A Study On The Influence Of Orthodox Church On Russian Foreign Policy

As a country stretching across Europe and Asia, bridging the East and theWest with both features and demonstrating the law of “Antinomies”, Russiahas long been an important variable in the international community that canhardly be ignored since ancient times. Russia’s foreign policy has also becomea major concern in the international political agenda. However, theinterpretation of Russian foreign policy is closely connected with Russianideology, featuring the Orthodox faith that has never really faded out inits way of thinking. In Russia’s social process, along with the wakeningof its ethnic self-awareness, belief in Orthodox has become an indispensablepart of Russian national identity and spirit structure, and is now the mostimportant factor affecting the political psychology of Russia. Although apart of the Christian culture, the Orthodox beliefs holds a unique differencefrom the Western Catholic civilization. Its doctrine of mysticism, asceticismand the universalism of "Messiah" all reveal the country’s imperialism, itsaesthetization of suffering,"swinging between the East and the West" wayof thinking and the nation’s firm belief in the "Manifest Destiny". Againstthe background of globalization, Russia’s foreign policy often showscomplexity and diversity, yet as the essence of its national psychologicalstructure, the Orthodox Eastern Church contributes significantly to ourfurther understanding and judgment of Russia’s foreign policy. The true needof Russia’s foreign policy can not be interpreted correctly if geopoliticsand the economic interests are the mere factors taken into account. As apolitical giant featuring imperialism and the tradition of despotism, Russiaalso carried on the back the mission of mortality and religion in its nationalself-positioning. Only by understanding the status and influence of theOrthodox Church in Russia’s historical process, can the inner "spiritual impulse" hidden in its foreign policy be truly understood.