How many readers know that Vladimir the Great, a 57-foot tall Christian monument, was unveiled in the square outside the Kremlin on 4 Nov 2016?
Vladimir, the 10th century grand prince of the historical Rus people, not Vladimir Putin the president of Russia but nonetheless their legacies will henceforth intertwine.
BELOW: President Putin launching the colossal statue
Putin has chosen to hitch his Vladswagon to his ancient, sainted namesake. Here’s why.
Vladimir Sr – who lived more than a thousand years ago – was made a Christian saint for founding the orthodox church. As explained in the tweet below by the Embassy of Russia, this unifying king – a Slavic Shi Huang Di, so to speak – was responsible for Christianising the realm.
A Putin Project, the 2016 sculpture of St. Vladimir was erected as Russia’s new symbol of national identity.
Not many are aware either that Putin identifies as a Christian or that he is a devout believer.
The USSR lasted only 69 years (1922–1991) as a communist republic. For many centuries before that, Tsarist Russia was Christian.
Atheism was forced on Soviet Russia by the communists but for more than a millennia before, the land had been staunchly Christian.
BELOW: Vlad the Great – Putin’s alter ego – plants his Christian stake firmly on Russian ground
Why Putin covets Kiev
Vladimir the Great had been the grand prince of Kievan Rus, as that vast historical Slavic state had once been called.
Kiev in Ukraine is the birthplace of Russian orthodox Christianity. Kiev is also seen as the potential nerve centre of the coming global Christian revival.
Christendom 1.0 was the Holy Roman Empire. It was the seat of Western or Latin Christianity. This empire has since crumbled.
Christendom 2.0 was the Byzantine empire (Byzantium) centred around Constantinople. Constantinople was dubbed the Second Rome and was the seat of Eastern Christianity. This inheritor Christian empire too has collapsed.
Will Christendom 3.0 be an international revival network centred around Kiev under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate?
BELOW: Putin with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Some heads of Eastern Orthodox Churches are known as Patriarchs, others as Archbishops
BACKGROUNDER: Constantinople‘s most consequential church
Hagia Sophia
The city of Constantinople is today called Istanbul and under Turkish rule. Its Christian landmark is the Hagia Sophia.
The Patriarch of Constantinople is the nominal head of all the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Hagia Sophia is a Byzantine cathedral which continued to serve as the symbolic center of the Greek Orthodox faith even after its fall to the Ottomans in 1453 CE.
Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 10 July 2020 signed a decree reverting Hagia Sophia to a working mosque.
Although its Muslim conquerers had turned Hagia Sophia into a mosque, nonetheless modern Turkey’s secular reformer Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1934 transformed Hagia Sophia into a museum.
The recent reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by Erdogan became a chess piece in the Battle of the Two Churches (see tweet below) between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
For more details on the schism, read ‘Russia’s Christian peacekeeping mission to save Ukraine’ — click HERE.
The latest alarming news about the ever escalating Ukraine conflict is that Putin has put his country’s nuclear deterrent forces “on high alert”.
Secular critics of the Russian president claim that his behaviour is illogical.
People who accuse Putin of irrationality have not considered the religious mindset that is full of Christian zeal.
BELOW: When it comes to Russian Orthodoxy, Kiev is essentially ‘Jerusalem’ or the Third Rome
Why they want Kiev as the Third Rome
An illuminating article touching on the Christian angle to the unfolding Russia-Ukraine war was published three days ago by the Religion News Service (RNS).
Its Feb 25 article by Diana Butler Bass is titled ‘Next year in Kyiv?’
(Kyiv is a variant spelling of Kiev.)
The RNS article explains the connect between Vladimir the Christian saint and Vladimir the Russia president, and their connect with Kiev.
QUOTE
Butler Bass writes:
“More than a thousand years ago, in the 980s, the pagan Prince Vladimir of Kyiv consolidated the Rus people of modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine into a single realm. When his emissaries reported back to him on the glories of Christian Constantinople, Vladimir converted to their religion, brought his people into the Byzantine church through a mass baptism and married a Christian imperial princess. Under his rule, Kyiv became a prosperous and peaceful city at the heart of a new Christian empire, complete with churches, courts, monasteries and schools, as well as civic programs to care for the poor. Known as Vladimir the Great, he was eventually canonized as St. Vladimir and his memory is celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Anglicans and some Lutherans.”
