Religious populism in the Russian Federation: Analysis of online speeches in the period of 2008‑2020

Religious populism has gained momentum in the last decade. Extensive research covers the evolution of it from both religious and political leaders perspective. However, limited attention is paid to religious populism in Orthodox states. This paper adresses this gap in the literature and aims to emphasize the populist religious narratives, from the perspective of Slavic Orthodoxy. It uses Russia as a case study due to its Orthodox majority, its particular internet infrastructure and active Orthodox Church at the socio-political level. The analysis draws on a new data set: online speeches disseminated by Ortho-bloggers in the orto-sphere of Russian RuNet. The results indicate the presence of populist religious narratives, on background of a particular ideology and a specific relationship between the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church.