In a recent article for Carnegie Politika, historian Alexander Zanemonets examines the increasingly close relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine. He argues that the Moscow Patriarchate has progressively incorporated the Russian state’s military and patriotic narrative into its religious life, weakening the distinction between the Church’s spiritual mission and the political objectives of the state.
Zanemonets focuses on the recent uncovering of the relics of St. Dmitry Donskoy, the medieval prince celebrated for his military victories, and the decision to send a fragment of those relics to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. He sees the episode as part of a broader effort to deploy Orthodox saints, relics, icons, prayers, and clergy in support of the war and to portray Russia’s military campaign as a defense of the homeland.
The article places this practice within a longer Russian tradition of using historical and religious figures as symbols of national struggle. Zanemonets draws parallels with the Soviet promotion of St. Alexander Nevsky during World War II and notes that Dmitry Donskoy himself became associated with wartime patriotism when a Soviet tank column financed by the Moscow Patriarchate was named after him in 1944.
The larger issue, according to Zanemonets, is the diminishing capacity of the Russian Orthodox Church to speak independently of state power. He argues that a Church should be able to remind political authorities of Christian moral principles—including the protection of civilians and prisoners, the rejection of looting and cruelty, and Christ’s call to peacemaking—even during wartime. Instead, he contends, the Moscow Patriarchate has increasingly reinforced the Kremlin’s interpretation of Russia, its history, and the war.
Zanemonets concludes that this convergence carries consequences for the Church itself. If its public message becomes largely indistinguishable from the patriotism and historical narrative promoted by the Russian state, he asks what distinctive spiritual role the Church continues to offer Russian society.
