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Historical features of Russian culture "East-West"

When it comes to Russia, you can hear a wide variety of opinions about its culture, about its past, present and future, about the features and features of the Russian people, but there is one thing, in which everything is always convergeous - both foreigners and the Russians themselves. This is the mystery and the inexplicability of Russia and the Russian soul. Probably there is no Russian man who would not remember the Tyutchev poem:

I do not understand Russia with mind

Arshin is generally not measured,

It has a special one,

You can only believe in Russia.

Foreigners often quote Winston Churchill, who said about Russia: "This is a puzzle wrapped in a mystery within a riddle."

True, as shown above, the Chinese and Japanese shower also seemed mysterious and incomprehensible. So this is not a unique property of the Russian soul.

The culture of any people contains some paradoxes that are poorly defamable even for its carriers themselves, and even more so for foreign observers. The culture of the eastern peoples to the people of Western culture is especially difficult to understand. And Russia is a country lying at the junction of the West and the East. N. A. Berdyaev wrote: "Russian people are not purely European and not purely asian people. Russia has a whole part of the world, a huge Eastos-West, it connects two worlds "1. Foreigners, besides, still confusing the fact that the Eastern beginning in Russian culture does not have clear outlines and shrouded in the western sheath. The author of one of the popular books in the West of Russia, the American journalist X. Smith, notes: "Russian life does not offer any visible tourist exotic - women in Sari or Kimono, Buddha figures in the temples, camels in the desert - to remind the alien that here Other culture "2.

Undoubtedly, the geographical location of Russia born in Eastern Europe and engulfed the expanses of the weakly populated North Asia, imposed a special imprint on its culture. However, the difference between Russian culture from Western European countries is due to the "Eastern Spirit", which would be "from nature" inherent to the Russian people, according to some authors 3, for example A.blok in his poem:

Yes, Scythians- we! Yes, Asians- we,

With diagonal and greedy eyes!

But this is a poetic metaphor, and not a scientific and historical conclusion (the block itself, who wrote these lines, by the way, is least similar to the Asian with diagonal eyes).

Eastern specificity of Russian culture is the result of its history. Russian culture, unlike Western European, was formed on other ways - she grew on Earth, for which the Roman legions did not pass, where the gothic of Catholic cathedrals did not go, did not burn fires of the Inquisition, there was no Renaissance era, nor the waves of religious protestant, nor the era constitutional liberalism. Its development was associated with the events of another historical series - with a reflection of the raids of Asian nomads, the adoption of the eastern, Byzantine Orthodox Christianity, the liberation of the Mongolian conquerors, the union of the scattered Russian principalities into a single autocarenimate-desperval state and the spread of its power further to the east.

Traces of the Mongolian invasion were deeply crashed into the memory of the Russian people. And not so much because he perceived some elements of the culture of conquerors. The direct impact of her on the culture of Russia was small and affected, mostly, only in the sphere of the language that had a certain amount of Turkic words, and in separate details of life. However, the invasion was a harsh historical lesson that showed the danger of internal contention and the need for a single, strong state power, and the successful completion of the struggle with the hordes of enemies gave him a feeling own power and national pride. This lesson was excited and developed by the feelings and sentiments, which permeated folklore, literature, the art of the Russian people, - patriotism, an incredulous attitude to foreign states, the love of the "king-batyushka", in which the peasant mass, which made the main population of Russia, saw his defender and Therefore, constantly supported him in wars with external enemies and in the fight against unauthorized boyars. "East" despotism of the royal autocracy - to a certain extent heritage

mongolian yoke.

Consider the most important stages of the formation of Russian culture.

Reflecting on the question of the place of Russia in history and in modern world, various philosophers somehow considered Russia as part of the East-West scheme. At the same time, Russia refers either to the east or west, or recognize it with a special country, not Western and not eastern.

In the history of Russian thought for last case Some independent concepts of the problem "East-West" are known:

• G. Plekhanov believed that Russia is as if between East and West, leaning on one side, then to another.
• N. Berdyaev declared her Eastos-West or the West-East.
• Young perched Great fate: Russia must unite East and West on the basis of true Christianity.
• According to Eurasians, Russia forms a special world, the "third force", quite similar to the west, and east, but independent of them.

Therefore, to navigate in all these diverse points of view and understand the true situation of Russia in the world, it is necessary to unambiguously establish the importance of the initial concepts and terms, divorce the boundaries of the concepts of "West", "East" and their correlation with each other.

In the presentation of Europeans, East has always been in a certain opposition to the West. The mysterious and unfamiliar east was a flutter from contradictions - they said, on the one hand, about its constancy and high spirituality and, on the other, about stagnation and slavery. Against the background of the "East", it was brighter to be seen by the originality of the West, in fact, in the process of thinking of the East, the conquering of Western European.

