Putin Admits His Attack on Ukraine is a Holy War
Putin Admits His Attack on Ukraine is a Holy War
It’s always helpful when the Kremlin says the quiet part out loud from the very top
John Schindler4 hr ago
This newsletter has
repeatedly pointed out that Russia’s aggressive war against its neighbor, which is about to enter its second month, has a distinctly religious character, even if few Western analysts have noticed it. Indeed, that the Kremlin’s campaign to subdue Ukraine, returning it to Moscow’s control,
plainly resembles a holy war is something that’s stated openly by the very top of the Russian Orthodox Church, which views the Ukraine war as nothing less than a struggle for the fate – and soul – of mankind itself.
Now we can add the comments of President Vladimir Putin himself to the case for Ukraine-as-Russia’s-holy-war. Last Thursday, Putin, who is widely reported to be infuriated by the slow progress of his plodding and costly war against Kyiv, delivered an
angry nighttime speech in which he castigated his enemies, including “national traitors” and “scum” plus the supposed “fifth column” plotting Russia’s defeat. He
added that the country needed “self-detoxification” from such disloyal elements, including “people who can’t live without foie gras, oysters or what they call ‘gender freedom’.” Unable to conceal his rage, Putin ominously added that such traitors “belong to a higher caste, to a higher race. Such people are ready to sell their own mother if only they are allowed to sit in the hallway of this very highest caste.” The Kremlin boss went further, stating that “their goal is to destroy Russia” with Western help, but Russia was nevertheless winning:
Any nation, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like an insect in their mouth, spit them onto the pavement.
The petulantly fascistic tenor of that speech was widely noted outside Russia, but Putin outdid himself the very next day at a rally to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Moscow’s theft of Crimea from Ukraine. The celebratory event, held at Luzhniki Stadium in southwest Moscow, featured large crowds waving Russian flags. Exactly how many were in attendance is unclear, amid rumors that some of the “patriotic crowds” were in fact government employees required to show up; then there was an
odd technical glitch while Putin spoke. None of that should distract from the Russia’s leader’s comments, however, which merit our attention.
Predictably,
Putin’s speech last Friday extolled the heroism of the Russian “Little Green Men” who delivered Crimea and its (ethnic Russian) population from the “humiliation” of life in Ukraine. Putin portrayed the theft of Crimea in 2014 as a moral necessity for Moscow: “It was necessary to pull Crimea out of that humiliating position, from that humiliating state in which Crimea and Sevastopol were immersed when they were part of another state that financed these territories.” He continued, claiming that “Crimeans and Sevastopol residents did the right thing when they put a hard barrier in the way of neo-Nazis and extreme nationalists,” alleging –
as Moscow so often does, without evidence – that Ukraine was perpetrating “genocide” against Russians. Putin went on:
It is to save people from this suffering, from this genocide – this is the main, main reason, motive and goal of the military operation that we launched in the Donbas and Ukraine, this is precisely the goal. And here, you know, words from the Holy Scriptures come to my mind: there is no greater love, than if someone gave his life for his friends. And we see how heroically our guys act and fight during this operation.
There the Kremlin strongman channeled, nearly verbatim, the Gospel of John 15:13, which is usually rendered in English as, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”* Putin kept going:
These words are from the Holy Scriptures of Christianity, from what is dear to those who profess this religion. But the bottom line is that this is a universal value for all the peoples and representatives of all faiths in Russia, and specifically for our people, primarily for our people. And the best confirmation of this is how they fight, how our guys act during this military operation: shoulder to shoulder, they help, support each other, and if necessary, they cover their own brother with their bodies from a bullet on the battlefield. We haven’t had such unity for a long time.
Here Putin portrayed Russia’s high casualties in the Ukraine war – which must never be referred to in Russia as a war, rather as the Ukrainian “special operation” (спецоперация),
a term with a distinctly Chekist flavor – as a positive, at least in a spiritual sense. Putin’s distinct brand of Stalinist nostalgia meets mystical Russian Orthodox nationalism was very much on display here. Still, he saved the best for last:
It so happened that the beginning of the operation coincided – quite by chance coincided – with the birthday of one of our outstanding military leaders, canonized as saints, Fyodor Ushakov, who never lost a single battle in his entire brilliant military career. He once said that these thunderstorms will go to the glory of Russia. So it was then, so it is today, and so it will always be!
