The Pope explained his words about the great Russia

Pope Francis: words about great Russia were said about the culture of the country

Pope Francis explained that when he spoke about great Russia, he meant its culture, and he mentioned Peter I and Catherine II in his speech because he studied history at school. Kiev considered the pontiff's speech "imperialist propaganda"

The words of Pope Francis about the "great mother Russia" referred primarily to the culture of the country. The pontiff said this while returning from a trip to Mongolia, Reuters reports.

We are talking about Francis' speech at the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth in St. Petersburg at the end of August. The Pope took part in the event via video link, he called the audience "heirs of great Russia, saints, rulers of great Russia Peter I, Catherine II" and urged not to forget about it. These words provoked sharp criticism in Kiev.

"I didn't mean imperialism when I said that <...>," Francis told reporters. He noted that, perhaps, he did not formulate his idea quite correctly, but, "speaking of great Russia, he meant not so much geography as culture." The pontiff noted that one of his favorite authors is Fyodor Dostoevsky.

"It was a spontaneous comment that came to my mind because I studied [Russian history] at school," he added, explaining why he mentioned Peter I and Catherine II in that speech. Francis noted that "Russian culture has beauty and depth, and it should not be canceled because of political problems." According to him, "there were dark years in Russia," but the cultural heritage remains.

After the August speech of the pontiff, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko called his words "imperialist propaganda," and the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Svyatoslav, said that the pope's statement could "inspire neocolonial ambitions." Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of President Vladimir Zelensky, considered that Francis had become an instrument of Russian propaganda, and the words about great Russia "are an unconditional encouragement of aggressive imperialism."

The Vatican later clarified that the pope "did not intend to praise the imperialist logic and the rulers he mentioned," but wanted to encourage the Russian youth and urged them to preserve and develop their cultural heritage. The Kremlin reacted positively to Francis' speech. "The pontiff knows Russian history, and this is very good. It is really deep, has deep roots. Our heritage is not limited only to Peter or Catherine, it is much more ancient, it is a legacy," said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.