Feelings and sensitivity of Orthodox believers: commentary by Konstantin Mikhailov

Especially for the SOVA Center, religious scholar Konstantin Mikhailov commented on the scandal that erupted around the figure of Ksenia Sobchak, dressed in a golden robe.

At the end of April 2015, the popular presenter and “celebrity” Ksenia Sobchak posted a photo on her Instagram in which she appeared in clothes that clearly resembled the vestments of an Orthodox priest, and with a false beard. Soon after this, a lawyer from Naberezhnye Chelny filed a complaint against Ms. Sobchak with the Investigative Committee. The committee, in turn, began proceedings, and in early June this became known to the general public.

This story itself, in general, lacks an expert dimension: it is unclear exactly what issues a specialist can clarify here. Is it possible for TV presenters to dress in fancy dress? Does a carnival costume offend the feelings of believers? Should such issues be resolved through the court and the Investigative Committee?

The answers in all cases will be quite obvious. Moreover, it is difficult to say who suffered from this story: Ms. Sobchak once again found herself on the pages of the media, which is probably not bad in her profession; Mr. Mikhailov, a lawyer-complainant, overnight became known throughout the country, which is useful in his affairs. Newspapers found stories for websites and third pages, the Investigative Committee demonstrated its readiness to work with citizens' complaints. The only ones left with an absolute loss are the taxpayers, with whose money the investigators are investigating a case that is not worth a damn.

However, there are serious dimensions to this carnival story. The first of these is the reasons why something like this could happen at all. The second is society’s reaction to what has already happened. It is characteristic that not only in the media, but also in online discussions, compromise thoughts were often heard: on the one hand, freedom of speech, on the other, why provoke? It is this reading of the carnival costume as a provocation that is symptomatic.

Obviously, Ms. Sobchak is not the first person in the history of modern Russia to try on a priest’s clothes for fun. A quick search on the Internet reveals many similar photos, as well as sites where “Halloween-clothing-masquerade-cosplay-costume-priest” is sold for a very reasonable amount. At any role-playing game and reenactment festival, which are held every summer in many regions of Russia, it is easy to find both men and women in “monastic outfit,” as they say in informal circles. The reasons why it was the well-known opposition presenter who received complaints from all these hundreds of people are clear. But, for example, a much more poignant speech by the same Ms. Sobchak at the “presentation” of the Silver Galosh award to the patriarch in 2012 caused a stir in the media, but not appeals to the authorities.

Over the past three years, public discourse itself has changed. The feelings of Orthodox believers have grown into painful sensitivity, and complaints about the offenders of these feelings have become a common method of criticizing the opposition from pro-government circles and, of course, a good way to get into the editorial pages. In this context, a complaint about a carnival costume is a much less significant moment than the recent seizure of the Jewish Tanakh to check for extremism or the prosecutor’s office’s request to the Perm diocese about whether the graffiti of the crucified Gagarin offends religious feelings. But they all draw the same line.

This line is often called the fusion of the state and the Church, the clericalization of power. However, it seems to me that it would be much more accurate to talk about the clericalization of society. It is not the cabinet of ministers and the presidential apparatus that initiate cases against carnival costumes, graffiti and the Tanakh - this is done by the citizens themselves or by zealous, unreasonably low-level employees of government services, whose cultural background and vision of reality is no different from that of all other Russians. Not the highest authorities, but society itself increasingly began to turn to religious themes. But since this society imagines Orthodoxy according to the images conveyed by church speakers like V. Chaplin (he was not slow to speak out about the carnival costume) and aggressive reports about “blasphemers,” the main form of religious service is not rituals, prayers or charity, and the slander: we have so far learned to pray poorly, but we know how to complain perfectly.