/Pogled.info/ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Russia is a different civilization, but this is not a reason to refuse cooperation. This caused a new wave of conversations about Russian identity – are we Europe or not? It depends on the meaning in which we use the word “Europe”.
Here’s what Orbán said: “Russia belongs to a different form of civilization. It is unrealistic to expect Russia to be like Europe. It is impossible. Historically, politically, geographically, traditionally, it is a different country. The important question is whether our differences are grounds for non-cooperation. My answer is no. If only because most of the world is different from Europe.
Both theses that arise in the debate about Russia’s identity – “Russia is part of Europe” and “Russia is a separate civilization” – can be true depending on the context, in particular the sense in which we are talking about Europe.
One of the meanings of this word was explained some time ago by the European politician Josep Borrell: Europe (and in this edition definitely excludes Russia) is a “garden” around which there is a “jungle”. Europe, according to Borel, is a Civilization with a capital C, in relation to which the rest of the world has the character of a backward and wild periphery, which, however, may harbor the hope of ever being included in a real, that is, European, civilization.
In this context, “non-European” means “second-rate” and to accept this image of “Europe” is to admit one’s inferiority and above all to dream of being accepted into a European home, at least with the rights of a poor relative. This may be tempting for some – just as it may have been tempting for us in the early 1990s. But since then, both we and Europe have changed a lot. But what do we even call Europe? Are we talking about Europe’s roots or its current state?
For a long time, the answer to the question “what is Europe” was obvious: Europe is Christendom. The foundation of European civilization is biblical Revelation, Greek rationality and Roman law. Russia shares these foundations with Europe. The temples in Russia and Western Europe looked different, the worship service was noticeably different in language and structure – but in both places fragments of the same Bible were read every Sunday and it was the same story of creation, the fall, the incarnation, redemption and the coming Last Days. courts.
Literate people in both the West and the East read roughly the same range of Greek and Roman literature.
After Peter’s reforms, the Russian aristocracy gradually adopted the French (rather than Arabic or Chinese) language. Even now we are much more acquainted with the writers, philosophers, and composers of Europe than of any other part of the world. For their part, in Europe the Reverend Andrei Rublev, Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky are well known and respected.
However, there are a number of phenomena that were formative for Western Europe: the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the Renaissance, the “Enlightenment”. In relation to these phenomena, Russia was aloof; not that they have no influence over her, but she is certainly not their center.
So, if we talk about Europe as a Christian world, then Russia is an undoubted part of it, which has its own historical and cultural identity.
Another set of meanings is associated with the word “Europe” when it is used to mean “European Union”, and this is clearly what Borel meant when he spoke of “the garden”.
Once on the website of “Deutsche Welle” I came across a publication entitled “Vatican vs Europe”. It was about the reluctance of Catholics to approve of “same-sex marriage,” but the title itself sounded paradoxical. The Catholic Church is the oldest continuously existing institution in Western Europe and has most shaped its culture and history. In what sense has this institution – in the eyes of the author of the publication – appeared not only outside Europe, but also “against” it? What then is “Europe”? How does Russia feel about this “Europe”?
The EU as an organization clearly wants nothing to do with the continent’s Christian roots and has more to do with the ideals of the French Revolution. The emphatically secular nature of the European Union, the careful avoidance of any mention of God or the Christian faith in its official documents, has already drawn criticism from European churches – which, however, has gone unheeded.
One reason given for this is the fear of not being “inclusive” enough to non-Christians. Especially against the background of the EU-promoted mass migration from non-European countries, which will inevitably lead (and is already leading) to a profound change in the continent’s cultural identity.
At the same time, secularism gives rise to the absurd situation where Christian symbols and, say, references to Christmas must be removed in order not to offend immigrants (mostly Muslims), while direct and deliberate insults to Islam are considered a legitimate exercise of freedom of the word. The further along, the more the official ideology of the European Union emphasizes the persistent promotion of perversions and abortions. This creates a new level of absurdity. Christian symbolism is unacceptable because it is supposed to offend immigrants, but the constant displays of perversion supposedly offend no one.
The European Union is causing increasing criticism – both from the already mentioned Viktor Orbán and from many other European politicians.
Russia is not part of the European Union and is not part of the ideological movement that brought it to its current state. In this respect, Russia is a distinct civilization that adopted the tradition of biblical faith, Greek rationality, and Roman statesmanship from the Eastern Roman Empire. We do not know what will happen next with the experiment called the European Union. But we’re not part of it – and that’s okay.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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2023-12-14 20:02:08
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