![\"\u2018Mobilizing](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134501555,imgsize-141680,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/russian-soldiers.jpg\" "\\"Russian")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRussian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine are receiving an unusual form of support as the war enters another winter. Relics of medieval Russian rulers and warrior saints are being taken to military bases and units at the front.In early September, a fragment of the remains of Dmitry Donskoy, the Moscow prince celebrated for his victory at the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo, was sent to Russian troops and is now being moved around military bases in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The relic is a fragment of his right hand, the same hand the Russian Orthodox Church says he used to wield his sword in battle.The military department of the Moscow Patriarchate said the \u201csaint commander\u201d would invisibly stand \u201cshoulder to shoulder\u201d with Russian soldiers. The move is part of a broader role the Russian Orthodox Church has played during the war, with religious symbolism being used alongside state narratives about Russia\u2019s military campaign, according to a CNN report.\u201cThe church has practically merged with the state to the point of being indistinguishable,\u201d the report quoted Sergei Chapnin saying, a religious scholar and director of communications at Fordham University\u2019s Orthodox Christian Studies Center. \u201cFrom my point of view, the maximum (closeness) has been reached.\u201d<\/p>\n The practice of taking sacred relics to troops is not new in Orthodox Christianity. But experts say Donskoy\u2019s medieval military legacy gives the relic a particular significance in the context of the Ukraine war.Chapnin said Donskoy is presented not as an aggressor but as a defender of his homeland, allowing the historical figure to be linked to Russia\u2019s present-day narrative about the war.\u201cHe was not himself an aggressor, but a defender of the fatherland,\u201d the scholar told CNN. From the government\u2019s perspective, \u201cit is very important to show that Russia is not the aggressor, that we are defending our territory.\u201dChapnin described this connection between Russia\u2019s medieval past and its current war as \u201ca mobilizing myth.\u201d\u201cThese myths, which connect different times and eras, can act quite powerfully on mass consciousness,\u201d he said, adding that the relics are presented as \u201ca magical artifact.\u201dMetropolitan Vladimir, the Russian-installed Orthodox leader in Donetsk and Mariupol, said the relic would help soldiers and civilians \u201cmobilize both their spiritual and physical strength\u201d and \u201ctriumph over the enemy.\u201dDonskoy is not the only medieval Russian ruler whose relics have been taken to the war zone. Earlier this year, relics of Prince Alexander Nevsky, another ruler later turned into a symbol of Russian military glory, were also taken to troops.<\/p>\n The use of religious relics comes against the backdrop of a closer relationship between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.The Church has repeatedly used religious language to support Russia\u2019s military narrative. The recovery of Donskoy\u2019s remains in August was itself given religious and historical significance by Russia\u2019s political and religious leadership.President Vladimir Putin called the recovery an \u201cabsolutely unique\u201d and \u201cmarvelous discovery\u201d, while Patriarch Kirill described it as \u201ca special sign of God\u2019s providence.\u201dThe relics have also been displayed in Moscow, where thousands participated in religious events involving Donskoy\u2019s remains. An annual religious procession in September drew more than 100,000 people in Moscow alone, according to official figures.But the role of the Church in the war has drawn criticism from within the wider Orthodox community.For Rev Alexander Zanemonets, an Orthodox priest and historian, the use of Donskoy\u2019s remains \u201chas nothing to do with Christianity.\u201d\u201cIt is undoubtedly the exploitation of Christianity and the exploitation of the church for \u2018patriotic\u2019 purposes,” CNN quoted him saying. He argued that the Church\u2019s strong state backing creates incentives to align with the Kremlin, calling the use of the remains a \u201ccynical calculation.\u201d<\/p>\n The religious symbolism does not necessarily have the same meaning for troops at the front.Some Russian soldiers say faith has become more important as the war continues. A former Russian serviceman told CNN that soldiers often turn to God during difficult moments.\u201cNot all of us talk to God when things are going well, but everyone talks to God when things are bad,\u201d he said.He described makeshift churches at the front, soldiers praying before missions and priests visiting military units and hospitals.\u201cLike a field kitchen, there should be a priest everywhere,\u201d he said, quoting a popular Russian expression: \u201cWe are Russians. God is with us.\u201dA Russian soldier serving in the Zaporizhzhia region described being able to speak to a priest, pray or touch a holy object as \u201cserious moral support.\u201dBut not all soldiers see the relics as meaningful.One serviceman in the Donbas region called the decision to send them to the front \u201ca very unconventional solution to our problems in the 21st century.\u201d\u201cMy view is that they are needed more by the mothers of the guys who died in this military operation,\u201d he added.The war has also raised questions within the Orthodox community over the role priests should play in supporting soldiers. Rev Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko, a Russian priest who helps Ukrainian refugees displaced by the war, said spiritual support should not become a means of reinforcing an illusion about the conflict.\u201cWe need to support people, including those in military uniform,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the question is how we support them.\u201d\u201cOn the one hand, (you must) not deny people spiritual help, and on the other, not lead them into an illusion,\u201d CNN quoted the priest as saying.The debate comes as the war enters its fifth year, with Russian soldiers describing mounting strain at the front. For the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church, however, the medieval warrior saints and their relics offer a way to connect Russia\u2019s military present with its religious and historical past.<\/div>\n Russian soldiers stand guard during military operations in the region Russian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine are receiving an unusual form of support as the war enters another winter. Relics of medieval Russian rulers and warrior saints are being taken to military bases and units at the front.In early September, a fragment of the remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Russian soldiers stand guard during military operations in the region Russian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine are receiving an unusual form of support as the war enters another winter. Relics of medieval Russian rulers and warrior saints are being taken to military bases and units at the front.In early September, a fragment of the remains […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":3,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":6,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/russian-soldiers.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Donskoy\u2019s relics were taken to the front<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
From Kremlin to Church, a closer wartime relationship<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
What soldiers make of it<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"