ABSTRACT
The Russian Orthodox Church upholds Russian White émigré denials of the existence of Ukraine and Ukrainians and believes that Ukraine belongs to ‘Holy Rus.’ The unification of the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church, the reburial of White Russian émigrés and the propagation of their writings cemented these views within the Russian political leadership.
The annexation of Crimea and the occupation of a third of the Donbas created a dilemma for the Russian Orthodox Church because sitting on the fence is impossible during a war. The demands of Russian political and religious leaders for Ukraine’s return to the Russian World are incompatible with Ukrainian nation building conducted over three decades since 1991 and only compatible if Ukraine becomes ‘Belarus-2’ and changes to an eastern Slavic identity. There is no evidence to show this will ever happen. Suspicion in and unpopularity of the Russian World was already evident prior to the 2014 crisis and has grown since. Orthodox autocephaly is the equivalent of Ukraine instituting divorce proceedings with the Russian World.
