081 THE WILEYMAN (Late Great Planet Earth, Russian religions, Vladimir Putin's spiritual space)

We begin with a throwback to the Cold War of the 1970s and quickly arrive at the war today instigated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What are the demographics of religion in Russia today? What is the relationship between Church and State in Russia? How does Ukraine function as “spiritual space” in the Russian imagination? Is this a “religious war”? Check out the sources we’re discussing:

The Late Great Planet Earth (Hal Lindsey): https://www.amazon.com/Late-Great-Planet-Earth/dp/B000GT1GUS 

US State Dept. on Russian religious affiliation (see Section I: Religious Demography): https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/russia/ 

Putin’s spiritual destiny: https://unherd.com/2022/02/putins-spiritual-destiny/ 

Between Two Fires (Joshua Yaffa): https://www.amazon.com/Between-Two-Fires-Ambition-Compromise/dp/1524760595 

A critique of Levada’s “Soviet Man”: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/rip-soviet-man-scrapping-homo-sovieticus-the-spirit-yuri-levada 

Understanding Putin’s narrative: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/23/putin-narrative-ukraine-master-key-crisis-nato-expansionism-frozen-conflict?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 

Put wants religious soul of Ukraine: https://religionnews.com/2022/02/24/putin-is-after-more-than-land-he-wants-the-religious-soul-of-ukraine/