Paradigm "Vostok-West" helped Europeans to form the European self-consciousness itself. Therefore, the concepts of "East" and "West" influence our worldview - voluntarily or unwittingly, regardless of our critical or dogmatic attitude towards them.

For the first time theoretical concepts "East" and "West" used in his writings philosopher G. Hegel. Under the name "East", it unites three cultural and historical formations:

• chinese, which includes China,

• indian, which includes India,

• and the Middle Eastern, which includes the ancient civilizations of Asia, North Africa: Persia, including the people of Zarathustra, Assyria, Midida, Iran, Babylon, Syria, Fihood, Jew, Egypt, as well as the Islamic world.

"West" in Hegel made up two civilizations formed in the north of the Mediterranean, Roman and Greek. It should be noted that in the system of Hegel Russia there was no place.

Thus, the "West" in the philosophy of Hegel had two meanings:

1. wide, including antique time and Christian culture of European peoples;
2. narrow, including only the Christian world.

These interpretations have their supporters and opponents.

"Localists" (N.Ya. Danilevsky, O. Shpengler, A. Tynby), rejecting the paradigm "West - East", considered "West" only the Western European world. E. Gusserl called Ancient Greece "Spiritual Motherland" of the West.

K. Jaspers offered a compromise point of view. He considers the Western civilization of one of the many local, but notes it special role In world history, especially in the era of the new time, and indicates that Western culture is a spiritual heir to Greek, Jewish and Roman cultures.

Jaspers introduces the concept of "axial time", universal for all mankind, criticizing the Hegelian "world axis" associated exclusively with Christianity. But since Christianity itself was the basis only for Western civilization, to choose him as a boundary of this "axial time" for the whole world incorrectly. The desired versatility, and with it and the fullness of being, existed before, for example, in eastern cultures. Jaspers calls the "amazing epoch" time between the VIII and II centuries BC, when different parts Lights protruding their prophets: in China - Confucius and Lao Tzu, in Persia and Iraq - Zarathustra, in India - Buddha, in Palestine is created Old TestamentPhilosophy is actively developing in Greece. At this time, a person overcomes his local thinking and aware of himself. But people did not unite into a single formation, but several foci of world religions and political paradigms were formed.

It is worth noting that Jaspers practically does not use the concept of "East". China and India he considers as independent cultural worlds along with the West. In the widespread concept of "West", it includes not only Western Millennium II culture, but also the culture launched Egyptian, Mesopotamsk, critical-mixed civilizations, continued in the antiquity of the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Jews, completed in the Christian era of Byzantia, Russia, Europe, America and Islamic civilizations. In addition, the West in the Concept of Jaspers is considered as a cradle of ideas about freedom, democracy, philosophy, science.

Problem East - West - Russia in the history of philosophical thought

The question of Russia's place in the Paradigm "East - West - Russia" was first raised in "Philosophical letters."

• Westerners argued that Russia is part european Culture. West. Slavophiles believed that Russia is a "distinctive spiritual education."
• The third point of view was - the concept of K. Leontiev.

Greater support for the ideas of Slavophiles. Without recognizing the "East-West" paradigm, he developed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe presence of independent cultural and historical types. Russian culture, according to Danilevsky, just imagined such a special type of culture.

Almost all of the 19th century in Russian philosophical thought dominated the idea of \u200b\u200bthe "features" of Russia in a number of other civilizations, which had an impact on the formation of the national Russian civilizational and historical identity.

This process was embodied in the famous formulas:

• « The history of Russia requires another thought, another formula "(A. Pushkin),

• "My mind is not understood" (F. Tyutchev)

• "Rus, where you wear you, give an answer?" (N. Gogol),

• "Why don't we hold last words His [Christ]? " (F. Dostoevsky).

Based on the fact that Russian culture is Christian, Westerners put on the third world-historical stage slavic peoples Along with German. Slavophile, indicating cultures, opposed Russia Western Europe.

Chaadaev believed that Russian culture could combine both the mind and imagination, so Russia could become a kind of bridge between the West and East. He calls Russia "Third Sour" in history.

The introduction of Russia to the Gegelian triad "China, India, the Middle East" admits two theoretical capabilities:

1) preservation of the triad with the room of Russia "inside" of one of the elements;

2) Reducing the elements up to two and introduction to the Russian Triad instead of one of them.

Theoretical priority clearly has the second possibility. However, the idea of \u200b\u200bRussian identity dominated the idea of \u200b\u200bRussian identifiers in the XIX century philosophy, so Russian thinkers used in that epoch.

