Session Summary: Michael Hjälm on The Russian World | IOTA VOLOS CONFERENCE 2023

Session Chair Michael Hjälm discusses Session 99: "The Russian World," which took place at the 2023 International Orthodox Theological Association Mega-Conference in Volos, Greece, January 11-15, 2023.
The notion of the “Russian World” has been a focal point within academic circles, both as an instrument for Russian authorities to highlight the unique culture and identity of a Russian people spread among various countries that previously belonged to the Soviet Union, as well as an object to investigate in Western universities. In the shadow of the war in Ukraine this notion has been strongly connected with a vertical hierarchy, where the Russian Orthodox Church has regained a central place in the public square transcending the borders between the countries supposedly connected with this notion: Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Regardless of its present usage the genealogy and teleology of the concept is a complex and multidisciplinary idea, ranging from the earliest traces of its origin to the Russian émigré intelligentsia, who required a new identity embracing various nationalities into one culture. Alexander Schmemann and Alexander Solzhenitsyn were instrumental in forwarding the idea of a unique Russian culture with a precise salvific ultimate goal. In addition to this the ecclesio-social context of the notion makes it evident that Russkiy Mir creates both identity politics as well as an identity theology, which jeopardizes the very purpose of an inclusive, sobornal understanding of the notion.
The production of this video was sponsored by the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, CA, USA).