Orthodox Christianity arrived in Kievan Rus' in the 10th century and had a transformative effect on the local population. The enlightenment that came from the spread of literacy, art (iconography) and music combined with the formation of a national identity made the Church the cornerstone on which the peak of Russian imperial culture was reached. Following the Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917, the Church was repressed on an extraordinary scale, creating more New Martyrs than at anytime in the history of the Church. Gradually, the Soviet atheist state co-opted the church to serve its interests, a legacy the current Russian Church is still struggling with more than 30 years of the fall of the Soviet Union.
Professor Neil Kent gives the talk in London in May 2022 which coincides with the publication of his new book "A Concise History of the Russian Orthodox Church" (2022).
Professor Kent is based at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute there, as well as Associate Professor of the Rennes School of Business, in France. He was formerly Professor at the Russian Academy of Art in St Petersburg, Russia, and has written St Petersburg, a cultural and social history of that city. His most recent book a Concise History of the Russian Orthodox Church was published by Academica Press in Spring 2022.