The second opportunity used in his surveys. Solovyov, offering in the "philosophical principle of whole knowledge" the formula "East-West-Russia".

Vl. Solovyov offered the idea of \u200b\u200ba triple dismemberment of history. He allocated three steps of world historical Development. Two already, according to the thought of philosopher, we have already passed. At the first stage, the "face" of mankind was East. After the Christian border and the second stage followed, where the dominant role in history was played by the West. In this scheme, neither antiquity nor the viszantium nor Ancient Rus Vl. Solovyov does not consider as significant cultural and political entities.

According to Solovyov:

• East symbolizes the "inhuman god",
• West - "godless man."

The confrontation of the West and the East is completed on the third stage, characterized by the establishment of true Christianity. The carrier of the new mentality can be only a young people who are not connected with the West or East, for example, Russia.

In the domestic philosophical and cultural tradition in all well-known typologies, Russia is customary separately. At the same time, they proceed from the recognition of its exclusivity, the impossibility of its information either to the Western or Eastern type, and from here make a conclusion about its special path of development and a special mission in the history and culture of mankind. Basically, the Russian philosophers, starting with, Slavophiles, wrote about this. The topic of "Russian idea" was very important for and. The result of these reflections about the fate of Russia was summed up in philosophical and historical concepts of Eurasianism.

Formation of Russian National Character

Usually, the Eurasians proceed from the middle position of Russia between Europe and Asia, which is considered the cause of the combination of signs of Eastern and Western civilizations in the Russian culture. A similar idea at one time expressed VO. Klyuchevsky. In the "course of Russian history" he argued that the nature of the Russian people formed the location of Russia At the border of the forest and steppe - elements opposite to all parameters. This split between the forest and the steppe was overcome by the love of a Russian person to the river, which was also a cormal, and an expensive, and educator of the feeling of order and public spirit in the people. The river was brought up by the spirit of entrepreneurship, the habit of jointly, the scattered parts of the population came closed, people learned to feel part of society.

The opposite action was provided by the endless Russian plain, distinguished by desert and monotony. A person on the plain covered the feeling of calm peace, loneliness and sad meditation. According to many researchers, it is here that the cause of such properties of Russian spirituality, as spiritual softness and modesty, meaningful uncertainty and timidity, calm calm and durable, lack of clear thought and predisposition to spiritual sleep, asceticism of desertism and the freeness of creativity.

An indirect reflection of the Russian landscape was the household life of the Russian man. Another Klyuchevsky noticed that Russian peasant settlements with their primitiveness, the absence of simple life amenities, the impression of temporary, random parking of nomads. This is due to both a prolonged period of nomadic life in antiquity, and with numerous fires, destroyed Russian villages and cities. The result was the urgency of the Russian manmanifested in indifference to home improvement, everyday amenities. She also led to a negligent and careless attitude towards nature and its wealth.

Developing the ideas of Klyuchevsky, Berdyaev wrote that the landscape of the Russian soul corresponds to the landscape of the Russian Earth. Therefore, with all the difficulties of the relationship between the Russian person with the Russian nature, the cult of her was so important that he found a very peculiar reflection in the ethnonym (self-configuration) of the Russian ethnos. Representatives of various countries and peoples in Russian are called nouns names - Frenchman, German, Georgian, Mongol, etc., and only Russians are called adjective name. This can be interpreted as an embodiment of your belonging to something higher and valuable than people (people). This is higher for a Russian person - Russia, Russian land, and every person is part of this whole. Rus (Earth) - Primena, People - Secondary.

Huge importance for forming russian mentality And culture played in his east (Byzantine) version. The result of the Baptism of Russia was not only its entry into the then civilized world, an increase in international authority, strengthening diplomatic, trade, political and cultural ties with other Christian countries, not only the creation artistic culture Kievan Rus. From that moment on, the geopolitical position of Russia between the West and East, its enemies and allies, and the east orientation, and therefore the further expansion of the Russian state occurred in the eastern direction.

However, this choice was overseas: The adoption of Byzantine Christianity contributed to the alienation of Russia from Western Europe. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 consolidated in the Russian consciousness an idea of \u200b\u200bhis peculiarity, an idea of \u200b\u200bthe Russian people as a gogonymer, the only carrier True orthodox faiththat predetermined historic Path Russia. This is largely due to the ideal of Orthodoxy, combining unity and freedom, embodied in the cathedral union of people. At the same time, each person is a person, but not self-sufficient, but manifest only in the cathedral union, the interests of which are higher than the interests of a separate person.

