INDEPENDENCE OF THE UKRAINIAN CHURCH: HOW RUSSIA IS LOSING ITS SOFT POWER TOOL IN UKRAINE

The establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the end of 2018 opened the way for discussions of the Church’s role in domestic and foreign policies of Russia and Ukraine. Using the theoretical approach developed by Joseph Nye, this article seeks to examine Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) as a soft power tool of Kremlin along with discussing conservative ideology in Russia itself. In addition, the consequences of autocephaly for Russia and ROC are analyzed. The article argues that annexation of Crimea by Russia and the war in Eastern Ukraine facilitated nationalistic mobilization in the country that resulted in the election of an anti-Russian candidate Poroshenko. Poroshenko was the one who promoted establishment of an independent Church despite his political interests. The article also argues that tomos seriously undermines the stability of the Russian World, erected by means of the educational and cultural institutions and deteriorates the position of ROC in Ukraine. The method of content-analysis is used to examine legislation, official speeches on religious issues in Russia and Ukraine, statements of the Churches’ representatives, as well as media coverage of the issue in both countries