Putin's Holy War And The Disintegration Of The "Russian World"

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Dugin's vision of “Holy Russia”, which is shared with the Russian Orthodox Church, sees Russia's mission as being to expand its influence and authority until it dominates the Eurasian landmass by means of a strong, centralized Russian state aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, championing “traditional” social values over against the cultural corruption of a libertine West. The partnership between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has been aimed not only at articulating this sacralized view of Russian national identity to the domestic audience, but also in advancing the mission of the Russian nation abroad. The manner in which the Russian state and the Church has been cooperating, however, is undermining their jointly-stated goal of building a “Russian world” that dominates Eurasia under Moscow's benign imperial oversight.