Such a combination of opposites gave birth to instability, could be exploded at any time. In particular, the basis of all Russian culture lies a number of unsolvable contradictions: Collectivity and authoritarianism, universal consent and despotic arbitrariness, self-government of peasant communities and tough centralization of power associated with the Asian production method.

The inconsistency of Russian culture was also spoken by a specific mobilization type of developmentWhen material and human resources are used by their supercontrants and supernatures, in conditions of deficiency of the necessary resources (financial, intellectual, temporary, foreign policy, etc.), often with the immaturity of internal development factors. As a result, the idea of \u200b\u200bpriority was formed political factors development over all other and there was a contradiction between the objectives of the state and population capabilities By their decision, when the security and development of the state was provided by any means, due to the interests and goals of individual people through out-economic, power coercion, as a result of which the state became an authoritarian, even totalitarian, the repressive apparatus as a tool for coercion and violence was improving. This largely explains the dislike of a Russian person to and at the same time awareness of the need for its protection and, accordingly, the infinite patience of the people and his almost the bad subordination of power.

In one consequence of the mobilization type of development in Russia, the primacy of public, community began, which is expressed in the tradition of subordination of personal interest to the tasks of society. Slavery dictated not by the capriciousness of the rulers, and the new national task is to create an empire on a scarce economic basis.

All these features have formed such fights of Russian cultureAs the absence of a solid core, led to its ambiguity, binarity, duality, constant desire to combine the incompatible - European and Asian, pagan and Christian, nomadic, and settled, freedom and despoty. Therefore, inversion was the main form of the dynamics of Russian culture - a change in the type of pendulum swing - from one pole of cultural significance to another.

Because of the constant desire to have time for its neighbors, jump above the head in Russian culture all the time coexisted the old and new elements, the future came when there were no conditions for him, and the past was not in a hurry to leave, clinging for traditions and customs. At the same time, the new one often appeared as a result of a jump, an explosion. This feature of historical development explains the catastrophic type of development of Russia, which consists in a constant violent breaking of the old, to give the way a new one, and then find out that this new is not so good as it seemed.

At the same time, dichotomousity, the binarity of Russian culture was the cause of its exceptional flexibility, the ability to adapt to extremely difficult conditions for survival during the periods of national disaster and socially historical shocks, on their scale comparable to natural disasters and geological catastrophes.

The main features of the Russian National Character

All these moments have formed a specific Russian national character, which cannot be estimated unambiguously.

Among Positive qualities Usually referred to the kindness and its manifestation in relation to people - goodwill, warring, stateness, responsiveness, cordiality, mercy, generosity, compassion and empathy. Also noted simplicity, openness, honesty, tolerance. But this list does not mean pride and self-confidence - qualities reflecting the attitude of a person to themselves, which indicates a characteristic of the Russian installation on "others", about their collectivism.

Russian attitude to work Very peculiar. The Russian man is hardworking, efficiently and enduring, but significantly more often lazy, Kolaten, Pesalbrene and irresponsible, he is peculiar to the sprouting and jagged. The diligence of Russians is manifested in honest and responsible labor dutiesBut does not imply initiative, independence, the desire to stand out from the team. Sliplegality and babberry are associated with huge expanses of the Russian Earth, the inexhaustibility of her wealth, which not only for us, but also our descendants. And since we have only much, I don't feel sorry for anything.

"Vera in a good king" - the mental feature of the Russians, reflecting the long-standing installation of a Russian man who did not want to deal with officials or landowners, but preferred to write petitions king (Secretary-General, President), sincerely believing that evil officials are deceiving a good king, but it is worth only to tell him the truth as The weight will immediately become good. The excitement around the presidential elections held in the last 20 years, proves: still alive Vera in what if you choose good president, Russia will immediately become a prosperous state.

Passion to political myths - one more feature A Russian man who is inextricably linked with the Russian idea, a submission of a special mission of Russia and the Russian people in history. Belief in the fact that the Russian people is destined to show the right way to all over the world (regardless of how this path should be - true Orthodoxy, Communist or Eurasian idea), combined with the desire to go to any sacrifices (up to their own death) in the name of achieving the goal. In search of the idea, people easily rushed to extremes: they went to the people, committed the world revolution, built communism, socialism "with human person"Restored the temples destroyed before. Myths may change, but painful entertainability remains. Therefore, among typical national qualities, credulity is called.

Calculation on "Avos" - Very Russian trait. She permeates the national character, the life of the Russian man, manifests itself in politics, economics. "Avos" is expressed in the fact that inaction, passivity and bravery (also named among the characteristics of Russian character) are replaced by reckless behavior. And the case will reach it in the most last moment: "While the thunder is not born, the man does not cross."

