A remarkable incident took place in Russia’s media space, which testifies to the rise of internal contradictions among supporters of the so-called “Russian world”. Pro-war Orthodox blogger Alexander Voznesensky announced the shutdown of his “Religion and Politics” Telegram channel, accusing the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and UOC (MP) of “betraying the faithful.”
This was reported by the Christians Against War portal.
Voznesensky, who since 2014 has been actively promoting conspiracy theories about the alleged “Catholicization” of Ukraine and creation of a “single church with the Uniates”, has grown disillusioned with his former idols. He claims that the ROC leadership gave preference to “shady dealings” instead of protecting the interests of “ordinary people”.
Of particular interest is the accusation that the church hierarchy is covering up “obvious enemies of the Church and Russia.” This may indicate the rise of radical sentiments among a part of Orthodox believers in Russia, who consider ROC’s actions to be insufficiently aggressive toward Ukraine.
It is worth noting that Voznesensky’s rhetoric about the “withdawal of the UOC from the Russian Orthodox Church” and “Catholicization” of Ukraine is a typical example of Russian propaganda, which tries to portray the religious situation in Ukraine in a distorted and manipulative way.
The blogger’s decision “to leave the information field until the structure’s leadership changes” is a symptom of a wider disappointment among pro-Russian propagandists, who are faced with a reality that is not in accord with their fantasies about the “Russian world”. Voznesensky was fanatically enthusiastic about the activities of Metropolitan Leonid (Klinsky), who served as the “Exarch of the Russian Orthodox Church” in Africa before being sent “to rest.”
This case demonstrates that even among the most ardent supporters of Russia’s aggressive policy, cracks, doubts and enmity are on the rise. At the same time, instead of reviewing their stance, such individuals as Voznesensky are looking for “traitors” among their own people, which can lead to further radicalization of a part of Russian society.
It should be recalled that the archimandrite of the Russian Orthodox Church called to kill all “godless” people “in this war”.
