scholarly journals Paavo Kontkanen and his Role in Normalization of Relations between the Russian and Finnish Orthodox Churches

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1107-1123
Author(s):  
Siluan Nikitin, episcopus ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Church History ◽  
The State ◽  
Active Member ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Status ◽  
State Archives ◽  
The Church

The interrelations of the Russian and Finnish Orthodox Churches in the 20th century are dramatic and poorly studied by Russian historians. This article, on the basis of materials from the State Archives of the Russian Federation and studies into church history translated from Finnish, attempts to evaluate the role of Dr. Paavo Kontkanen, an active member of the Finnish Archdiocese, in the relations between these two Churches. He exemplified a change in the attitude of the National Orthodox Church of Finland towards the Russian Church, historically kyriarchal, in the second half of the previous century. Dr. Paavo Kontkanen, being for a long time a member of the collegiate administrative body of the Finnish Archdiocese, the Church Administrative Council, with permission from Archbishop Herman (Aav) started negotiations with the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church on a private level. Having archieved understanding with the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations, Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich), Kontkanen considered the possibility of reunification of the Finnish Church and the Russian Church only for a short period, before receiving the status of Autocephalous Local Church from Moscow. Kontkanen’s actions enable to regard him as a conductor of Finland’s ecclesiastical interests aimed at rapprochement with the Soviet Union. It can be proved by Kontkanen’s close contacts with the President of Finland, Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, and his ability to defend interests of the “pro-Russian” part of the clergy and the Finnish Orthodox Church in the face of the state and the Church Council.

scholarly journals Ruská pravoslavná církev a ochrana křesťanů jako směr zahraniční politiky

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-38
Author(s):  
Maria Avanesova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Church

The Russian Orthodox Church has become a significant actor in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. This text is dedicated to its role in Russiaʼs foreign policy, specifically to the topic of the Russian interest in problems and protection of Christians, which is one of the most essential parts of the cooperation between the state and the Church. Analyzing primary sources (state and Church documents), the author shows when and under what circumstances this topic became relevant to both actors, what role the Russian Orthodox Church played in this regard and how the topic of protecting Christians is used by the Russian regime today. The study shows that the interest in protection of Christians did not arise simultaneously on both sides and that it is connected mainly with situations where a threat for Christians is posed by unfriendly actors.

The Social and Political Role of the Orthodox Church in Post-Communist Russia

1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Paul Valliere
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Security Network ◽  
Cultural Roles ◽  
The Church

The political role of the Orthodox Church in post-communist Russia is more difficult to assess than its social and cultural roles for several reasons. First, to offer any systematic observations on the matter one must attempt to construe the nature of the church-state relationship in Russia, a notoriously controversial subject. Second, one must make an educated guess concerning the part played by the huge internal security apparatus which only yesterday dominated the internal affairs of the Soviet Union, including religious affairs. The security establishment has been dislodged from its hegemonic role in the Soviet state as a result of the Gorbachev reforms, but there is little question that it continues to exist as a political force in the country. Reading the aims of this network is no easy matter, however, because by definition it operates in relative secrecy and by means of diversionary tactics. One also has to reckon with the possibility that the security network has been disrupted by the changes of recent years, and operates with less coordination than in the past.

Reconstructing the ‘Sacred Canopy’: Mother Serafima and Novodevichy Monastery

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-271
Author(s):  
WALLACE L. DANIEL
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Monastic Life ◽  
Sacred Canopy ◽  
The Church

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Orthodox Church and the Russian government have sought to restore monasteries, viewing them as key institutions in the regeneration of religion. Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow has historically been one of Russia's most important religious centres and its most famous monastery for women. Returned to the Church in 1994, Novodevichy was administered by Mother Serafima, a remarkable woman whose life covered most of the twentieth century. In reconstructing monastic life, she placed charity at the centre of her endeavours. In her struggles and her efforts to rebuild the ‘sacred canopy’ at Novodevichy is depicted, in microcosmic form, Russia's own quest to recover its heritage and redefine its identity.

