Disenchantment of the World in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War,

Authors

• Olga Dobrodum, State University of Trade and EconomicsFollow
• Eduard Martyniuk, National University of Odesa PolytechnicFollow
• Olena Nykytchenko, National University of Odesa PolytechnicFollow
• Mykola Palinchak, Uzhhorod National University, Uzhhorod, UkraineFollow
• Ruslana Tkachenko, National University of Odesa PolytechnicFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Olga Dobrodum, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7651-4946

Eduard Martyniuk, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5904-2721

Olena Nykytchenko, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9403-9795

Mykola Palinchak, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9990-5314

Ruslana Tkachenko, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9107-9804

Abstract

The article analyzes Max Weber's concept of the "disenchantment of the world" («Entzauberung der Welt») in the context of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022 and continues to the present. The author examines disenchantment as a process of rationalization and desacralization of society, tracing its development from ancient origins (Epicurus) and monotheistic traditions to contemporary interpretations (Adorno and Horkheimer, Barthes, Baudrillard, Habermas, Taylor, Haraway, Latour). The paradoxical nature of the process is emphasized: secularization does not eliminate the sacred but transforms it into new forms—from commodity fetishism to digital eschatology and posthumanist animism.

The main part explores global secularization trends (the growth of religious "nones" and declining institutional trust) and their local manifestations in Eastern Europe against the backdrop of the war. Russia's full-scale aggression serves as a catalyst for dialectical changes: in Ukraine, the war reinforces ecumenism (joint prayers across denominations, field liturgies under shelling), increases trust in churches as institutions of resistance and humanitarian aid (second only to the Armed Forces of Ukraine), and generates new forms of the sacred (memorials in Bucha and Mariupol, digital rituals, crypto-donations); in Russia, it leads to the instrumentalization of religion (the Russian Orthodox Church as part of "holy war" propaganda, sacralization of power and militarism). The author demonstrates how the war shatters illusions of modernist progress, accelerating a post-secular mutation of the sacred: from vertical institutional systems to horizontal, particularistic, and digital forms in which patriotism and memory supplant traditional dogma. In conclusion, it is emphasized that disenchantment in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war unfolds catastrophically—through existential crisis and collective trauma—revealing the anthropological need for the sacred and its ongoing transformation amid the struggle for survival and identity.

Recommended Citation

Dobrodum, Olga; Martyniuk, Eduard; Nykytchenko, Olena; Palinchak, Mykola; and Tkachenko, Ruslana (2026) "Disenchantment of the World in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War,," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46 : Iss. 5 , Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2743
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss5/8