Alternative Spiritualities in Russia during the Conflict in Ukraine

The chapter examines ideological narratives about minority religious groups in Russia during the conflict in Ukraine and reactions of religious minorities to the conflict. The chapter focuses on the tendency of state-funded media and the Russian Orthodox Church to describe religious minorities in a negative way, associating them with the image of the enemy and contrasting them with the normative Russian identity. Given that minority groups tend to act outside established hierarchical structures, their actions are often perceived as a threat even if they sympathize with the Russian government.