The Depiction of ‘Orthodoxy’ in Post-Soviet Space: How Vladimir Putin Uses the Church in His Anti-Western Campaign

2021 ◽  
pp. 097359842110351
Author(s):  
Punsara Amarasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Eastern Christianity ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Status ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
Spiritual Legacy

This article seeks to examine Russia’s recent interest in uplifting the status of Orthodox church as a pivotal factor in the state. Most importantly, the position of Orthodox Church has grown rapidly during Putin’s administration as a solacing factor to fill the gap emerging from the fall of the Soviet Union. The sixteenth-century doctrine propounded by Filofei called ‘Third Rome’, which profoundly portrayed Moscow as the last sanctuary for Eastern Christianity and the nineteenth-century nationalist mantra of ‘Orthodoxy, Nationality, and Autocracy’, is rejuvenated under Putin as the new ideological path to move away from the Western influence. Specifically, it is an evident factor that ideological movement that rigidly denies Russia’s hobnobbing with the Liberal West is rather intensified after the Crimean crisis in 2014. Under this situation, Putin’s usage of Orthodoxy and Russia’s spiritual legacy stands as a direct political tool, expressing Russia’s uniqueness of the global affairs. This article will critically examine the historical trajectory of the Orthodox Church in Russia as an indicator of its distinctiveness.

The enemy in the communist political system – example of the Polish People’s Republic 1956–1989/ Kategoria wroga w komunistycznej Polsce w latach 1956–1989

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Trembicka
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political System ◽  
The State ◽  
Military Organizations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Inherent Feature ◽  
Communist Movement ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Type ◽  
Second Category

AbstractCategory of enemy presented in the program documents of the communist parties, was an inherent feature of the communist way of thinking, then reflected in the political system of the People’s Poland. Political regimes modeled on the Soviet Union needed enemies. Mobilization, which in the first phase of development of the state served reconstruction of the country, and then defend the status quo, required activation against all kinds of enemies. It was evident the need for the existence of the enemy, which was permanent. Changed only the image of the enemy.Enemies were sought inside and outside the communist movement. Communist world was composed mainly of enemies. The enemy was necessary, even mythical. Fight against real or mythical enemies allowed to pursue various goals: differentiate society, to explain various failures, eliminate inconvenient persons, to justify the existence of the security services and the need to strengthen it, to build a party of a new type.The communist movement had created two categories of enemies. The first included the kind of traditional, “class” enemies of the communist movement, “acquired” along with the state in 1944, and treated as a real enemies, which were various types of: 1) social groups as a “capitalist elements” - traders, farmers; 2) political and military organizations and institutions; 3) ideologies and doctrines competitive with Marxism. The U.S. and English imperialism was the constant enemy which was located outside of the state. The second category consisted of enemies which were created in Polish People’s Republic - “objective” and “potential” enemies.

‘Deus Vult!’ The Idea of Crusading in Finnish Clerical War Rhetoric, 1941–1944

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-385
Author(s):  
Jouni Tilli
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
Lutheran Church ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
War Rhetoric ◽  
Winter War ◽  
The Church

Finland’s Winter War (1939–40) against the Soviet Union had been defensive, but the so-called Continuation War that broke out in June 1941 was not. This offensive operation in alliance with Nazi Germany demanded a thorough justification. The Lutheran clergy were important in legitimizing the war because the priests were de jure officials of the state, as well as of the church. Also, nearly 96 per cent of Finns belonged to the Lutheran Church. This article analyses how the Lutheran clergy used crusading imagery in the Continuation War, 1941–4, strategically shifting the emphasis as the war progressed.

scholarly journals Stalin's Hollow Cross-the Russian Orthodox Church as a Tool of Soviet Foreign Policy

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-40
Author(s):  
Jordan Hupka
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
World War ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Church

It has been said that the Second World War saved the Russian Orthodox Church from extermination. Ever since the Revolution of 1917, the religious peoples of Russia were constantly persecuted by Soviet ideologists and politicians. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, in 1941, it seemed that the days of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest religious institution in the Soviet Union, were numbered. However, the unique climate of the Second World War forced the Soviet government to end its war against the church. The Kremlin soon saw the Church as a useful tool to help aid in the re- occupation of Eastern Europe.

scholarly journals Kampaņa pret abstrakcionismu un formālismu 1963. gadā. Latvijas Padomju rakstnieku savienības valdes nostāja

Letonica ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Madara Eversone
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
The State ◽  
Socialist Republic ◽  
Soviet Socialist Republic ◽  
Local Organization ◽  
Nikita Khrushchev ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
State Archives

