The Russian World

Convened in Moscow in the two symbolic places par excellence - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Kremlin's Congress Hall - the "Sobor" became a celebration of a "multinational people," which in every way opposes the disintegration of the state, and defends its greatness beyond all borders.

Remembered with great passion in Ukraine and deep resentment in Russia, the “Revolution of Dignity” has brought into play not only the geopolitical and economic interests of the Ukrainian people and of the various parts of the "Russian world", but above all their deepest moral and spiritual interests that transcend the ideological.

Doubts are growing in the country as to the real existence of the president, who is given up for dead or replaced so much so as to be nicknamed 'the refrigerator man'. The supreme leader is an almost anonymous and impersonal expression. Kirill embodies the celebratory role, but power is in the hands of the obscure Secretary of the Security Council who speaks of the 'tsar Putin' in the past tense.

Hostility towards the West tickles the aggressive side of the Russian character, and most Russians take the bait of provocation, especially if Jews are involved. But the paradox is that Russia, because of its history and culture, is inextricably linked to the destiny of the Jewish people, as shown by a musical parody on the net.

The dramatic events of the Gaza-Israel conflict are also having repercussions in Russia, where today the People's Unity Day is being celebrated in memory of the victory over the Poles in 1612. On this occasion, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow approached St Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most representative saints of the Russian identity, which today is experiencing a renewed need for self-awareness, the Russian samobynost so often evoked also by Putin.

On 25 October, the supreme leader of "All the Russias" convened two groups to address and solve the problems of the entire world. The first meeting brought together military officials and nuclear weapons specialists. After this, he joined religious leaders, who had patiently waited for him in the most solemn halls of the Kremlin.

Kirill's appeal to all the heads of the Orthodox Churches against the ban on Russian jurisdiction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine sanctioned by the Kiev parliament has gone unanswered. While the sending of Metropolitan Tikhon to Crimea, the most contested front line, many are wondering whether this is yet another punishment or a possible ecclesiastic and political exaltation.

The "piecemeal world war" evoked for years by Pope Francis is indeed turning into an increasingly global confrontation. Russia sees in this, the realisation of its "mission" to challenge the domination of the "collective" West. Solzhenitsyn's words about the troubled relationship between Russians and Jews come to mind.

The president gave a new keynote address to the plenary of the 20th Club Valdaj, one of the 'ideological' venues. To 'intellectuals' the invitation to build a 'new world'. The evocation of the axis with China, the Arab world and India against the West, whose support for Ukraine is becoming uncertain. The 'synodality' (sobornost) that sums up Putin's justifications for the conflict.

Russia's problem is the uncertainty of its position, an unresolved fluidity between East and West, North and South. It is unable to find a true unity, as evinced by its institutions, but also as seen in the diatribes among Soviet dissidents of old and today's pacifists.

Kadirov's illness and Azerbaijani Aliev's coup sweeping away the Armenian enclave dominated the week. While Baku makes Europe weigh the strength it has acquired at Moscow's expense in the gas market, the Kremlin leaves it at that, accusing the Armenians of having flirted too much with the West. Russia is trying not to lose the Caucasus, its 'Middle Eastern side' as well as Ukraine.

The leader of the Kremlin welcomed the dictator of Pyongyang to discuss low-level weapons and technology. Xi Jinping kept himself far from the two "thugs" while the Russian president used "underworld" jargon in the meeting. Patriarch Kirill renewed his "material and spiritual" support for the holy war.