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Blood Brothers or Blood Enemies: Ukrainian Pagans’ Beliefs and Responses to the Ukraine–Russia Crisis

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Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism

Abstract

Lesiv explores the polarized views of two Ukrainian Pagan communities, RUNVira and Ancestral Fire, regarding the ongoing political and military turbulence in Eastern Europe. Ancestral Fire followers perceive Russians as their blood brothers, despite the ongoing political unrest, while RUNVira adherents treat Russians as their blood enemies, a position reinforced by the recent crisis between the two countries. Lesiv shows that political convictions inform the experience-based belief systems of these communities, and discusses their respective beliefs in relation to the concepts of cosmopolitanism and nationalism. Despite their differences, both communities oppose a cosmopolitan ideology. Paradoxically, however, their belief-based anticosmopolitan sentiments are often nourished by the same modern sources that inform cosmopolitan thinking, making the boundary between nationalism and cosmopolitanism less clear-cut than traditionally acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Canada

    Mariya Lesiv

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  1. Mariya Lesiv
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Auckland, New Zealand

    Kathryn Rountree

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Lesiv, M. (2017). Blood Brothers or Blood Enemies: Ukrainian Pagans’ Beliefs and Responses to the Ukraine–Russia Crisis. In: Rountree, K. (eds) Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism. Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56200-5_7

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