Russia and Ukraine making costly mistake by positioning themselves as Orthodox states
Russia and Ukraine making costly mistake by positioning themselves as Orthodox states Russia and Ukraine, by falling for the temptation to position themselves as Orthodox countries, are creating serious problems for themselves both at home and abroad and perhaps equally important giving up the opportunity to expand ties with Turkey and other Muslim states against the United States and Europe, a Moscow commentator says. In an essay on Politcom.ru today, Oleg Gorbunov, a journalist who also serves as the head of the Vektor Youth Political Club, argues that the governments of these two Slavic states need not sacrifice their Orthodox identities but should pay attention to the Muslim dimension of their countries and its role in their security. “At first glance,” he says, Russia and Ukraine would appear to be very different in this regard. In the Russian Federation, there are from 15 to 20 million Muslims while in Ukraine, there are fewer than a million and only one part of that countr...