Kievan Rus was a medieval state that existed in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. It was centred around the city of Kiev, which is now the capital of Ukraine.
According to historical accounts, Kievan Rus was founded by a legendary figure named Rurik, who was a Viking prince from Scandinavia. Rurik was invited to rule over the Slavic and Finnic tribes of the region, who were struggling to defend themselves against the invading nomadic tribes from the east. Rurik is said to have established his capital in Novgorod and gradually extended his control over neighbouring territories, including Kiev.
Rurik’s dynasty, known as the Rurikids, went on to rule Kievan Rus for several centuries. Under their leadership, Kievan Rus became a powerful and prosperous state, with a rich culture and economy.
Vladimir the Great, also known as Volodymyr the Great, was a ruler of Kievan Rus who reigned from 980 to 1015 CE.
Vladimir is best known for his conversion to Christianity and the subsequent adoption of Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the official religion of Kievan Rus. Before his conversion, Vladimir was a pagan and practiced a variety of traditional Slavic and Norse beliefs. However, he began to seek out a new religion after becoming concerned about the moral and spiritual state of his people.
According to the Primary Chronicle, a document written by Christian monks, Vladimir sent emissaries to study the major religions of the time, including Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity. The emissaries reported back to Vladimir on the teachings and practices of each religion, so that he could consider which one to adopt as the official religion of Kievan Rus.
The chronicle describes how Vladimir rejected Islam because he believed that the prohibition against alcohol consumption would be detrimental to the happiness and well-being of his people. He apparently said, “Drinking is the joy of all Rus. We cannot exist without that pleasure.” Centuries later, in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev would launch an anti-alcohol campaign in the Soviet Union which would soon become very unpopular with citizens who saw consumption of alcohol as a cultural tradition.
Vladimir also rejected Judaism because he did not like the dietary restriction on eating pork and felt that the loss of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple were evidence that God had abandoned the Jews. He also probably saw Judaism as incompatible with his political goals. Judaism was a relatively small and insular religion, which would not have offered the kind of cultural and political ties that Vladimir was seeking.
By contrast, Eastern Orthodox Christianity was closely tied to the Byzantine Empire, which had long been a cultural and political influence in the region. The Catholic Church at the time was embroiled in a conflict with the Byzantine Empire over issues such as the use of religious icons and the authority of the pope. This would eventually lead to the great schism of 1054.
The emissaries returned with a report that praised the beauty and solemnity of the Byzantine Christian liturgy, which was associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. By adopting Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Vladimir was able to strengthen his ties with the Byzantine Empire and establish his own authority over his subjects.
Vladimir was also known for his military campaigns, which expanded the territory and influence of Kievan Rus. He defeated several neighbouring tribes and established alliances with others.
Today Eastern or Russian orthodox is the predominant religion in Russia and in Eastern Ukraine.
The predominant religion in Western Ukraine is Ukrainian Greek Catholicism, also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church. This church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church but retains many of the liturgical practices and traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian Greek Catholicism emerged in the late 16th century, when a prominent bishop in Kiev, Michael Ragoza, and a group of his followers agreed to submit to the authority of the Pope in Rome while retaining their Byzantine liturgical traditions. Over time, this church grew in size and influence, particularly in Western Ukraine, which was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time.
A 2018 survey indicates that 36% of Ukranians now identify as non-religious or atheists while 46% identify as religious. A 2017 survey found around 13% of Russians identify as atheists while 72% identified as religious.
Vladimir Putin has cultivated a close relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and has publicly spoken about the importance of the church in Russian society.
Under Putin’s leadership, the Russian government increased its support for the Russian Orthodox Church, providing it with greater financial resources and influence. In recent years, the Church has become more politically active, with its leaders expressing support for Putin’s policies.
Patriarch Kirill, the church’s Patriarch of Moscow is an ally of Putin and has supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has criticized those who oppose the war in the past and called on the Russians to rally around the Kremlin. He has stated that Russian soldiers dying in the war against Ukraine would be forgiven for their sins. He has also stated that same sex marriage is a “sign of apocalypse”.
In Ukraine the orthodox church has split into two rival groups- the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has been accused of having links to Moscow and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) which, in 2019, received recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Many Orthodox communities in Ukraine have cut their ties with the UOC and transitioned to the OCU.
On 3 April the Associated Press reported that Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of Ukraine’s most revered Orthodox monastery, and who is still part of the UOC, was placed under house arrest on suspicion of justifying Russian aggression, a criminal offence.
Pavel told a court that the claim by the Security Service of Ukraine that he condoned Russia’s invasion was politically driven and that he had “never been on the side of aggression.”
But Ukrainian security agencies have conducted numerous raids of the UOC’s holy sites, posting photos of rubles, Russian passports, and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch Kirill.
After the court’s ruling, a monitoring bracelet was placed around Pavel’s ankle. The house arrest is to last two months.
Earlier in the week, Pavel had cursed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, threatening him with damnation.