The revolving side of the Russian "Avos" is the latitude of the Russian soul. As noted by F.M. Dostoevsky, "Russian Soul is worn wide," but for its latitude, generated by the immense spaces of our country, hide both delets, youngerness, merchant scope, and the lack of a deep rational miscalculation of the life or political situation.

Values \u200b\u200bof Russian culture

The Russian peasant community was played a crucial role in the history of our country and in the formation of Russian culture, and the values \u200b\u200bof Russian culture are largely values \u200b\u200bof the Russian community.

Itself Community, "Peace" As the basis and prerequisite for the existence of any individual is ancient and most important value. For the sake of the "World" must donate to everyone, including his life. This is due to the fact that Russia has lived in a significant part of its history in the conditions of a besieged military camp, when only the subordination of the interests of a separate person in the interests of the community allowed the Russian people to continue as an independent ethnic.

The interests of the team In Russian culture is always higher than the interests of the person, so personal plans, goals and interests are so easily suppressed. But in response, the Russian man expects support for the "world" when he will have to face everyday adversities (peculiar circular linga). As a result, the Russian man without displeasure postpones his personal matters for some common cause, from which he would not benefit, and this attractiveness is. The Russian man is firmly confident that you must first arrange the business of social whole, more important than its own, and then this whole will begin to act in his favor at its own discretion. The Russian people are a collectivist, which can exist only with society. He suits him, worries him, for which he in turn surrounds him with warmth, attention and support. To become, the Russian man must become a cathedral person.

Justice - Another value of Russian culture, important for life in the team. Initially, it was understood as the social equality of people and was founded on economic equality (men) in relation to the Earth. This value is instrumental, but in the Russian community it has become the target. Community members had the right to their equal to everyone, the share of land and all of its wealth owned by the World. Such justice was true, for which they lived in which Russian people were striking. In the famous argument of truth-truth and truth-justice justice felt over the top. For a Russian person, it is not so important how it was or is in fact; Much more important, what should be. Positional positions of eternal truths (for Russia these truths were true-fairness) the thoughts and actions of people were assessed. Only they are important, otherwise no result, no benefit will be able to justify them. If one of the conceived nothing comes - not scary, because the target was good.

Lack of individual freedom It was determined that in the Russian community with its equal deposits, periodically conducted by the redistributes of the Earth, the checleper was simply impossible to manifest themselves to individualism. The man was not the owner of the Earth, did not have the right to sell it, was not free, even in the timing of sowing, harvest, in choosing what can be cultivated on Earth. In such a situation, it was unrealistic to show individual skills. which in Russia was not valued at all. It was not by chance that Levshu was ready to take in England, but he died in full poverty in Russia.

Habit of avral mass activities (Strada) raised this absence of individual freedom. It was strangely combined by hard work and a festive attitude. Perhaps the festive atmosphere was a kind of compensatory tool that made it more easily to move heavy chest and refuse excellent freedom in economic activity.

Wealth could not be value In the situation of domination ideas of equality and justice. It is not by chance that the proverb is so well known in Russia: "We will not be caught by the chambers of the stone." The desire to increase wealth was considered a sin. So, in the Russian northern village, merchants were respected, artificially braked trade turnover.

Labor in itself was also not value in Russia (in contrast, for example, from Protestant countries). Of course, the work is not rejected, everywhere it is recognized as its usefulness, but it is not considered a means of automatically ensuring the implementation of the terrestrial voyage of a person and the correct dispensation of his soul. Therefore, in the system of Russian values, labor occupies a subordinate place: "The work is not a wolf, the forest will not run away."

Life not focused on labor, gave the Russian man freedom of spirit (partly illusory). It has always stimulated the creative beginning in man. It could not be expressed in a constant, painstaking, aimed at the accumulation of wealth of labor, but easily transformed into extremes or work for surprisingly surrounding (invention of wings, wooden bike, eternal engine, etc.), i.e. Actions were committed who did not make sense for the economy. On the contrary, often the economy was subordinate to this venture.

Respect for the community could not be deserved, just becoming rich. But only the feat, the victim in the name of the "world" could bring fame.

Patience and suffering in the name of the "World" (But not a personal heroism) - one more value of Russian culture, in other words, the goal of the mapping could not be personal, it should always be outside the person. Russian proverb is widely known: "God endured, and we told us." It is not by chance that the first canonized Russian saints were the princes of Boris and Gleb; They accepted martyrdom, but did not resist their brother, the prince of Svyatopolk, who wanted to kill them. Death for the Motherland, the death of "For his other" brought the hero of immortal glory. Not by chance B. tsarist Russia On awards (medals), the words were minted: "Not us, not to us, but your name."

