The Russian Orthodox Church will have to abandon its own imperial identity.

This was stated in an interview with LF by Priit Rohtmets, an associate professor at the University of Tartu.

He stressed that scholars and public figures should devote greater attention to explaining that the ideology of the “Russian world” is incompatible with Orthodox Christianity. They should also speak openly about the imperial self-perception of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to Rohtmets, Russia is incapable of changing on its own. The international community must apply external pressure.

“For some reason, many people expect Russia to change by itself. History shows, however, that Russia is incapable of doing so on its own because its identity is closely tied to imperial victories.

It is impossible to keep repeating the claim that Russia is a unique civilization that requires a strong central authority. The international community, just as it did after the fall of National Socialist Germany, must offer alternative historical and political narratives. It must also maintain external pressure so that when the inevitable turning point in Russia comes, and I am convinced that it will, those alternatives are already in place,” the scholar said.

He also stressed that the Russian Orthodox Church itself will have to abandon its own imperial identity.