“In the 1200s, however, Kyiv suffered a number of assaults from rival Rus princes and Mongol invaders. Many Rus people moved north and east to the newer cities of Vladimir and Moscow where, under the czars, the Russian church eventually grew to be one of the richest, most powerful churches in the Orthodox world. With the shift, an Orthodox tradition founded under the auspices of Constantinople became a church under the authority of a patriarch in Moscow.”
UNQUOTE
BELOW: Putin is an avowed Christian who wears his baptismal cross
EXPLAINER: What’s the meaning behind the RNS article title ‘Next year in Kyiv?’
It chimes with the very important saying “next year in Jerusalem“.
Before Israel’s founding in 1948, the Jews were a diaspora who longed for the safety of having their own homeland.
Jews focused their longing on Jerusalem which they regarded as their holy city to which they will one day return.
Adherents of Judaism traditionally end Seder with uttering the phrase “next year in Jerusalem“. (Seder is a religious meal to commence the Passover celebration.)
“Next year in Jerusalem“ therefore signified the hope of Jewish people to make a long-desired wish come true.
Some observers see Kiev as the metaphorical new Jerusalem or ‘Third Rome’ in Putin’s calculations.
Putin is a man with “a historical map in his mind and a plan to use his military to achieve it” — Dmitry Muratov, editor of Novaya Gazeta (quote via The Guardian)
ABOVE: Iraq? Is the tweet referencing President Bush’s Christian “crusade” attack on the country?
It is a mistake to think of Christianity as a North Pole religion full of Santa, snow, sleighs and twinkling Christmas trees. Non-European great churches had resided in Alexandria, Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli and Jerusalem which are all locations in Asia and Africa.
Listed below is the hierarchy of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (source: BBC)
15 ‘autocephalous’ churches in their order of precedence:
- Church of Constantinople (ancient)
- Church of Alexandria (ancient)
- Church of Antioch (ancient)
- Church of Jerusalem (ancient)
- Church of Russia (established in 1589)
- Church of Serbia (1219)
- Church of Romania (1925)
- Church of Bulgaria (927)
- Church of Georgia (466)
- Church of Cyprus (434)
- Church of Greece (1850)
- Church of Poland (1924)
- Church of Albania (1937)
- Church of Czech and Slovak lands (1951)
- The Orthodox Church in America (1970)
Note: Churches 1-9 are led by Patriarchs, while the others are led by Archbishops or Metropolitans
Helen Ang 
Many thanks for enlightening us with the historical background of Russia, a proud and mighty Nation. It’s now the Slavs v the Anglo-Saxons. Ukraine was the little spark which was the catalyst to the present Clash of Civilizations. Hitler wanted to do the same. But his Jewish fetish and maniacal thoughts failed him. He must be laughing in his grave ! History is the finest arbiter of the Truth. A Nation and its peoples must have history to be complete. Once upon a time, I thought history and historians were superfluous. But now I realize the importance of history and the role of historians in the daily life of a Nation. We definitely cannot ignore or wipe out history as though we have no past. We must always learn from our past mistakes in order to progress like any child !.. I was pleasantly surprised when Malaysia, a friend of the West which helped us much also since 1945, suddenly became pro-China/Russia on a whim. As a result, normal and great Indonesia which suffered much in the past because of ideological issues, has galloped ahead of Malaysia on all fronts according to international terms. At least Indonesia has many US trained Indonesian elites to guide their future endeavours which require academically qualified and proper brain-power to do so. Nusantara is their brilliant result. Just a whisper from Sabah and Sarawak. Per ardua. Ad astra !
i notice most malay muslim support putin, perhaps pas can have a orthodox shafii solidarity.
forgot to add, wumao, ccpland and modiland worshiper that are firmly behind putin can participate, thats real keluarga msia.
