that recall the muddy squalor of prerevolutionary peasant existence. Pleas to
save the dying Russian village have rallied those who wish to recapture
"peasant" values they fear they have lost. ⁴ Such values, inculcated
through traditional socialization, include more than the clichés of Russian
collectivism, patriarchalism, submission to fate, and long-suffering stoicism.
They also encompass soul-satisfying concepts of spirituality, hospitality,
charity, fighting for one's honor, and atonement for permissible binges
through confession. After the August 1991 coup, Boris Yeltsin touched a
deep resonating chord among villagers and urbanites alike when he asked
forgiveness from the families of three young men killed during the coup,
"for not being able to save your sons." He was not merely grandstanding,
but also rejuvenating an ancient Russian value of seeking repentance that
came easily for him, given his roots.⁵

However traditional values are currently defined, they are based on Russian
Orthodox roots, variously interpreted through the centuries by Russians
with strong pre-Christian beliefs. Religion too has become a central issue in
Russian nationalist thought, for the introduction of Christianity and the
long subsequent process of Christianization are seen as key elements in
forming the Russian people into a nation. Historians of Russia are by no
means in agreement on when Russian national consciousness developed or
how long "pagan" influences, often with strong local flavoring, were sig-
nificant. ⁶

In 1988, to the surprise of many Russians used to Soviet policies of
atheism and persecution of believers, the government supported elaborate
and widespread celebrations of the Millennium of Christianity--commem-
oration of the baptism in 988 when Vladimir of Kiev declared his people
Christian. While some Ukrainians explained that the main actors in this his-
torical drama were not Russians but Ukrainians (or at least proto-Ukrain-
ians), others (Ukrainians, Belorussians, and Russians) stressed common
Slavic roots. ⁷ Despite some ethnic discord, the celebration was an official af-
firmation of the historical and living significance of Orthodoxy, signaling a
revival of worship, the return of hundreds of previously seized churches to
believers, and renewed respect for Christian charity and morality. Some
cynics claimed this was merely a governmental grasp at a Christian work
ethic that had evaporated among workers of the socialist workers' state. But
tangible results were impressive. The energies of believers were harnessed
for massive church and monastery restorations, some completed for the offi-
cial Millennium. In several places where decrepit churches (used as dumps,
factories, offices, book repositories, museums, and concert halls) were not
returned, congregations organized protest demonstrations and even hunger
strikes. On a more symbolic level, church bells rang in Red Square for the

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