Spirituality and morality: conservatism grows in Russia

Translated by Andrea Solazzo

Russia is increasingly embracing conservatism. If it is since the early 2000s that the Kremlin has been distancing itself from the West and its so-called "values", with the invasion of Ukraine, Russian society is undergoing an even harsher setback regarding its citizens' freedom of expression. This battle against the West is not only being fought for the pursuit of geopolitical hegemony on the world stage, but also to influence the more personal dimension of its citizens. Russia is in fact creating its own "morality" diametrically opposed to what Moscow considers "Western values". The latest proposal is to legitimise the Russian police to punish people who commit actions against the country's "moral and spiritual values".

How did this come about?

After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the newly formed Russian Federation had embarked on a path of rapprochement towards Europe and the United States. This turn had affected all spheres of Russian society, from politics to economics. It had also implied a realignment of Russian values, now close to those considered "Western" of democracy and respect for human rights. However, the 2000s were characterised by a series of events in the country's foreign policy that challenged this path. The first hints of this rupture are linked to the enlargement of NATO towards some countries belonging to the former Eastern bloc and the spread of the coloured revolutions (1) in some post-Soviet states. These events led Russia to gradually distance itself from the West, seen as a threat to its hegemony. By 2010, the situation had deteriorated further: in addition to the political connotations of why the West was to be considered Russia's enemy, Putin's rhetoric had also begun to touch on moral issues. In a series of public speeches in 2013, the president of the Russian Federation had condemned the Euro-Atlantic states, considered to be a place of immorality and decadence and guilty of abandoning their "Christian roots". Instead, Moscow was to become the bearer of "traditional values", opening the door to the conservatism that would influence the country in the years to come. But who was the promoter of these so-called "traditional values"? Despite the atheism that had characterised the 70 years of the Soviet Union, after its fall, the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church had begun to grow in the country, reviving religious sentiment. In 2006, 73.6% of people considered themselves Orthodox, although not necessarily practising. Over time, the Church's influence grew, becoming a real soft power in the country and creating an ever-closer bond with the Kremlin, harking back to the days of Tsarist Russia. This alliance has proved highly beneficial to the Russian government. The Moscow Patriarchate supports many of the policies implemented by Russia, the most obvious example being its support for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the same time, the ultra-conservative values promoted by the religious institution are also shared by the Kremlin, which considers them part of the foundation of "Russian civilisation".

The battle for "traditional values"

With the Ukrainian invasion, the rift with the West has deepened: the government is proposing increasingly drastic measures to preserve its own "morality" far removed from the liberal "morality" of the West. If even before 2022 Russia was never open to the promotion of civil rights, supporting for example the traditional family model against the LGBTQ+ community, the situation has worsened with the war. The government has gone so far as to make a proposal to give the police the power to "preserve and strengthen spiritual and moral values", to which every true Russian citizen, and foreigner, must adhere. It will be decided whether to accept the proposal, which goes against the Russian constitution, during these two weeks. It is unclear how it will be implemented in practice. A plan approved by the government on 1 July 2024, which aims to respect moral and spiritual values for the years 2024-2026, is one of its foundations. According to the plan, the forces that threaten these traditional values are terrorist organisations whose names are not specified, the United States and other countries considered to be enemies, certain foreign corporations and "activities of certain organisations and people in Russia". According to the Kremlin, these forces reject ‘the ideals of patriotism, of the natural continuation of life, [...] the values of a strong family, marriage, having numerous children [...]’. A key role in identifying these values has been assigned to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose patriarch, Kirill, has stated in the past that human rights and humanism are "a global heresy of human worship". Furthermore, he has spoken positively towards the moral control implemented in some Islamic states.

The proposal fits in perfectly with other measures taken by the government over the past two years. One of the most recent is the ban on "childless" propaganda, seen as a threat to the demographic crisis Russia has been experiencing for more than 20 years. Foreigners who break this law risk deportation. In addition, the adoption of Russian children has also been banned for citizens of at least 15 countries where gender transition is possible. At the end of 2022, Russia had also placed a ban on "LGBTQ+ propaganda" against any citizen; previously this had only been aimed at minors. In November 2023, the LGBTQ+ movement was labelled "extremist" by the Kremlin. As a result, police raids on venues and events related to the LGBTQ+ community or considered ‘obscene’ in several Russian cities, such as drag shows and even board game nights, have intensified in recent months. Since the beginning of the war, there have been at least 149 attacks by the police, half of them related to the LGBTQ+ community. All these measures are intended to promote the "traditional family". It is no coincidence that at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, an optional ‘family studies’ course was introduced in some schools in the country, which aims to instil patriotic values in future Russian citizens, such as the importance of a large family and the defence of the motherland.

Russia is thus continuing its work of propaganda and control over its citizens, trying to influence the population not only in the political sphere, but aiming to control their private sphere as well, in an ongoing battle against the West.

(1) The coloured revolutions were a series of often non-violent protests in the 2000s, aimed at bringing about changes in government, which took place in some post-Soviet states (notably Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, where they were successful). They were triggered mainly by electoral fraud.

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