religious beliefs, tightening penalties, and expanding the powers of security services. In 2017, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist organization, and their followers began to be sentenced to imprisonment. Harsh sentences (7–8.5 years) have become routine since 2021. A similar threat has loomed over other religious organizations labeled as “non-traditional.”
To Tell the Truth or Adapt?
While Ukrainian Pentecostals enjoy full religious freedom, their fellow believers in Russia have been forced to constantly look over their shoulders at the authorities’ attitude toward them. One might expect this to encourage a more critical view of Russian policy.
In 2014, church leaders of Ukrainian and Russian Pentecostal communities held a series of meetings to develop a common position regarding Russia’s invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Pentecostals proceeded from the belief that the Church should be a herald of truth and has a duty to speak openly about the suffering caused by Russian aggression. In response, Russian Pentecostals stated that they were “outside politics” and “love everyone,” and therefore saw no need to discuss the war or the actions of the Russian authorities – not only publicly, but even in private conversations. Soon, both sides became convinced of the futility of such meetings, and communication between Ukrainian and Russian Pentecostals ceased. A similar process took place among followers of other religions.
A New Quasi-Religion: Washington as the Lair of Satan, and “We Will Become a Great Empire!”
With the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities were no longer satisfied with the “neutrality” of religious organizations and demanded not just support, but religious justification for the war against Ukraine. To this end, on March 29, 2022, representatives of various religions gathered in the State Duma of the Russian Federation for a roundtable titled “World Religions Against the Ideology of Nazism and Fascism in the 21st Century.” The participants were expected to formulate a common religious position justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Among the participants in the roundtable were:
– Vakhtang Kipshidze, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and Media of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church;
– Metropolitan Korniliy of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church;
– Albir Krganov, Head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia;
– Talgat Tadzhuddin, Supreme Mufti and Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia;
– Aaron Gurevich, Head of the Department of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia for Cooperation with the Armed Forces, EMERCOM, and Law Enforcement Agencies;
– Did Khambo Lama Dashinima Sodnomdorzhiev, representative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia;
– Archbishop Yezras, Head of the Russian and New Nakhichevan Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church;
– Sergey Ryakhovsky, Presiding Bishop of the Russian United Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals);
– and other members of Russian religious organizations.
At the time, the media wrote extensively about this event but underestimated its historical significance. For the first time, representatives of different religions in Russia jointly engaged in shaping a unified religious stance on the war against Ukraine. Each participant contributed to formulating the core tenets of a new quasi-religion – Manichaean necro-imperialism.
Note. Manichaeism, like Gnosticism, is an ancient doctrine according to which the material world is evil. The difference between them lies in the fact that a follower of Gnosticism is passive and indifferent to what is happening around them, whereas a follower of Manichaeism is oriented toward active struggle against the external world. Gnosticism holds that the material world was created by an “evil god,” and therefore life and struggle are meaningless. Manichaeism, by contrast, asserts that the “evil god” invaded the realm of the “good god,” and therefore true adherents of the good must fight to cleanse the world of evil. Bolshevik ideology is, in essence, an atheistic transformation of Manichaeism, since it proceeds from the idea that the old world must be purged of evil through class struggle.
The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Albir Krganov, stated that in the 21st century the ideology of Nazism and fascism has intensified in a number of countries, manifesting itself in violence against civilians.
Monk Kiprian declared that Washington is the lair of the devil, that God is on the side not of the West but of Russia, and that, therefore, victory will belong to Russia. He added that Russia is an instrument in God’s hands, destined to stop the spread across the Earth of abominations before the Lord – everything immoral emanating from the United States.
Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department Vakhtang Kipshidze argued that, with the support of the Constantinople Patriarchate and the United States, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was created – a “quasi-religious structure” that united schismatics sharing a commitment to extreme nationalism. In turn, the Russian Orthodox Church assists Russian military forces.
Metropolitan Korniliy of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church claimed that the authorities in Ukraine have allegedly renounced God; that the ideas of Nazism are widespread in Ukraine and in European countries and have received state-level support, which has led to genocide – the alleged extermination of Russians in Donbas and Luhansk; that Ukraine is waging war against civilians and using them as a shield; and that “Nazi authorities,” supported by the tolerant West, trample all norms of Christian morality. He urged people to pray for the soldiers, especially for Putin, and concluded his speech by stating: “We will be a great nation; we will be a great empire.”
It is worth noting that when the moderator of the roundtable pressed a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate from Luhansk to confirm “Nazi atrocities,” she heard nothing beyond an account of the charitable activities of the Luhansk diocese.
Lama Dashinima Sodnomdorzhiev – the only participant whom the moderator asked to keep his remarks very brief – showed no offense and called for unity against fascism and Nazism, and for defeating and destroying this evil so that others would not dare to repeat it.
The representative of Jewish communities, Aaron Gurevich, spoke about Nazism in general terms, occasionally gesturing toward the West.
The Presiding Bishop of the Russian United Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), Sergey Ryakhovsky, stated that he is driven by love – but a kind of love that “destroys evil” – and emphasized how important it was that Putin had invoked words from the Bible to justify the military invasion of Ukraine, since there was no other way to defend the truth.
The Supreme Mufti and Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Talgat Tadzhuddin, called for fighting the devil without being deceived by slogans about democracy and civilization, as had happened in Syria and was now occurring in Ukraine. He expressed satisfaction that Russian troops were positioned around Kyiv and that Ukraine’s naval, air defense, and missile forces had been “destroyed.” He also stated that on the very first day – February 24 – the Council of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia adopted a declaration fully supporting the military actions against Ukraine. He further emphasized their significance from a religious perspective: Putin is a ruler, and the ruler is the shadow of God on earth; therefore, in the war against Ukraine, the Almighty grants Putin inexhaustible strength.
