Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Martyr Cult of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich

2022; Wiley; Volume: 81; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/russ.12360

1467-9434

George Gilbert,

Security, Politics, and Digital Transformation

The martyr cult of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich lacuna considering the ways in which these played an important role in the day-to-day operations of the Russian autocracy, in an era in which mass politics and public engagement became live issues. 2Supporters in church and state developed an image of the slain duke designed to draw emotional connections with supporters, identifying principles of Russian Orthodoxy, Russian nationality and autocracy.As has been demonstrated, commemorative practices developed by the Russian autocracy were not only symbolic, but functioned as an important mechanism of rule, demonstrating the tangibility of central elements of autocratic ideology and absolutist political practice, underscoring a vision of dynastic continuity in an age of great change.Hence, central pillars of the Russian state, including representatives from the Russian Orthodox Church, army and Imperial Court, were present at many of the rituals and ceremonies held for Sergei, which they organized in many cases.In addition to the state, Slavophile cultural groups, conservative political pundits and a variety of forces on the right of Russian politics disseminated an image of the duke as a noble, murdered martyr across a variety of texts and public ceremonies, during and after 1905.It should be noted that Russian conservatism was far from heterogeneous in this era, with debate and conflict between different individuals and groups concerning ideas, strategies and tactics. 3 But, all conservatives shared a belief in the central principles of Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality as the foundations of autocratic Russia.These principles were held by significant individuals like Nicholas II, leading figures within the Russian Orthodox Church -such as the Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod from 1880 to 1905, Konstantin Pobedonostsev -and this was true also of groups like the Union of the Russian People (URP) that appeared in response 2 The outstanding study on imperial ideology and the use of ritual the era remains Wortman, Scenarios,