The realms of the Slavs were called “Rus” in the Middle Ages. The most well-known among these was Kievan Rus, which is viewed as the cradle of Russian civilisation. The expression “Holy Rus” stresses the specifically Russian faith of the Orthodox Russians, some of whom see their faith as the spiritual foundation of Russian statehood. But it is not just the “patriotic faith” that this “holiness” applies to, it also Russian soil and the history of the Russian nation.