Patience and suffering - The most important fundamental values \u200b\u200bfor a Russian person along with consistent abstinence, self-restriction, constant sorprise in favor of another. Without this there is no personality, there is no status, no respect for others. From here, there is an eternal for the Russian man. The desire to suffer is the desire of self-actualization, the conquest of the inner freedom necessary to create in the world of good, conquer freedom of spirit. In general, the world exists and moves only victims, patience, self-restriction. This is the reason for the long-suffering characteristic of the Russian person. He can endure a lot (even more material difficulties), if he knows why it is necessary.

The values \u200b\u200bof Russian culture constantly indicate its aspiration to some kind of higher, transcendental meaning. For a Russian person there is nothing more exciting than the search for this meaning. For this, you can leave the house, the family, to become a hermit or whores (and those, and others were very revered in Russia).

The Russian culture of the day in general, the Russian idea becomes in general, the implementation of which the Russian man subordinates all his lifestyle. Therefore, researchers speak about the terms of religious fundamentalism inherent in the consciousness of the Russian person. The idea could change (Moscow - the third Rome, imperial idea, communist, Eurasian, etc.), but its place in the structure of values \u200b\u200bremained unchanged. The crisis, which today is experiencing Russia, is largely due to the fact that the idea united the Russian people disappeared, it became unclear, in the name of which we should suffer and humiliate. The pledge of Russia's exit from the crisis is to gain a new fundamental idea.

The listed values \u200b\u200bare contradictory. Therefore, the Russian simultaneously could be a blade on the battlefield and a coward in civil life, I could personally be devoted to the sovereign and at the same time robbing the royal treasury (as the prince of Menshikov in the Petrovsk era), leave his home and go to fight to free the Balkan Slavs. High patriotism and mercy were manifested as sacrifice or beneficial (but it could well become a "bear service"). Obviously, it allowed all researchers to talk about the "mysterious Russian soul", the latitude of the Russian nature, that " i do not understand Russia».

Veronica Bode: Today, our theme is East and West with the eyes of Russians. What world do Russians include their homeland - to the eastern or western? What kind of civilization is to a greater extent today the image of the enemy is associated? Where does the current anti -pade mood originate? And what trends in the development of society are answering these questions?

Today, visiting Radio Liberty - Igor Yakovenko, Professor RGGU, sociologist, cultureologist, doctor of philosophical sciences.

I would like to start with messages that came to our website on the Internet, on the forum. The listeners answered the question: to which world, in your opinion, Russia belongs to Western or Eastern?

Valentine writes from Ivanovo: "To the West. Russia - classic representative Hellenic culture. Despoys - a consequence of the Byzantine influence. And the fool - the type of Lenin-Stalin - apparent, and now also prey. "

Alex from the city "T": "To which world Russia belongs? To the world of sleep and phantoms. "

Levko: "Russia is definitely belonging to the Western world. Nic eastern traditions In Russian culture it is impossible to find. If you clarify, the world to which Russia belongs is the world of Marx, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Chávez and others like them. We, by the way, of all of them (except Marx) and spawned. "

Leonid writes: "Russia will endlessly rising from his knees, holding the pants of Western managers. Therefore, she will go their way, as one famous dead man said. "

Zaire from Moscow: "In spirit - east. Geographically 50 to 50.

Yuri from Mytishchi: "Vasily Ivanovich, are you for" Bitles "or for" Rolling "?" Why is the choice of only two options? ".

Philip from the city of N: "To Iran, North Korea, to Hugo Chavez, to the" axis of evil ", against which the world does about."

Nikolai from Moscow: "Infection of the eastern despotes inadmissibility of society from the bottom, absolutization and the uncontrolcity of the supreme power, the tough dependence of each of the bosses, the doomed humility of the people has always been the basis of the device of Russia."

Igor Grigorievich, your comment, please.

Igor Yakovenko: Well, what do we see with you? That in favor of the confidence that Russia is part of the West, their arguments are given. Equally, our listeners find arguments and in favor of what Russia is part of the East. In general, this problem can be solved formally, let's say. We know that the Western World is the world of Christian civilization. Russia is the advantage of the Country Christian. But Christian and Ethiopia, which you will not attract to the West. And you can take another parameter. Most of Russian population is Indo-Europeans. But Indo-Europeans are residents of Iran, Pakistan, India, who also do not belong to Europe. Most of the Russian population lives in Europe. With all the greatness of Siberia and the Zauralye, there is a smaller part of the population. But this is a formal criterion. We encounter a situation in which citizens of Russia and not now, and for centuries they answer differently, and in itself it is very interesting.

Veronica Bode: Indeed, why is the choice of only two options? After all, there is still an idea, say, about the special path of Russia, about it, so to speak, of specialty. And in this sense, it is possible, it cannot be attributed to the Western or the eastern world. So how, according to yours, Igor Grigorievich, observations, is such an opinion today?