Helen, this is rather interesting. But what are you getting at? Are you saying that the killing of ethnic Russians by Ukranian forces since 2014, the expansion of Nato to Russia’s doorsteps, the infiltration of neoNazi elements in the Ukrainian government, are NOT the actual reasons for the military operation? Or are you just adding a religious slant to these reasons as one of the driving factors, if not, THE driving factor?
One of … not saying it is THE primary factor at current time.
However, as to what makes Putin tick, I agree with those pundits who hypothesize the religious angle.
Also counting from 2014 (Crimea) or 2008 (Georgia), it’s a period of less than a score in years.
Looking at the contents of Putin’s essay last July and his two long pre-war speeches this month, it’s fair to argue that he has a long historical sweep in mind.
There is undeniably a momentum for both ethno-nationalism and Christian revival/resurgence. I believe that Putin is not only riding this historic wave but cresting on it.
Also he is (or sees himself to be) a giant of history like Peter the Great, Bismarck or whoever is the inspiration for The Prez.
Will you please do a follow up on where do you see this “cresting on the historic wave” will lead to? Where will this wave land on? And when it land, how will the so called pantai berubah? Thank you
Whilst Putin walks with God, the United States became great through wars since her War of Independence 1774. By 1850, the Civil War broke out which was followed by the Indian Wars. This ended with the Spanish-American War of 1899. America was at war again in 1916 being involved with the First World War 1914-1919. A War which bankrupted Great Britain of both her human and material resources. Thereafter, America held back till she was involved in the sanctions against Japan because of the latter’s China war activities. The Second World War 1939-1945 brought the United States to the fore as the World’s only super power. The Cold War followed from 1948-1989 with the Korean War 1952-1953 and the Vietnam War 1968-1975 in between. By 1991, America was engaged in the First Iraq War and the Second Iraq War 2002. This War was followed by the Afghanistan War 2003-2021. Since the Second World War, America has never won a war even though she had organized her war efforts through President Eisenhower’s political-military-industrial complex for super efficiency in war. The present Russia-Ukrainian War is another example of the United States Policies with resolution through wars which served her so well through the Ages. As the saying goes, ” Americans die for Freedom. The British and the French die for money ! ” One day, like the Roman Empire in 300-400 AD which began to retreat from her reach far beyond the seas, America may do likewise. History is the finest arbiter of the Truth. In 1982, the History Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge told me after I asked him why there were so many foreigners in England, ” Rome fell not because of the barbarians at the gate but the many foreigners within it !”
“Rome fell not because of the barbarians at the gate but the many foreigners within it !”.
uncle, who is the barbarians and foreigner in the sentence above, in the context of rome and england?
i think usa is strong because they have very less historical and traditional baggage, thus the creativity and innovation. their strength in war is their flexibility to change and adapt to challenge with an agile political system, thats the reason they always come back stronger than before whenever facing a crisis and a aggressive opponent.
Good question, HY ! The barbarians were the Huns and the foreigners were the inhabitants from the sprawling collapsing Roman Empire. As for America’s strength today, it is in debt over US $20 Trillion. The same reason which made the Romans withdrew from their far reaching borders – no money. History is repeating itself. Many say China rises in place of the United States. This will only happen if rural China becomes mechanized and rich like the Mid-West. I believe this will take another 2 Gen which is roughly another 50+ years. However, the Arabs will rise in the West.in the 22nd Century from the present migrants like the Asian Indians in the US and the UK today. They migrated in the 60’s. 70’s, and 80’s. By the 1980s, the Guptas/Gujeratis from India controlled all the 24 hour convenience stores in London and all the motels in the United States. The Chinese never moved out of their restaurants in both countries to this day. You just cannot press a good man or woman down ! The American Empire will be one of the shortest in World history which was far-outlived by the Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and British Empires. Hence, I always encouraged our Leaders to emulate Switzerland, a model with diversity somewhat like us. It took them 800 years of confederation. Till then, we will be groping in the dark to establish our own National Identity.
thanks. i yet to read any history of roman empire, shd do one.
malay or muslim, chinese and indian cant be as successful as american or anglo because reflection is never a main theme in their/our culture and philosophy, they/we are either too religious or full of nationalism shit.
i personally think switzerland is a very selfish state that contribute nothing to the world. hope they can change in the current ukraine war against aggressor cum invader.
