Religious and Identity Based Roots of the War in Ukraine
Marianna Napolitano, Federico Ruozzi
Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics
Routledge, London, 2025
pp: 232
Digital € 51.99
Paper € 175.00
ISBN: 9781032902883
The book offers a critical examination of how religion and identity have shaped the Russo-Ukrainian war analysing these dynamics from a long historical perspective.
The authors explain why this was is not only a geopolitical conflict, but also one in which religion is used to support state power and national identity in both post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine; they analyze the relationship between Church and State, the "imperial" idea of Russkyi Mir (Russian world), and the contrast between traditional Slavic values and modern Western globalisation.
The book also explores how Orthodox identity was redefined after the collapse of the Soviet union and how this process relates to the current conflict.
It also considers the deployment of public history throughout the war, offering a detailed assessment of cultural dynamics, the shaping of identities through monumentalisation, and the role of artistic production in engaging with the past.
The perspectives of religious actors are examined in depth, including Patriarch Kirill's portrayal of the gay parade as a threat to the Russian World, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's declaration of independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, the Vatican's peace initiatives, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's defense of the right to recognize the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The book also provides a longue durée analysis of Church–State relations in Russia from Nicholas II to El’tsin, addressing the implications of the Soviet Union’s dissolution and the possibilities for future peace dialogue.
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Marianna Napolitano (Ph.D. 2022) is a Junior Assistant Professor (RTD-A) at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, where she teaches History of Interreligious Relations, and she is an affiliated researcher at the Fondazione per le scienze religiose, Italy.
Federico Ruozzi (Ph.D. 2009) is Associate Professor of History of Christianity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, where he teaches Religion and Politics and Visual History. He is also an affiliate researcher at the Fondazione per le scienze religiose, Italy.