ABSTRACT
The dramatic cultural shift Russians have experienced since the late 1980s is embodied in a visibly and tangibly re-sacralised landscape, although the nature and extent of the religious revival in post-Soviet Russia continues to be debated. Anthropologists are increasingly calling for an approach which is sensitive to the specifics of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. They are asking how these specifics challenge the models and methodologies of those working with other denominations and faiths and how an understanding of the Russian and Ukrainian experience can contribute to debates concerning secularisation and modes of religiosity elsewhere. Research on Russian Orthodox pilgrimage highlights various combinations and prioritisations of space and movement, people and objects, but a fundamental aspect of any pilgrimage is physical contact with the holy. This may be accessed via natural elements, such as water and stone, which function like contact relics by virtue of their connection with a holy figure and/or through living individuals, icons, relics, or graves.