Switzerland is a barren landlocked country which wealth they created themselves through ideas, innovation and creation. I admire them for this plus hardwork, In the 19th Century, the recently industrialised and wealthy Brits discovered it as a holiday destination. By the late 18th and 20th Centuries, Switzerland became famous for her TB sanatoriums which brought the World flocking to the country. After 1931, Hitler’s purge of the Jews right up to World War II, brought a great flood of Jewish money. Hitler’s Germany and other Axis Powers used neutral Switzerland as their haven to hide their wealth. Switzerland was alleged to have kept the unclaimed money of US$ 2 Billion until the turn of the 21st Century. After World War II, a cure for TB was discovered, Switzerland turned her sanatoriums into tourist hotels which could be seen to this day. The doctors and nurses became tourist hotels hospitality staff, so to speak. I became interested in Switzerland in my early teens fascinated by the beauty of Switzerland stamps and the death of my eldest brother in Switzerland from TB in 1931. Yes ! The Swiss are quite self-centred if you have visited Switzerland which has only beautiful scenery and no natural resources. Lee Kuan Yew tried to emulate it by trying to call Ang Mo Kio Graubenden or Kranji the Bernese Oberland. He gave up when he discovered that tiny Singapore could just fit into Lake Geneva, 25 miles long ! If the cap fits, wear it !
After ‘winning’ the Cold War 1948-1989, America made the fatal mistake which she regretted, the Uncle Sam’s spiel, “Globalisation. Free trade. Human rights.” The BRICS being Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa benefitted but Russia, India and China the most to America’s regret. Hence, by 2014, it was America’s Policy to downsize China’s World ambitions which opaquely is related to Russia’s aggression today. We now see the Clash of 3 Civilzations, Anglo-saxon, Slav and Chinese.
russia have nothing much to offer as a civilisation since the collapse of soviet, except with leader act like a spoiled kid similar to kim dad and son, due to inheritance of some nuke arsenal. those that support russia is just lalang due to hatred of usa, a great nation that at the same time a bully that would not hesitate to bully terrorist, gangster, dictator, taliban and komunis, of course when benefit them. pity to see now the taliban lover, komunis lover and modiland worshiper now idolize a invader to placate their pain of being a loser, with a civilisation that indulge in curi rampas tipu samun copy and have no shame to realise their taliban/komunis dream in the land of civilised west.
I beg your pardon ! Russia offers the World’s best vodka, caviar and pretty girls. It’s the popular destination of kiasu Singaporean play-boys, old and young ! They are also active in the Central European countries.
haha. i read quite a number of russian books like the making of a hero, dr zhivago and many china leftist novel when i was young, after all the years, i realised most of this literature is more like creation out of self masterbation or just fantasy, either the writers kena tipu, or they are the penipu. nothing could match to real life.
yes the well known pretty russian girls is more of truth and reality, tho i dont know of if that is a pride, or an insult.
bagi pandangan kami dari perspektif komuniti Islam… di youtube.. ramai youtuber2 yang membawa suara komuniti Islam yang aktif dalam menentang ideologi2 yang mungkar telah mendedahkan banyak kemunafikan bangsa putih ni dalam perang Ukraine…
Saya setuju. Sebagai contoh, puak Democrat telah melahirkan sebuah masyarakat pelampau dan pembenci yang cukup ‘dysfunctional’ di AS.
Terlalu ‘woke’. Disebabkan gejala ‘wokeism’ ini merupakan suatu kemudaratan yang dipupuk khususnya oleh omputih liberal, saya sendiri pun tak reti bagaimana nak sebut tentang perkara ini dalam bahasa Melayu.
Lagi-lagi mereka bertekad untuk membawa arus dan gelombang songsang mereka itu ke Eropah Timur.
