The Russian state in the religious sphere (or national secularism)

Abstract

This paper argues that despite some peculiarities in the structure of state-church relations in post-Soviet Russia (compared with Western Europe), the Russian case is not uncommon with respect to other secular states. What is popularly described as the "rapprochement" of the Russian authorities with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) reflects a peculiar kind of political performance rather than action aimed at dismantling the secular order. The key political and social institutions are, in fact, not affected by this "rapprochement". A symbolic policy should not be confused with an instrumental one, as is often mistaken by the scholars who describe the situation as "desecularization". These scholars overlook the fact that both the Orthodox-centered rhetoric of the officials and the staging of Kremlin's special position toward the ROC are spatially anchored. Beyond the territories with a predominantly ethnic Russian population, such symbolic policies are subject to different rules. In the "non-Russian" regions, the authorities maintain "special relations" with clerics of other religious organizations (Islamic and Buddhist). What we face in today's Russia is not the merging of the state with religious organizations (in particular, with the ROC), but rather the use of religious institutions by the state as a resource for the legitimization and strengthening of control. Religious institutions do not act as autonomous players, and especially not as political entities. The authors describe the Kremlin's strategy in the sphere of state-church relations as "managed pluralism". This means that the state privileges a number of confessions (the "traditional" ones) and religious organizations, reckoning on their loyalty. At the same time, organizations that are not among the privileged are subject to discrimination and even repression.