Igor Yakovenko: You see, there is some experience in historians of culture, so, all countries that are undergoing modernization take place some stage - they hurt the idea of \u200b\u200ba special path. Here is "Sonderweg", that is, the "special way" was the ideology of Germany. Here is not England, not France, but it is a special way. A special way as the idea was in Zaire. And many-many countries going to modernization opposing the leaders of world dynamics, these leaders are copied, but at the same time try to maintain their independence, based on a special way. I think that the conversation about a special way is rather an expression of some stage - the stages of catching development.

Veronica Bode: Igor Grigorievich, but the image of the enemy for Russians today is still more associated with Western or Eastern?

Igor Yakovenko: Here it is very interest AskSince the answer to it is unambiguous to give it difficult. I think that in this respect the Russians are divided into some approximately equal groups. And here it would be useful to consult a story. Here we take the twentieth century. He is in our eyes. In the twentieth century, the population of Russia, at least twice as the whole, took the West, and in Russia there were pro-Western moods. The first time is the era of the First World War. In the context of war with Austria-Hungary, with Germany, Russia saw himself part of the Western world - France, England, America, "We are all fighting with these barbarians." And in general, there were very powerful pro-Western moods in the country. Bolshevik revolution. And that's what is curious, after this revolution, this idea of \u200b\u200bunity with the West does not disappear immediately, it is reborn in the new form of the world revolution and so on. But somewhere by 1930, the idea of \u200b\u200bComrade Stalin on the construction of socialism in a separate country, and defeats honest, powerful isolationism.

Go ahead. Second world War. And again in the country as a whole, some pro-Western idea arises. Our allies are the British. I remember Soviet plates with english songs And many, many funny. But Russia sees himself a part of this world opposing the German fascism. It ended very quickly, it was rapidly ended, this line broke off.

Then in the same twentieth century, at the end soviet periodAt the beginning of the restructuring, very powerful pro-Western moods could be noted: "We are returning to Europe", "We are returning to ourselves, in the free world." Note that it took 5-7-8 years old - and these pro-Western moods began to replace at a completely different attitude to the West. In Russia, there were always Westerners - a narrow circle, a narrower, less narrow, English club. But in general, the attitude to the West is a long positive, as the story shows, does not happen.

Veronica Bode: Why, what do you think?

Igor Yakovenko: Well it difficult question. But if you try to answer extremely briefly, then the situation is next. Russia inherits ideologically such Byzantium. Byzantium or Orthodox, the Eastern Roman Empire, threw herself as another Europe. Here it is not a Catholic Europe, not Rome, and she is Byzantia. And this is another Christian project. As we know, this project collapsed in the middle of the XV century. She simply won, this most Byzantium. And Russia seized the ideas of the Third Rome, this project took on themselves. Somewhere in the XIX century, Slavophiles actively supported the idea of \u200b\u200b"other Europe". It is curious that in the communist editorial office, this idea of \u200b\u200b"other Europe", another alternative to the West was revived. But by the end of the twentieth century and she suffered as we know, the collapse. But, apparently, the idea that we are - if the West, in the sense of the Christian world, then we are something else about the present, the West, - it is very rooted in Russian consciousness.

Veronica Bode: Speaking about the twentieth century and about bursts of pro-Western sentiments, for some reason you did not call the 1960s, with their styles, hobby jazz, western culture. Why?

Igor Yakovenko: Completently. After all, within these periods were separate groupswhich included, yes, indeed, in the "sixties" of the twentieth century. Vasily Aksenov, styles, - all this was quite western. But let's put your hand on the heart: It was nationwide, so to speak, a general phenomenon or was it one of the subcultures? This, of course, was one of the intellectual, urban subcultures, and not only the power of her jerile, but she did not take and broad masses.

Veronica Bode: Messages about listeners. Olga from Moscow: "If you just live in the world with the West and East, with unfamiliar people, without hanging racial labels on them, finally, in the world with themselves, then you don't have to break your head, answering your question to which, In essence, can not be. "

Yana writes: "The Moscow public dresses outwardly brightly, expensive, with the eastern Guests - not to compare with European simplicity. At the same time, Europeans and Americans are polite, the subway is inferior to the place, do not pour each other, do not suit the "Kuch-Malu". Moscow is the East, definitely. "

Elena from Europe: "The Moscow audience is much more reminded, for example, Istanbul, than Stockholm. Of course, Russia is the eastern world. "

