Religion and Politics in Ukraine

For several years now, Russia has been trying to justify her neo-imperialist policies towards Ukraine, promoting the vision of a common 'Orthodox civilization,' in reference to the religious and cultural spheres. The Russian Orthodox Church is an important element of 'soft power,' whose help the Kremlin authorities are seeking in conducting their policies towards the so-called 'near-abroad.' Ukraine comprises an exceptionally important place in this sphere. This book analyzes the role of religion and Eastern Christian communities in Ukrainian social and political life, and the political, social, cultural and civilizational conditions for the development of religious life in Ukraine. Particular attention is focused on the problem of institutionalizing Eastern Christian communities after the collapse of the USSR. This monograph presents the conditions under which this process in post-Soviet Ukraine is carried out and the way in which it is linked to the functioning of the Ukrainian political system. This allows one to gain a new perspective on this system and capture its essence more fully. Primarily, this concerns the question of its democratic or non-democratic character.The book is an interdisciplinary research monograph, and, as such, will be useful to researchers interested in the post-Soviet space from the perspective of various disciplines, including political sciences, history, sociology and religious studies.The research and editing of the book were supported by National Science Centre Poland - grant number 2011/01/B/HS5/00911.