Religion Shaped Identity Political Entities Russia (Rus\',

¶ … religion shaped identity political entities Russia (Rus', Soviet Union, Russian federation) ways 'Historically, there has been a somewhat tricky dichotomy between religion in what is today known as Russia and the political situation that has governed this country. The relationship between these two crucial elements of society -- religion and politics -- has at times been in accordance with one another, and other times dangerously at odds with each other. Today there is a degree of tolerance and temperance between these two aspects of Russian life that have served to produce a great deal of friction throughout the country previously.

During the period of Czarist Russia, which concluded in 1917, politics exerted a great deal of influence over religion. With the Czars governing the country, Russian Orthodoxy was essentially the only religion supported by the state. Despite the fact that this religion was prevalent throughout the country well before the Czarist period, it was during this time frame that it was not only officially sanctioned as the religion of the country itself, but it was also used to uphold the right of Russian dictatorship, which was justified to a certain extent by the fact that the Czars were ruling in accordance to this religion.

This intrinsic link between Russian Orthodox Christianity and politics was actually at the core of some of the most fundamental principles of the Russian Revolution, which culminated in 1917 with the triumph of the Communist Party. Religion was widely viewed as a means of controlling the masses and justifying the domination of the Czars and the large, unequal tracts of land and power that they wielded over the masses. Subsequently, during the Communist period of Russia in which the Soviet Union flourished, politics shaped religion by widely presenting it as a political entity. Russian Orthodoxy was highly persecuted during this timeframe, although it was tolerated more than the presence of other religions. It is significant to note that in this respect, religion played a part in the political scene of Communism because it helped to serve as an impetus to spur this political movement to overthrow the Czarist regime. Once the Revolution was achieved, however, politics then asserted its presence against religion by minimizing its presence within the country as much as possible -- since religion was widely viewed as anti-Communist and a suppressant to the political ideology of the Revolution and of the Soviet Union as a whole.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, religion has once again resurged in this country. Christianity is the primary form of religion in the state, with a plethora of representatives from both Orthodox and Catholic religion. It is essential to note that politics has played a role in this resurgence, a fact which the following quotation readily attests to. "The Russian Orthodox Church has made a startling comeback over the past 20 years, a trend that's been encouraged by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other political leaders" (McCarthy, 2012).