Admiral Fyodor Ushakov is far from a household name in the West, but he’s well known in Russia, despite being dead for over two centuries. His fame comes from his reputation as the tsars’ winningest admiral, Russia’s Lord Nelson – though, as Russian sailors like to remind, Ushakov never lost a ship or a battle, unlike his better-known British contemporary. Ushakov was an aggressive fighter and an innovative tactician with an
unsurpassed record in battle, most often against the Ottoman Turks, including as commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (which is currently waging war – sorry, “special operation” – against Ukraine). His fame in naval circles extended far beyond Russia.
Ushakov retired from the service after over 40 years in uniform, undefeated, choosing to retire more over imperial court politics than anything to do with the navy, and in an only-in-Russia twist,
he decided to become an Orthodox monk. Ushakov had always been a pious man, giving generously to charity and sincerely caring for his sailors. He never married, having placed his career first, and
Ushakov therefore spent the last decade of his life in prayer and contemplation at a monastery in rural south-central Russia where his uncle had served as the abbot. The admiral-turned-monk died there in 1817, at age 74, and is buried there still today, as is his uncle.
Ushakov’s memory as an unsurpassed warrior has been greatly esteemed ever since in Russia and both the Imperial Navy and its Soviet successor named ships after the great man (there is a Sovremenny-class destroyer bearing his name in service with the fleet today, homeported in Kaliningrad). Stalin approved the Order of Ushakov during the Second World War for award to successful naval commanders, and it’s still bestowed by the Russian Federation today. And that’s just the secular, worldly side of Ushakov’s enduring legacy.
In 2001, just two years into the Putin era, the Russian Orthodox Church glorified the admiral as a saint for his works as a monk (although icons of “the blessed warrior” St Fyodor customarily depict him in his naval uniform, not monastic garb) and declared him the patron saint of the Russian Navy. Four years later, Patriarch Alexy II declared St Fyodor the patron as well of Russia’s nuclear-armed strategic bomber force, observing that “His strong faith helped St Fyodor Ushakov in all his battles,” offering the blessing: “I am sure he will become your intermediary as you fulfil your responsible duties to the fatherland.” Ushakov’s memory is cherished and venerated in Russian military circles, while the Putin regime ardently propagates the admiral-monk’s holy memory.
In many ways,
Ushakov represents the Putinist ideal: a devout Russian patriot, Orthodox believer, and successful warrior in battle against the country’s enemies. If you’re an Orthodox believer too, it’s difficult to avoid noticing that
Putin consecrated his Ukraine war to Admiral Ushakov’s memory and placed the “special operation” under the saint’s patronage with his speech last Friday. When the Kremlin strongman says that his attack on Ukraine “quite by chance coincided” with St Fyodor’s birthday, February 24, don’t believe him.
*Linguistic note: John 15:13 is usually rendered in Russian as
«Нет больше той любви, как если кто положит душу свою за друзей своих
», while Putin’s comment was:
«Hет больше любви, как если бы кто-то отдал душу свою за друзей своих
». In both cases, the Russian version literally refers to “soul”
(душу
) not “life” as in the standard English translation.
If people weren’t being so naive before, they would’ve knew what time it was. I honestly wanted him to take Ukraine a month ago just so we could move on, and with minimal loss of life, because I know in my heart that this dude is truly evil enough to press that button. I don’t know if that’s the right move for our future but right now, I feel like we’re staring at Hell opening up.
the military is. If the Ruskies actually lost 10% of their military… 
I don't even know anymore one week I think he is crazy enough to do it, the next I think no way. The one thing I do know is this combo of sanctions + all these other countries giving Ukraine next level weaponry does not help the no nukes cause