Opposition to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia: The Cultural Roots
To understand why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are persecuted in Russia, the broader background of Russia’s history should be considered. From the time of Peter the Great, the country has been deeply divided between an elite looking at the West, and the peasant masses, supported...
| Published in: | The journal of CESNUR |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2020]
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| In: |
The journal of CESNUR
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Russia
/ Jehovah's Witnesses
/ Persecution
/ Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche
/ Culture
/ History
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AZ New religious movements KBK Europe (East) ZC Politics in general |
| Further subjects: | B
Anti-Western Feelings in Russia
B Religious Freedom in Russia B Russian Anti-Western Propaganda B Russian Orthodox Church B Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia B Putin’s Religious Policy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | To understand why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are persecuted in Russia, the broader background of Russia’s history should be considered. From the time of Peter the Great, the country has been deeply divided between an elite looking at the West, and the peasant masses, supported by some intellectuals, that resisted the Westernizing reforms and believed in an eternal Russia alternative to the Western values. The latter incarnation of the Russian ethos prevailed in the Communist Revolution. After the fall of Communism, many in Russia and the West hoped that the pro-Western forces might once again prevail. In fact, Putin came, and built a hybrid system with some (but less and less) elements coming from pre-Soviet Russia, and others (more and more) derived from Soviet Russia. In this context, any religious organization other than the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) came under severe scrutiny. The ROC itself, however, is losing momentum, and increasingly appears as a giant with feet of clay. |
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| ISSN: | 2532-2990 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of CESNUR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.26338/tjoc.2020.4.6.2 |