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Religion in Russia

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Russians should realize that they are Orthodox in the first place; Russians in the second place; and only in the third place, people. ~ Aleksandr Dugin
Her literature, art, music, philosophy, religion, theater, and dancing are something intrinsically Russian. Her dominant spirit is not the product of Byzantine Christianity. It is rooted in the Slavic nature… and in oriental mysticism. The remote past with its passions, dreams, fears, and hopes throbs in the living present. - G. Richards
[The Slavs] accepted Christianity as they accepted German domination, superficially and morosely. - J. Thompson

Religion in Russia is diverse with Christianity, especially Russian Orthodoxy being the most widely professed faith, but with significant minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other faiths.

Quotes

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  • Many Russian and Western scholars have studied Soviet efforts to destroy organized religion and spread atheism in the Soviet population, but far fewer have focused on the steps Soviet officials took to wipe out shamanism, the traditional faith of many peoples in Siberia and the Russian Far East.
    But Moscow’s efforts in that regard are instructive both to the extent that they paralleled what the communists did to more conventionally structured faiths and even more to the extent they failed because the Soviets did not understand what they were up against and could not deal with a religious practice lacking the kind of organization they could take over and subvert.
  • The [Falun Gong] movement poses no threats to Russia, and for years it has been depicted with benevolence by most Russian media, which even praised its Qigong practices as beneficial for the practitioners’ health. Even after, under Chinese [Communist Party] pressure, key Falun Gong texts were declared “extremist” in 2008, activities in Russia continued. In 2020, seven Falun-Gong-related organizations were declared “undesirable” in Russia, but until the 2022 war in Ukraine the label “undesirable,” unlike “extremist,” did not totally prevent organizations from operating in the country.
  • You know, as I already mentioned, in 988 Prince Vladimir himself was baptized following the example of his grandmother, Princess Olga, and then he baptized his retinue, and then gradually, over the course of several years, he baptized all Rus. It was a lengthy process – from pagans to Christians, it took many years. But in the end, this Orthodoxy, Eastern Christianity, deeply rooted itself in the consciousness of the Russian people. When Russia expanded and absorbed other nations who profess Islam, Buddhism and Judaism, Russia has always been very loyal to those people who profess other religions. This is its strength. This is absolutely clear. And the fact is that the main postulates, main values are very similar, not to say the same, in all world religions I’ve just mentioned and which are the traditional religions of the Russian Federation, Russia. By the way, Russian authorities were always very careful about the culture and religion of those peoples who came to join the Russian Empire. This, in my opinion, forms the basis of both security and stability of the Russian statehood – all the peoples inhabiting Russia basically consider it their Motherland.
  • The American historian James Westfall Thompson wrote in 1916 on the conversion of the Baltic Slavs by the German Church. He believed the treatment meted out to the Slavs by the Germans had a parallel in how Spanish America treated Peru in “the spoliation of a weaker people by an avaricious priest class backed up by the sword of a powerful government.” Thompson added: “[The Slavs] accepted Christianity as they accepted German domination, superficially and morosely.” There were many revolts by the Slavs against the tyranny of the Germans. But although the Church eventually triumphed, the faith as practised remained deeply mystical, and quite different from the dogma of the Church.
    • quoted in The Idea of India- Bhārat as a Civilisation -- Subhash Kak J.W. Thompson, The German Church and the conversion of the Baltic Slavs. The American Journal of Theology. Vol. 20, 1916.
  • The historian George Richards wrote in 1918:12 “[T]he religion of Russia is broader and deeper than the creed, polity, cultus, and precepts of the Church of Russia. The life of the spirit defies definition… It consists, not of temples and sacraments, priests and monks, dogmas and canons, but of moods and motives… and ideals— all welling up from the soul’s depth.” He added: “Her literature, art, music, philosophy, religion, theater, and dancing are something intrinsically Russian. Her dominant spirit is not the product of Byzantine Christianity. It is rooted in the Slavic nature… and in oriental mysticism. The remote past with its passions, dreams, fears, and hopes throbs in the living present.”
    • quoted in The Idea of India- Bhārat as a Civilisation -- Subhash Kak G.W. Richards, The Church and the religion of Russia. The American Journal of Theology. Vol. 22, 1918.
  • Svetlana Koltovskaia, has this to say about shamans in the federal Russian Republic of Sakha: Sakha (Yakut) people do not use the word “shaman” in their language. We have both female and male shamans. Male shaman is called oyuun (ойуун) and female shaman is called udagan (удаган). The word’s etymology is still not known. Some researchers believe that it comes from the word “oy” which means “jump”, for Sakha shamans jump during their ritual which symbolizes their leaving the “middle” world to go to the spirit world. In Sakha, white shamans are called aiyy oyuuna (айыы ойууна). They do not have to wear a special outfit to do their ritual, and they only deal with good spirits. They are sort of regular people, and they have their own community and practice their thing to these days. Dark shamans are called abaahy ayuuna (абааhы ойууна). They serve as mediators between people and evil spirits. There are many types of dark shamans with different status.
    • Svetlana Koltovskaia, quoted in The Idea of India- Bhārat as a Civilisation -- Subhash Kak
  • The scholar Sergei Filatov has stated: “Shamanism was the basic form of religiosity among Yakuts before 1917… According to ancient beliefs, the first Yakuts Sakha Saaryn Toon and Saby Vaai Khotun— were gods who had come down to Earth from the Highest Heaven with the great mission to create the Sakha nation. The Yakuts also had several beliefs which contemporary neopagans have interpreted as monotheism, including the belief in a supreme god, the Sun (fire), Aiyy (Tengri), which has its roots in Pan-Turkic religious myth. However, in everyday religious practice little attention was paid to this supreme god.”
    • quoted in The Idea of India- Bhārat as a Civilisation -- Subhash Kak S. Filatov, Yakutia (Sakha) faces a religious choice: Shamanism or Christianity. Religion, State & Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2000.
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