ТHE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN EURASIAN THEORY

The theory of Eurasianism, which arose in the 1920s among the Russian emigration, emphasized the uniqueness of Eurasia as a special civilization. The Eurasian value system, unlike the rational legal system of the Western world, is based on the principle of ideocracy. Ideocracy is a political expression of religious consciousness. Power should reflect not so much the opinion of the general public as the highest truths preserved by tradition. For Eurasians, ideocracy is impossible without religion, but it is not a theocracy, but a synthesis of spiritual tradition and a political system. Classical Eurasians (N. Trubetskoy, P. Savitsky, G. Vernadsky) saw Orthodoxy as the basis of Russian culture and statehood. Unlike Western Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), Orthodoxy was perceived as more “conciliar” and organic to Eurasian spirituality. At the same time, Eurasianism recognized the influence of other religions (Islam, Buddhism, pagan beliefs) on the formation of Russian civilization. The Eurasian model assumes a “symphony of religions” under the auspices of a strong state. The religious factor plays an important role in the Eurasian concept, since Eurasianism considers Russia (or Eurasia) as a unique civilization that unites elements of East and West, including in the spiritual sphere. In Russia today, the theory of Eurasianism is interpreted as a political process of opposition to Atlanticism, cultural and economic integration of post-Soviet countries under the auspices of Moscow. Kazakhstan, being the initiator of the EAEU, fully supports Eurasian integration, but as an economic rather than an ideological and geopolitical model. Today, in both countries, the value system fully complies with the norms of secular states, but at the same time, the value of religion remains significant for the majority of the populations of these countries, the heirs of the great Eurasian civilization.