ABSTRACT
Russians are the dominant nationality within the Soviet Union, and their traditional moral formation plays a large role in the ways Soviet society functions. Like the traditions of other nationalities, Russian traditions were not eradicated by the revolution. Some were temporarily put aside, others deformed, but their impact remains, and a proper understanding of the present Soviet way of thinking cannot be achieved without due knowledge of its old Russian roots. The very name of Russian Orthodoxy conveys an intolerance of competing views. The Russian church was traditionally intolerant toward other faiths and toward dissenters from its own mainstream. Old Russian epic poems celebrate struggles between righteous heroes and evil villains, with the latter mostly pictured as being of alien races and religions. Compromise between the two is impossible; it would be like a compromise between God and Satan. Struggle can only result in evil's ultimate defeat.
