Religious Violence and Ideological Manipulation in Russian Politics: Putin’s Orthodox Christmas Meeting and Missile Attacks on Ukraine

The past week was marked by religious violence on Russian television. Namely, the week started with the constantly praised Russian missile attack on Ukraine in the news broadcasts, which international political analysts and journalists rather call terrorist. Meanwhile, the Russians themselves continued their lie that the strikes were only targeting military infrastructure and factories producing drones and munitions. On the other hand, at the end of the week, on January 7, Orthodox Christmas was celebrated in Russia, where the theme of war was present – defending the interests of “holy” Russia.

In Russian politics, with the active involvement of its President Vladimir Putin, the Orthodox Church legitimizes the war, giving it its blessing. Therefore, it is no wonder that Christmas was also used for ideological purposes, to create feelings among Russian believers that the war had a religious basis. Therefore, it is only natural that on Christmas, Putin met with the families of the fallen soldiers, explaining that the fathers and sons did not fall in vain, because they gave their lives for the defense of Russia’s interests.

At this meeting, the most surprising thing was the adoration with which soldiers’ widows and young sons, some of whom were dressed in army uniforms, looked at Putin. The wife of one fallen soldier even with tears in her eyes thanked Putin for everything he has done for Russia. All this resembled a certain religious ecstasy in which believers thank their leader for the opportunity to die for their faith.

It should be noted that unlike last year, when Putin called for a truce during Christmas, no such calls were made this year. Most likely because Ukraine rejected the ceasefire last year, saying it was a fake move so that the Russian army could regroup and concentrate its forces. In addition, there were reasonable suspicions that the Russian side was not going to respect this truce.

2024-01-08 22:05:15
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