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Ukrainian autocephaly is a tool to split the Orthodox world

Summary

The purpose of the conflict between our church [the Russian Orthodox Church] and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, over the so-called Ukrainian autocephaly, is not to acknowledge the schismatics in Ukraine. The purpose is to split the Russian world from the Greek world.

Disproof

A conspiracy theory, presented without any evidence. Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets have frequently attacked the establishment of an autocephalous Ukrainian church.

The Russian Orthodox church decided to break communication with Constantinople after the latter announced that it would “proceed to the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine”. On 5 January 2019, after the final decision of the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarch Bartholomew signed the tomos of autocephaly.

In October 2019, the Greek Orthodox Church decided to recognise the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and supported the decision of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

For more information on the tomos of the autocephaly see here.

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  • Reported in: Issue 169
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 18/10/2019
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Russia, The West, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Anti-Russian, Orthodox Church
  • Outlet: Vremya @Pervyi kanal (1:45-2:05)
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Three types of Russophobia are turning Belarus into anti-Belarus and anti-Russian state

The basis of the Russian World idea is a fair society and world order. Russia’s foes are concerned about its prospects because it can potentially result in a post-Soviet reunification. Hence, the key tool of political war against the Russian World is Russophobia, i.e. a hostile attitude and hatred towards any Russian manifestations in the whole post-Soviet space. In Belarus, Russophobia is aimed at radically distorting the national consciousness of Belarusians. Its main tool is a doctrine of Polishness which presents Belarusian history through the lens of Polish-Catholic interests. The objective of the Polishness doctrine is not to turn Belarusians into Poles, although this scenario cannot be ruled out, but rather to change their cultural and civil belonging, to cultivate a hostile attitude towards Russia and the Russian World and to tear Belarus away from Russia. The competing civilisation project can be named the 4th Rzezhpospolita.

Polishness and Belarusianness bring a threat to the integration processes in the post-Soviet space and to Belarus itself. We talk about the threat of transforming Belarus into a Russophobic and anti-Russian country. In Belarus, Russophobia is presented in three formats. First, the openly anti-Russian propaganda of the Association of Belarusian Language and other similar groupings. Second, pro-European parties which hide their pathological hatred of Russia under European values. They always paint Russia in a black light and present it as the source of evil on the planet, their activities are based on U.S. and EU instruments. Third, the Russophobia of Belarusian officials, the most dangerous type of Russophobia. A number of state bodies and universities for humanities are its representatives.

All three types of Russophobia have a common objective: to take away the all-Russian basis of national consciousness from Belarusians, to turn Belarusians into haters of Russia, to create a ground for disrupting the Russian-Belarusian union, to revoke the Treaty on the Union State between Belarus and Russia, and to turn Belarus into anti-Belarus.

October 21, 2019
Disproof

This article represents a mix of conspiracy theories, groundless generalisations and assumptions which aim to discredit the West and Poland in particular, the democratic Belarusian opposition and specific NGOs such as the Association of Belarusian Language. It offers an arbitrary concept of Polishness, makes the preposterous claim that Belarusianness is a threat to Belarus and paints virtually all Belarusian organisations which do not clearly follow pro-Russian policies in any field as Russophobic. The article follows recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about Western aggressiveness and anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian activities, the West's attempts to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations, Russophobia in the West and everywhere including in Belarus, and Poland's plans to re-establish an empire at the expense of its Eastern neighbouring countries.

See earlier disinformation messages alleging that Poland has plans to turn Belarus into a vassal, anti-Russian state with Belarus’ western part being an eastern part of a new Polish state, that the West is  targeting the Union State between Belarus and Russia, that the Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, and that the West's only interest in Belarus is to make it anti-Russian.

By supporting Euromaidan, the EU promoted similar protests in the EU

Western politicians must have realised by now that by praising the Ukrainian Euromaidan in 2013, they promoted similar protests in the EU itself. Unhappy EU citizens envied Ukrainians and learnt how to protest from them, particularly given that the Ukrainian coup d’état was named the Revolution of Dignity. A revolutionary fuse and potential in the EU is much larger than in the post-Soviet space. Revolutionary processes in the EU do not need external management, they spark spontaneously from time to time out of deep problems in the Roman-Germanic world. Europe continues to collapse, and the EU, in a pathetic attempt to stop this process by submitting itself to the overseas empire, is crumbling too.

The fatal error of European politicians is to follow their American master and repeat what the U.S. did in Latin America in the last two centuries. “Banana republics” can be created in the centre of Europe, but given the EU’s much softer domestic structure compared to strict federal authority in the U.S., Europe will not stand it. Unhappy with the influx of migrants, Europeans rebelled and followed Kosovo and Ukraine as examples. Now the ashes of burning Catalonia are coming to Europe, which is seemingly about to collapse.

October 21, 2019
Disproof

This article puts forward a number of unfounded parallels and generalisations and contains recurring propaganda pro-Kremlin narratives about the Ukrainian coup d'état, lost sovereignty especially the EU's subordination to the U.S. and the EU's imminent collapse.

The Catalan protests cannot be simply deduced from the events in Kosovo or Ukraine as the article suggests.The recent strike and protests erupted because of the ruling of Spain’s Supreme Court which sentenced nine Catalan pro-independence leaders to jail for sedition.

The West attempts to drain Russian resources and wants to harm Russia-Belarus relations

The West’s aim is to bring discord in Russian-Belarusian relations, to pull out the countries’ resources on countermeasures instead of taking care of economic development and integration. Although Russia’s collapse would not benefit the U.S., it aims at preventing Russia’s development and distracting its attention towards external problems. The game around Belarus played by Americans is an attempt to provoke distrust and conflicts in Russia-Belarus relations.

October 21, 2019
Disproof

This is conspiracy which is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about Western aggressiveness and anti-Russian activities and West's attempts to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations.

See earlier disinformation messages alleging that the West is targeting the Union State between Belarus and Russia and attacks the institution of family in Slavic countries and aims at Russian resources.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.