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Messianism and the Third Rome: Political Mythologies in Contemporary Russian Statecraft423 views
Author
Francis, Benjamin, Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Virginia0000-0002-0310-6551
Advisors
Rossman, Jeffrey, AS-History, University of Virginia
Clowes, Edith, AS-Slavic Languages & Lit, University of Virginia
Abstract
This thesis discusses how the contemporary Russian government uses deeply rooted nationalist political mythologies like Russian Messianism and the Third Rome to justify actions and decision-making in foreign affairs. Recent examples of this are Russia’s approach to events in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008, the Ukraine Crisis and annexation of Crimea in 2014, the schism of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 2019, and the current war in Ukraine.
Degree
MA (Master of Arts)
Keywords
Russian messianism; Third Rome; Political myth; Russian foreign policy; Russian Orthodox Church; Ukraine Crisis; Russo-Georgian War; Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Francis, Benjamin. Messianism and the Third Rome: Political Mythologies in Contemporary Russian Statecraft. University of Virginia, Slavic Languages and Literatures, MA (Master of Arts), 2022-05-16, https://doi.org/10.18130/xv8c-wr73.
