Russia Between East and West: Perceptions and Reality

Should Russia be part of the east or the west? Russian politicians, scholars, writers, thinkers have discussed the issue for centuries. Although we have not reached an agreement, the discussion is far from purely academic but in fact it has a political influence. How Russian leaders relate to this discussion and when to think of when Russia should go depends directly on the government's internal and external policies. The analysis of this discussion makes an important contribution to the study of Russian political culture and can estimate the prospects of European and Moscow cooperation and possible integration.

The eastern (early European) opposition to Europe can be traced back to the 5th century BC Greece where the Greeks encountered the growing threat from the mighty Persian Empire, which is part of the world. It is known as "Asia". Since the conflict era of Greece and Persia, Europe was associated with political freedom. "The conflict between the Greeks and Persians comes from the Greeks as a conflict between Europeans and Asians and represents freedom, not dictatorship." At the end of the post-Roman empire, Eurasia's opposition came to be seen as a struggle between Christianity and paganism. Several Christian thoughters combined the last concept of the New Testament with the decline of the Roman Empire and interpreted the end of the world's prophecy as Europe's victory over Asia.

Although Christianity was thought to be more extensive than Europe in the early Middle Ages, when the Turkish troops threaten the center of Europe in the 16th century after most non-European Christian countries became Turkish, Ottoman A struggle with the empire began to be seen. A struggle between Europe (now Christian) and Asia. The classical classical idea of ​​fundamental opposition between Europe and Asia was revived by humanitarian thinkers like Rotterdam Erasmus and Juan Luis Vivas. From the 17th century to the 18th century, European intellectuals (Britain, Scotland, France first) brought new insights into the European civilization. Advances in progress have advanced and Europe is now moving toward more complex, perfect and free directions in all areas (technical, economic, social, political, organizational, and moral) as well . European way of thinking is considered ordinary and natural, in contrast to the eastern way. And many countries are better known for new geographical exploration and colonial expansion.

The impact of these new European ideas on the Russian society of the 18th century was simple. It poses a problem never before raised: should Russia be part of the east or the west? In the 18th century, the answer was obvious. Progress and prosperity of the country is related to the West as Peter the Great called his policy "Opening windows to Europe".

There is a difference between the east and the west in terms of the authority of the church. In Latin Rome, the papacy is a pastor and a shepherd in the whole church as a representative of Peter, the eastern part of Greece regards the representative of the Roman pontiff, Roman bishop, and Peter as common sense of love. The difference in recognition of the authority of the church caused conflicts by adding the phrallic and son between the Roman Catholic Church and Nica Air Creed. Trinity theological thought, especially St. Augustine, viewed the Holy Spirit as an expression of love between the Father and the Son. In 587, at the Third Committee of Toledo, Spain, king Recared and his bishop Visigoth converted from Arianism to Catholicism and asked Creio to add the word filioque.

"Western" was originally defined as the Western world. The ancient Romans distinguished the East (Oriental or Asian) culture that lived in Egypt today and the Western culture that lived in the West. After 1000 years, the division between the East and the West separated the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. As the West was influenced by other countries and spreading to other countries, the definition of the West has changed. When Islam and Byzantine scholars joined the Western classics, their Greek and Roman literary shops began the Renaissance. Russia converted to Christianity in the 10th century, but when Peter revolutionized the provincial government, the church modernized the Dutch idea, but the West expanded to include it all.