Overview

For several years now, Russia has been trying to justify her neo-imperialist policies towards Ukraine, promoting the vision of a common “Orthodox civilization,” in reference to the religious and cultural spheres. The Russian Orthodox Church is an important element of “soft power,” whose help the Kremlin authorities are seeking in conducting their policies towards the so-called “near-abroad.” Ukraine comprises an exceptionally important place in this sphere. This book analyzes the role of religion and Eastern Christian communities in Ukrainian social and political life, and the political, social, cultural and civilizational conditions for the development of religious life in Ukraine. Particular attention is focused on the problem of institutionalizing Eastern Christian communities after the collapse of the USSR. This monograph presents the conditions under which this process in post-Soviet Ukraine is carried out and the way in which it is linked to the functioning of the Ukrainian political system. This allows one to gain a new perspective on this system and capture its essence more fully. Primarily, this concerns the question of its democratic or non-democratic character.The book is an interdisciplinary research monograph, and, as such, will be useful to researchers interested in the post-Soviet space from the perspective of various disciplines, including political sciences, history, sociology and religious studies.The research and editing of the book were supported by National Science Centre Poland – grant number 2011/01/B/HS5/00911.

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9781443866194

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Reviews

The author believes that previous studies on the current situation in Ukraine are inadequate. Even the better studies' outlook are generally limited in scope, focusing on one aspect of the problem - whether sociological, historical, cultural, legal or theological. [Wawrzonek] strives not only to carry out an exhaustive and interdisciplinary study, but also to take into account the specific situation of post-Soviet Ukraine. [...] Instead of rejecting imperfect or inadequate arguments, he scrutinises them with a view to incorporating them into his own synthesis, sharpening and enriching it. James Karepin ISTINA LXI (2016)

The author believes that previous studies on the current situation in Ukraine are inadequate. Even the better studies' outlook are generally limited in scope, focusing on one aspect of the problem - whether sociological, historical, cultural, legal or theological. [Wawrzonek] strives not only to carry out an exhaustive and interdisciplinary study, but also to take into account the specific situation of post-Soviet Ukraine. [...] Instead of rejecting imperfect or inadequate arguments, he scrutinises them with a view to incorporating them into his own synthesis, sharpening and enriching it. James KarepinISTINA LXI (2016)

Author Information

Michał Wawrzonek, born in 1972, is Assistant Professor in the Chair of Ukrainian Studies in Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland. He received his PhD in 2003 from Jagiellonian University, and is the author of a book about the ecumenical activity of the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Andrei Scheptytsky, in Ukraine and Russia, titled Екуменічна діяльність митрополита А. Шептицького в Україні та в Росії (2006). He has also published articles in journals such as East European Politics, Societies and Cultures; Journal of Ukrainian Studies; Politeja; Slavia Orientalis; Схід/Захід; and Український Історичний Журнал. His areas of interest include religion in Ukrainian (post-soviet) space, the history of Ukraine, Ukrainian political thought, and Polish-Ukrainian and Russian-Ukrainian relationships from historical, social and cultural perspective.

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