Russia’s Trinity Sunday of spilled blood

In Russian history, there are many tragic days that are symbolically connected with religion. The famous Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in St. Petersburg, more commonly known as the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, was erected on the site where members of Narodnaya Volya assassinated Emperor Alexander II in March 1881. The church is built in his honor and the suffix “on Spilled Blood” refers to his assassination.

Last week’s Holy Trinity Sunday in Russia could be renamed “Trinity Sunday with Spilled Blood,” as two terror attacks occurred in the country. The first news came from Sevastopol, where the Ukrainian army fired five American Army Tactical Missile System long-range missiles with cluster warheads. Four missiles were shot down, with one exploding in the air. As a result of the attack, according to the latest data, 151 people were injured and four were killed, including two children.

The Russian military stated that the US bears the responsibility for the civilian deaths, as it made and supplied the weapons. The Pentagon officially refused to comment.

Alexander Sladkov, a military correspondent, shared his version of events, suggesting that the strike on Sevastopol was carried out to divert Russian air defenses from the Kharkiv area and to “disrupt the beach season in Crimea.”

In addition, international developments also arguably provoked security concerns as, during the visit of Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang last week, Russia and North Korea signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement, including a mutual defense clause.

Edward Howell of Chatham House explained: “Questions remain … as to when this clause would ever be invoked, given the slim chance of Russia and North Korea being attacked by external parties. The fact that both sides are yet to define the idea of an ‘attack,’ as mentioned in the mutual defense clause, is also for concern, broadening the possible scope for retaliatory measures on the part of North Korea and Russia.”

In other words, this treaty — as the Center for Strategic and International Studies already termed it, “A threat like no other — the Russia-North Korea alliance” — clearly created an urgent concern at the international level, especially among those directly involved in the Ukraine war.

As for developments in the war, Putin’s recent Asian tour fits into Russia’s strategic choices, with a particular emphasis on military means as a response to recent economic and diplomatic pressure from its counterparts. On June 13, the G7 nations agreed to provide $50 billion to Ukraine from profits on seized Russian assets. This was followed by the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, to which 100 countries were invited but not Russia.

During a press conference at the culmination of his visit to Vietnam, Putin clarified Russia’s nuclear doctrine after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg revealed there had been talks about placing the alliance’s nuclear weapons in a state of combat readiness. “We are now thinking about what could be changed in the nuclear doctrine,” creating more security concerns for Western countries, which are developing “ultra-low-power explosive nuclear devices,” as stated by Putin.

On the same day as the Sevastopol incident, two terrorist attacks occurred in southern Russia. In Derbent, unknown persons attacked the Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Kele-Numaz synagogue. Priest Nikolai Kotelnikov was killed in the church in Derbent. The 66-year-old had worked at the church for more than 40 years. As a result of the attack, a severe fire started in the synagogue. Derbent is known as a city of three religions and is home to more than 50 ethnicities, including an ancient Jewish community in the mainly Muslim region.

At the same time, unknown persons opened fire in Makhachkala. A traffic police post and a nearby synagogue came under fire and there was a shootout near the Cathedral of the Assumption. During the attack, 19 people barricaded themselves in the church for protection. They were later evacuated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Shooting was also reported in the village of Sergokala, 65 km south of Makhachkala. There, unknown persons fired at a police car, injuring one of the officers.

In the current geopolitical context, most attacks will be associated, even if indirectly, with Ukraine.

Dr. Diana Galeeva

Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee considers these to be terrorist acts. No group has claimed responsibility so far. However, some experts believe that a link between the attackers and the Daesh armed group cannot be ruled out. Russian sources stated that the identities of the attackers have not yet been officially disclosed, but media reports claim five of the militants were part of the terrorist group.

The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg cited the pro-Kremlin news site Komsomolskaya Pravda’s reporting on events in Dagestan, which accused the “collective West” of aiming “to open a second front” against Russia. In Rosenberg’s opinion, this resembled the official Russian reaction to the Crocus City Hall attack in March, with a consistent theme of the Russian authorities seeming to disregard the potential for Islamist involvement in favor of portraying “Kyiv and the collective West as public enemy No.1.”

In this case, whether or not the attack can be traced back to the Ukraine war is in question. Nonetheless, in the current geopolitical context, most attacks will be associated, even if indirectly, with the principal opponent, Ukraine, and the war there. However, what is crystal clear is that the Holy Trinity Sunday of 2024 will forever be linked to the spilled blood in modern Russian history.

• Dr. Diana Galeeva is an academic visitor to Oxford University. X: @Dr_GaleevaDiana