A Holy War?: The Religious Dimension of Russian Military Ideology

This paper deals with the concepts contributing to the description of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine as Holy War, namely the Russian World and Katechon. Special attention is dedicated to the role of the Moscow Patriarchate in sacralising those concepts. The paper also considers the notions of heroism and sanctity, which are increasingly understood with a near-identical meaning. It analyses the effects of the cult surrounding soldiers and officers killed in action, who are presented as martyrs and saints by both secular and religious authorities in Russia. Finally, the paper shows how this concept contributes to legitimizing the present political regime in Russia.