Between 1962 and 1963 the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev launched several campaigns against abstractionists and formalists in Moscow, thus marking the end of the so-called Thaw throughout the Soviet Union. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia also started a campaign against national abstractionists and formalists. On the 22nd and 28th of March 1963 the works of the new poets Vizma Belševica, Monta Kroma, Ojārs Vācietis as well as writer Ēvalds Vilks came under the criticism cross-fire at the Intelligentsia Meeting of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the criticism from the Communist Party the above mentioned authors also had to be discussed at the Board meetings of the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union and the local organization meetings of the Party. The article examines the attitude of the Board of Soviet Writers’ Union towards the campaign initiated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia in March 1963 by looking at the documents of the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union and the Union’s local organization of the Communist Party that are available at the State Archives of Latvia. Crucial and artistic aspects of the works of the above-mentioned authors have not been included in the analysis. Examining the debates that evolved in the Writers’ Union within the ideological campaign, it is possible to state that the Board, which was loyal to the Communist Party, kept its official stance in line with the Party principles, hereafter paying special attention to the ideologically artistic achievements of particular authors. Generally, the position of the Board of the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union in respect to the criticized authors can be evaluated as passive, because no repressions were carried out against the new authors and no creative activities were completely suspended by the Board. The campaign of 1963 strongly demonstrates the differences between the generations and the views of the writers. It also reveals the older generation’s struggle for keeping their position and prestige in the field of literature while the younger generation took an increasing opposition.

scholarly journals Prerequisites and Causes for the Maturation of the Systemic Crisis in the Mid-Twentieth Century Evangelical Baptist Church

2008 ◽  
pp. 91-98
Author(s):  
O.P. Lahno
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Organizations ◽  
Baptist Church ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
Systemic Crisis ◽  
The Church

The twentieth century was a period of prolonged crisis of spirituality in the Soviet Union. The atheist state used all possible and impossible levers of various influences on religious associations and ordinary believers. Since the assertion of the Soviet authorities, an open war has been declared against any manifestation of religion. There were real battles: with their ideological fronts, offensives and retreats, the whole system of operations developed and the tactical plan in line with the party-approved strategy. The result of such disputes between the state and its believing citizens has been the church crises, schisms, and even the elimination of entire denominations. The most violent was the struggle against religious organizations disloyal to the Soviet authorities. It should be noted that even external loyalty did not save religious associations from the onslaught of anti-Sovietism

PROBLEMS OF FINANCING OF THE USSR MISSILE PRODUCTION BRANCH ON THE EVE OF THE CARIBBEAN CRISIS

2018 ◽  
pp. 311-325
Author(s):  
Andrey V. Budanov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
New Production ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
Production Capacities

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problems of financing of the USSR of rocket production branch on the eve of the Caribbean Crisis. At the present stage it is necessary to consider possible negative consequences of development of defensive technologies not to repeat past mistakes and to avoid social and economic crises. Materials and Methods. To study the problem the author of the article uses the published declassified documents and for introduced for scientific use the first time. The methodological basis of this study is the theory of modernization, because it has essential informative and cognitive explanatory potential when studying history of Russia of the middle of the 20th century. The analysis of a problem on the basis of declassified data and theories has allowed to introduce the new facts into scientific circulation and to draw a number of valid conclusions. Results. In the late 1950th – the beginning of the 1960th bases of nuclear missile forces have been created in the Soviet Union. Existence of the advanced military technologies became one of the reasons of world recognition of the Soviet Union in the status of the great power. Strengthening of military power and arms race have led to financial and social problems. First of all, process has involved serious costs for development of military-industrial production and creation of the serving equipment. The financial costs were increased because of this situation. On the eve of the Caribbean Crisis the Soviet army has bought rocketry for 6 billion rubles. It is necessary to increase these costs approximately twice as for production of rocketry required to build new production capacities and starting objects. Discussion and Conclusions. In fact, the absence of private investors and producers forced at first to spend funds for creation of the production capacities making ballistic missiles, and then for purchasing of the products made by them. In this case the defect of the Soviet economic system at which the state has been forced to pay for missiles twice appeared. All costs were carried out at the expense of the state and society. The high cost of implementation of the Soviet rocket project has led to sharp deterioration in a social and economic situation in the country. For minimization of negative consequences it was necessary to reform the system of planning and management of rocket production, to organize the competition between the design organizations and also to refuse production of many samples of rocketry to concentrate financial reserves on creation of the most perspective systems. Nevertheless, valuable considerable expenses and efforts in the country the board which has allowed to strengthen defense capability of the Soviet Union has been created nuclear missile. During the Caribbean Crisis the governance of the USA has realized impossibility of a victory over the USSR in nuclear war. It has forced them to refuse aggressive foreign policy concerning the Soviet block that has led to discharge of international tension.

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