Russian officials hail recovered relics of Prince Dmitry Donskoy as a wartime miracle
Restoration of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin revealed a sarcophagus holding the remains of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the commander celebrated for the Battle of Kulikovo. Although his burial site was known, the relics were only elevated to saintly status after his 1988 canonization, and the recent exhumation was framed as a divine miracle by Russian officials. President Vladimir Putin participated in the ceremony, and officials promised to send a fragment of the relic to the front lines, with another fragment scheduled for a Moscow procession on September 6.
Religious scholar Konstantin Mikhailov explained that relic veneration dates back to early Christianity and differs across denominations, while also noting the secular parallel of Lenin’s preserved body. The article discusses how authenticity is assessed, the role of relics in Orthodox practice, and the broader cultural significance of such symbols during the ongoing war.
How this was covered
- The two sides describe this in almost entirely different words
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage describes the exhumation as a religious ceremony framed as a wartime miracle, while centrist coverage stresses the political use of the relics to mobilize Russian troops and portray the event as Kremlin propaganda.
LEFT
Frames the relics’ unveiling as a divine wartime miracle and a historic-religious ceremony involving Putin and scholars.
CENTER
Frames the relics as a tool for Kremlin-backed mobilization of soldiers and a propaganda effort to boost morale in the Ukraine war.
The left emphasises
- the ceremony was presented as a "wartime miracle" by Russian officials
- President Vladimir Putin participated in the ceremony and promised to send relic fragments to the front
- scholar Konstantin Mikhailov explained the historical practice of relic veneration
