Review of the Study “Systemic Pressure of the United States on the Russian Orthodox Church in the Ideological and Geopolitical Confrontation”

Abstract

The study “Systemic Pressure of the United States on the Russian Orthodox Church in the Ideological and Geopolitical Confrontation” is defi nitely a highly relevant and in-demand analytical document highlighting the hidden processes of the U.S. interference with the religious life of various countries of the world, where Orthodoxy historically has been playing a signifi cant role in the life of society. The attention is focused on the international law, which has become a powerful stranglehold on the domestic policy of countries that acknowledge it, and after the First World War has become a legal way for the victorious countries, that is, stronger countries, to put pressure on the rest of the world. In particular, initially England, and then the United States, turned to the humanistic rhetoric, thereby skillfully using international organizations such as the League of Nations and the UN, as well as the international law in general, to consolidate their special position in the world. It is noted that today the United States has assumed the role of the world guardian of order and, by appealing to international legal documents, interferes with the domestic policy of other countries, including the religious one, if it deviates from the domestic policy of the West. Our review is aimed at revealing the key points of the chapter “Ukraine Being the Focus of the Geopolitical Struggle Against Orthodoxy”, which, in light of recent events related to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, is a clear example of the struggle launched against Orthodoxy. The author of the article lays a special emphasis on key points related to the introduction into the mass consciousness of the thesis on the fusion of the state and the church, as well as the reasons and prerequisites for the creation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, all based on the participation of the U.S. institutions in the transformation of the church life in Ukraine, cited by the authors of the study. The conclusion is made about the signifi cance of the undertaken study for the correct interpretation of the current situation around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The assessment is also given to the forecast made by the authors of the study.