Religion in Russian politics

Putin's new national policy strategy also addresses the issue of religion, further strengthening the role of the Orthodox Church. It places extremist terrorism and “Russophobia” in interethnic and interreligious relations on the same level as “threats”.

With the confirmation of President Vladimir Putin, Russia's new national policy strategy has been approved until 2036, the year in which his last presidential term is due to end, at the age of 84, barring further extensions.

In the area of possible threats to be prevented, there is also mention of the religious issue, which has been very much present in “national strategies” for over a decade, at the insistence of the Russian Orthodox Church itself, which wants to emphasise its crucial role as “the embodiment and expression of the soul of the Russian people”.

The official strategy highlights the goals, principles and priorities of the Federation's policy to ensure security at all national and regional levels. The new document emphasises the changes in the “current state of inter-ethnic relations within the Russian Federation”, referring to the previous definition of Russia as “one of the world's leading multi-ethnic states”, which is now supplemented by the concept that “national policy is based on the historical experience of the establishment and development of Russia as a civilising state samobytnoe”, i.e. “by virtue of its identity”, introducing one of the most specific terms of the 19th-century Slavophile movement.

This is linked to the statement on the unifying role of the “Russian people as the founders of the state”, an expression that in the classical texts of Russian culture is directly linked to the action of the Orthodox Church, and which in 2020 was included in Putin's new constitution in less explicit terms.

The previous formulation of the “strategy” also referred to the “systematic connecting role” of the Russian people in relation to other peoples. It is emphasised that, according to the latest censuses, there are over 190 different ethnic groups in Russia, with Russians constituting an absolute majority (80.85%).

In the context of ongoing conflicts, the document presents “threats to national security” in much greater detail, starting with “actions taken by unfriendly states to destabilise inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, to disrupt Russian society and destroy its internal unity”.

Among these dangers, it highlights the attempt by people who have obtained Russian citizenship to “spread ideologies of terrorism, extremism and neo-Nazism, Russophobic mentality, radical ideas based on specific national and religious positions”, combining Western and Eastern influences, including from a religious point of view.

It condemns the ‘growing Russophobia in the international arena, the discrediting of the Russian language and culture’, threats clearly linked to Ukraine, but also conflicting with ‘the traditional religions of Russia, distorting historical truth and erasing the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War and other important events in Russian history, and the roles of the peoples of Russia in these events’. It denounces the “inappropriate” concentration of particular ethnic groups in certain territories, linked to “externally inspired” migration processes.

The aim of the new strategy is “to strengthen the unity of the multi-ethnic people of the Russian Federation and the common Russian identity, while maintaining ethno-cultural, linguistic and religious diversity for the integral development and social stability of the nation”.

There is no longer any mention of “democratic institutions” or “guaranteeing equal rights and freedoms for individuals”, excluding the formation of political parties linked to “race, ethnicity or religious affiliation”.

Political scientist Vadim Trukhačev, along with other experts, observes that with this approach, it would have been necessary to include an explicit list of the native peoples of Russia, while only some of the smaller peoples are highlighted, excluding the much more significant ones linked to the territories of Central Asia. Russian identity is therefore defended with ever-increasing isolation, blessed by the exclusive authority of the Orthodox Church.