Salah Mitaevich Mezhiev reported that the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Chechen Republic supported the military operation “against Nazism, fascism, and Satanism in Ukraine” on the second day and issued a fatwa according to which Muslims participating in the war against Ukraine are fighting for the Qur’an and for the Prophet Muhammad. He declared that the war with Ukraine is a jihad and that anyone who falls will be a shahid (martyr); that it is a war against the globalization of Satanism; and that Ukraine and European countries are dominated by Satanists, devils, Nazis, fascists, the LGBT community, Kharijites, and Wahhabis, toward whom he feels only hatred. He also reproached other participants in the roundtable for calling for love. “There is only one way to deal with them – they must be beheaded, and that’s all,” he concluded.
Archpriest Alexander Alexandrovich Pelin from St. Petersburg stated that Ukraine is not Christian but pagan. He supported this claim by asserting that the Ukrainian coat of arms – the trident of Prince Volodymyr – is a pagan symbol, namely the falcon of Rarog, a false god in Scandinavian mythology, which allegedly became established under the influence of Austria-Hungary in the 19th century. Therefore, he argued, Russian Christians are now fighting not Ukrainian Christians but pagans.
Ismail Berdiev, Chairman of the Coordination Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus, stated that no negotiations should be conducted with Ukrainians. Even if they agreed to capitulate, he said, this should not be accepted; instead, they should be destroyed completely. “There should be no Ukraine,” he declared.
Later, in June 2022, Sergey Ryakhovsky made it clear that neither he nor his church would take any action in response to the appeal of Ukrainian Protestant churches to repent for their statements at this roundtable and to condemn Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. He stated that the appeal of his Ukrainian co-believers had been made in the spirit of “Russophobia,” allegedly spreading around the world.
Archpriest Alexander Alexandrovich Pelin from St. Petersburg stated that Ukraine is not Christian but pagan. He supported this claim by asserting that the Ukrainian coat of arms – the trident of Prince Volodymyr – is a pagan symbol, namely the falcon of Rarog, a false god in Scandinavian mythology, which allegedly became established under the influence of Austria-Hungary in the 19th century. Therefore, he argued, Russian Christians are now fighting not Ukrainian Christians but pagans.
Ismail Berdiev, Chairman of the Coordination Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus, stated that no negotiations should be conducted with Ukrainians. Even if they agreed to capitulate, he said, this should not be accepted; instead, they should be destroyed completely. “There should be no Ukraine,” he declared.
Later, in June 2022, Sergey Ryakhovsky made it clear that neither he nor his church would take any action in response to the appeal of Ukrainian Protestant churches to repent for their statements at this roundtable and to condemn Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. He stated that the appeal of his Ukrainian co-believers had been made in the spirit of “Russophobia,” allegedly spreading around the world.
Why Does the Kremlin Need the Support of Religious Communities?
At the time of the invasion, the Kremlin fully controlled public opinion and the situation within the country, yet it still demanded that religious denominations abandon their “neutrality,” which had previously sufficed. Putin and his inner circle appear to hold a dualistic worldview: the world is divided into “us” and “enemies,” who must be destroyed not for the sake of gain, but simply because they are enemies – even if this requires sacrifices and leads to crisis within their own country.
From a pragmatic point of view, this is meaningless; that is why Western politicians tried to reach agreements with Putin by appealing to his self-interest. However, the motivation of the Russian authorities is irrational, and in order to legitimize it, they have demanded that religious denominations provide a religious justification for the war against Ukraine.
Although the participants in the roundtable differed in the details, the general contours of their position can be identified:
– Ukraine has no right to exist independently of Russia;
– God is on Russia’s side in the war against Ukraine;
– religious communities must support this war;
– this is a war against Western civilization, which embodies evil – Nazism, Satanism, immorality, and the rejection of “traditional values.”
These theses reveal the outlines of a new doctrine deeply hostile not only to the West and Ukraine but also to the very religions on whose behalf the participants in the roundtable spoke. This doctrine is a revived form of Manichaeism based on Russian necro-imperialism – in other words, Manichaean necro-imperialism.
Manichaean Necro-Imperialism and Gnostic Fatalism
The Russian authorities need both those who justify the war and those who are ready to go and die. What is at stake here is not so much belief as an attitude toward life, and the authorities are interested in soldiers obediently going to certain death, believing that life has no meaning. This attitude toward life is embodied in Gnostic fatalism. But in order for ordinary people to support the killing of their friends and relatives in a neighboring country, they are persuaded that they are surrounded by enemies – and this attitude is embodied in Manichaean necro-imperialism.
Under the conditions of life in Russia, Gnostic fatalism forms spontaneously – no additional effort by the authorities is required. Of course, Russian soldiers who obediently accept dying senselessly are unlikely to believe in the existence of an “evil god,” as ancient Gnosticism teaches; however, they spontaneously reproduce the ancient Gnostic attitude toward life: if everything is meaningless, then there are no moral constraints, and no life – neither another’s nor one’s own – has value. Unlike Gnosticism, Manichaeism provides motivation to struggle against the surrounding world, onto which the image of the enemy is projected. Since such projection occurs spontaneously, the Russian authorities have needed the assistance of religious organizations to channel this process into hatred toward the West. This is precisely why the roundtable of March 29, 2022, was held.
But why would Russian adherents of different religions support this quasi-religion? The motivation here may be quite down-to-earth. Religious organizations seek to adapt to the conditions of life in Russia, to protect themselves by demonstrating their loyalty and usefulness to the authorities. At first glance, this seems paradoxical: in doing so, they place a social task above their spiritual mission. After all, if a religion abandons its higher purpose for the sake of survival, it loses the very meaning of its existence. There is, however, another possible reason – the Stockholm syndrome. But that is a topic for a separate discussion.
