More than once in the context of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation, spiritual figures who represent Russian Orthodoxy and politicians have to hear about the so-called “Russian peace” (“Russkiy mir”). According to Kirill (Gundyaev), this concept represents the heirs of Holy Russia – Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan. It is not about who is the heir of Russia. They are trying to camouflage the Kremlin’s expansionism with pseudo-historical concepts aimed at drawing countries neighboring Russia into its political orbit. The task of historians is to debunk misleading theories that are aimed at undermining national sovereignty.
The next book of the well-known Ukrainian historian and journalist Volodymyr Kosyk is dedicated to the study of the historical myth about the “Russian Peace”, which is actively supported by the Russian Orthodox Church. Based on the analysis of chronicles and the works of medievalists, V. Kosyk tries to prove the fallacy of the idea of the “Russian world” and the alleged leading role of Moscow in it. As the author points out, Christianity spread quickly in Ukraine, to some extent in Belarus, and much more slowly in the north, with the exception of Novgorod. The Christianization of North-Eastern Europe lasted for centuries. The researcher emphasizes that the lands of the future Muscovy were converted to Christianity as early as the 12th century. From this it should be concluded that Moscow has no historical or moral right to consider itself the center of the spread of Orthodoxy.
Archive of the OUN in UIS-London