Moga-moga kita terpelihara daripada pengaruhi gaya hidup multikulti mereka.
https://helenang.wordpress.com/2021/09/21/this-is-what-a-diversity-neighbourhood-will-look-like/
munafi like what? melayu raya? msia indon punya?
As the fight for the control of Ukraine enters the third week, the strategic geo-political position of the country must be recognized. Ukraine is the buffer nation between Russia and Central Europe. It opens the door to both and its importance is enhanced by the fact that it was industrialized by the Soviets during the Cold War 1948-1989. Ukraine has 4 nuclear power stations, armament factories and developed the World’s largest plane the Antonov-225. Russia has always coveted Ukraine with similar peoples, culture, religion and history. Ukraine was part of Russia until the collapse of the Cold War 1948-1989. An oversight at the end of the Cold War made Ukraine independent but with a pro-Russian Government until a few years ago. It now turned out that both the US and Russia were jostling for the control of Ukraine since the end of the Cold War 1948-1989. The dire result of such a rivalry is for all of us to see today with the final hoisting of an ex-comedian of Jewish descent as its President.. Putin is just the font of Russian Nationalism, history and culture since the days of the Czars. However, our beloved Malaysia is in a more strategic geo-political location than Ukraine being the top choke point on the trade flows between the West and the East for over 1,000 thousand miles whereas the much self-acclaimed Singapore choke point is only 1 km wide on its doorstep ! Not only that, in the 1890s, when the British established their hold on the Malay Peninsula, they fortified their presence in Singapore by occupying as much land as possible towards Thailand. This move was strategic. Its strategic importance was later confirmed by the Japanese Imperial Army over-running the Peninsula in 1941-1942 to conquer Singapore. Hopefully, history does not repeat itself here but as a sop to wake up people that there are those in this World who look upon our beloved Malaysia differently and are not asleep under the hot tropical sun. Malaysia’s good peoples, stable Government and natural resources are the icing on the cake ! Hence, I always encourage others that Malaysia is one of the 4 most important small countries of the World being the UK, Japan, Switzerland and Malaysia. Akan datang or Believe it or not !
your dovish stance is consistent with almost any other issue, i might disagree but cant tell it is right or wrong. however for dap ramasamy to excuse russian action with reason like geopolitics make him a thorough hypo. why not ramasamy acting in the same considerate manner when malay muslim concern is also sort of (geo)politics? ramasamy shd consider moving to australia, a place fill up with asian hypo.
S’pore is already in Putin’s black list of enemy country. The enemy country can become the target of his nuclear missile. While Putin thinks he walks with God, TDM “walked with Putin” probably saves us from being added to the black list.
Past governemnt mistake in expelling NK diplomats may put us in the danger of NK nuclear missile, though. So, we are not free from nuclear attack. Beside NK murder, there are many instances of the government mistakes in handling conflicts like MH17, Pedra Blanca, Sabah claim by Sultan Sulu, etc. Now, about sanctioning Russia. I hope government of the day and future is wise not repeat past mistakes. Do not follow blindly what others dictate, including sanctioning of Russia or any other country. Sanction will only lead to suffering of the ordinary citizen.
History is the finest arbiter of the Truth ! Are we witnessing a repeat of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire with present day United States ? When I first came across America in my teens, I noticed the heavy emphasis of American academia on the histories of Athens and Rome. Surely, the Americans must be aware of the demise of Empires as created by the Romans, British, Ottomans etc. which may be mirror images of their own. The failures of American military adventures in Asia and the Middle East put paid to any speculation on America’s will and purpose. The recent Afghanistan bungle which could have been resolved by just 6,000 US troops around Kabul was not avoided by political Will after 2 decades in Afghanistan. Now the World sees the absurd spectacle of the US and her NATO allies urging and supplying arms without air cover to Ukraine to fight the World’s No. 2 military Power with ineffective sanctions to boot which dislocated the World’s economy of 180 Nations. Is this the beginning of a War by Sanctions or another step backwards towards Washington DC by Uncle Sam ? Who knows ? Only the future will foretell !