User:Russian Messianism

Since the Fifteenth century Russia was the only free Orthodox country. Russian Messianism had manifested as the backbone of all things related to Russian politics. According to the author Peter Duncan, “Messianism is the belief that a given group is in some way chosen by God for a purpose to be redeemers or saviors (Tolz).

Universalism and Nationalism within Russia

Russian messianic views corresponded greatly to feelings of universalism and nationalism within the country. For example, founders of Russian Messianism revered Moscow as the "Third Rome". In effort to promulgate this idea the Russian religious philosopher Filofei coined the phrase “Three Romes have fallen, the third exists [in Russia] and there will be no fourth (Shlapentokh 200). In this view Russia set its self apart from other European nations because it began to enmeshed religion and politics. Russian had became one of the only few legitimate Christian nations during this time period. According to the author Dimitry Shlapentokh, as the only Christian nation, Russian became the shrine of essential Christian characteristics such as “meekness” and chastity (200). Its destiny had also been shaped by messianic goals. Russia believed its job as a Christian nation was to harmonize human societies around the world, and to solve the problems that faced humankind (201).

Messianism & the Bolshevik Revolution

The Messianic feeling also added to the impetus of the Bolshevik Revolution. Bolshevik leaders believed that Russia was “ideologically chosen” by God. These intellectuals preached “liberty, equality, and fraternity. Politically, the Bolshevik Revolution embodied almost every characteristic of the Fifteenth century notion that Russia was the pivotal Christian society (201). These messianic views helped Bolshevik leaders overcome disenchantment, especially when faced with adversity, such as reigns of terror and economic breakdowns. In part this was due to the fact that Russians viewed their actions as carrying out God’s will, and in their eyes adversity was only a testament of their true strength and commitment to God. Communism also had messianic dimensions embedded in it. Communism had been proclaimed as a great accomplishment from which all of humankind would benefit. The Soviet people believed communism would bring them social harmony and prosperity.

Messianism & Cosmic Dominance Perspective

The second part of Messianic has to do with the conquest of nature. The very desire for humankind to master over nature is what drove the Soviet Union into advancing its position and influence in the global community. Fears over the increase of U.S nuclear dominance also lead the Soviet Union to revamp their standing in the world. The Soviets figured that the best way to this was to for the Soviet Union to gain allies and to make these allies believe that the Soviet Union was superior to the United States. One of the ways in which the Soviet Union planned on showcasing its superiority over the U.S was by cosmic expansion. With the launch of space programs such as the one Sputnik in 1957, the Soviet Union had shown to the world in was capable of mastering nature. The Soviets believed that humans were designed to take advantage of technology in order to fulfill human destiny and certain obligations before the universe. Since the Soviets secured cosmic dominance, they had fulfilled their quest for gaining the leading role among the other nations of the world.

Impeccable Ideology

Messianism in Russia not only affected the country’s propensities, but it also affected the way in which the people of Russia saw themselves compared to the rest of the world. A country stigmatized by Americans as a rogue state in actuality wanted to spread liberty, justice, and freedom among its people, at least during the Bolshevik Revolution and back in the Fifteenth century. The Russians asserted that they had a lot of good to offer to the world. They wanted to advance harmony and freedom among themselves and their friends. The idea of Russian Messianism meant that the Soviets had an impeccable ideology of human destiny and understanding that has been matched by few other countries.