Habilitation and publication in Routledge Book Series by former guest scholar Tobias Köllner

Tobias Köllner, one of our first guest scholars at the EEGA 2017, successfully completed his habilitation in general sociology at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in November 2019. The EEGA congratulates cordially!

The corresponding publication „Religion and Politics in Contemporary Russia: Beyond the Binary of Power and Authority“ will be published this year as a monograph in the Routledge Religion, Society and Government in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet States book series. 

Based on extensive original research at the local level, this book explores the relationship between Russian Orthodoxy and politics in contemporary Russia. It reveals close personal links between politicians at the local, regional and national level and their counterparts at the equivalent level in the Russian Orthodox Church – priests and monks, bishops and archbishops – who are extensively consulted about political decisions. It outlines a convergence of conservative ideology between politicians and clerics, and also highlights that, despite the close working together, there are nevertheless many tensions. The book examines in detail particular areas of co-operation and tension: reform to religious education and a growing emphasis on traditional moral values, the restitution of former church property and the introduction of new festive days. Overall, the book concludes that there is much uncertainty, ambiguity and great local variation.

You can find more information about Tobias Köllner on his ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tobias_Koellner2