Without signature, a message: "In the Word of the Slavs, the root of" slave "is" slaves ". In Europe, official slavery ended with ancient Rome. In the east stayed for a long time. Slaves cannot dream of freedom, they do not know her, slaves can only dream of becoming slavemen. "

Nikolay Kuznetsov from Moscow: "Russia is multinational and multiclast, but the orders established by the Mongols found fertile soil in it and falling firmly. No wonder B. medieval Europe All Moskvites were called Tatars. The Tatar essence of the Russian soul notifies and distinguished by the uncommon sharpness of the mind of Napoleon. "

Igor Yakovenko: Indeed, the Moscow audience is rather closer to Istanbul. I imagine the Istanbul street and the audience that goes on it. This observation is probably true. What does it say about? Russia is a complex phenomenon. It has pronounced oriental features. How they got here how they were entrenched - this is the next, very interesting question. But note that in beginning of XVII A century in Russia five people knew Latin, and it was the language of international communication. Of these, in my opinion, there were three Poles, two Lithuanians - and everything that is characteristic. BUT tatar language He was the language of the Russian elite in the XIII - XIV centuries, In the XV century. Well, one foreign languagewhich they owned. And you need to remember this.

Veronica Bode: And now I suggest listening to the voices of Russians. "Should Russia impede the rapprochement of Ukraine and Georgia with NATO?", "The inhabitants of Pskov are responsible for the question of radio freedom.

Definitely. Because, firstly, it is about our border directly, and secondly, it is still a threat to our country.

What does it mean to impede? .. Sovereign state Ukraine, and this is their right.

I think yes. Because the boundaries are near. Anyway, we are all dependent on the fact that our country and Ukraine nearby. And if they enter, then somehow it will affect us.

Of course not. Let them come in. This is their business.

I have a personal opinion - I am against joining NATO, because it is a block that we are an enemy. The word is so powerful ... we do not need it.

I think yes. Why do we need these enemies nearby? .. More gas to cut off, the embargo to do somehow, break all kinds of relationships with them, and then put your conditions.

Must strengthen its borders and try to be friends around the borders, and not enemies.

Do not impede them, let go. I think they will try, "nate" NATO and on their own experience will understand what NATO is. The Ukrainian people are Slavs, these are their people, Orthodox, who are not tuned to the West, to this civilization, which carries with them destruction, becomes a person.

Igor Grigorievich, here in this survey the anti-Padded moods appear very brightly. What exactly attracted your attention?

Igor Yakovenko: First of all, if we recall, the elderly people were predominantly. And, judging by the voice, enough traditional culturedefined level of education. And the arguments "for" were expressed by young people. This is the first thing interesting.

Second. Here they sounded such considerations that Ukraine is Slavic. But after all, Bulgarians Slavs, Orthodox. And Romanians are Orthodox. It does not work today. For some reason, it does not hit us that the Czechs in NATO and other countries. But with Ukraine it is different. And this is the conversation about the imperial consciousness. These are deeper things, of another order.

Veronica Bode: And here last statement "This world that brings with him destruction", the Western world is meant ...

Igor Yakovenko: Well, this is a very steady ideology, and it has long exist: East - Creation, West - destruction. Why do we catch this west with centuries - I do not understand, since it is destroyed!

Veronica Bode: Continue reading posts from listeners. George from St. Petersburg: "The answer is unequivocal: we are Europeans! For someone who drove our Russia from the West to the East and visited China, there can be no other opinion. "

Nikolai from Ulyanovsk: "Our rulers with fright flirt with the East, but hopefully look at the west."

Tanya from Moscow: "Russians want to live as in the West, using all the benefits of Western civilization, but to behave at the same time as" wild Asians ". And so does not happen. Therefore, there is no normal life. "

And Ilya from Kazan: "While we will think, to which world we take, we will overtake both from the West and from the East. What, in general, already happened. "

Igor Yakovenko: Here I was attracted by two opinions. It is very important that Tanya wrote, in my opinion: what we want to live on Western standards, leaving some oriental habits in themselves - optional and much more, live as we are used to. So does not happen. If we want Western standards, then it is necessary to change themselves. This is faithful and indisputable judgment.

But the conversation that (already in the previous statements it sounded) While we will think about whether we, we or the East, someone will overtake us, is not a completely true position. In order to respond to the challenges of the era, it is important to understand who we are. This does not interfere with modernization, does not interfere with the complexity of the world, building a new one, but helps. We must know who we are, and then it will be easier for us to solve the problems today and tomorrow.

Veronica Bode: And what is generally the West in the understanding of Russians, according to your observations? How closely the myths and reality are intertwined? And what are the myths?

Igor Yakovenko: Well, the Russians are not united Russians, and we are now seeing this, as the audience is crumbling on more or less equal halves. For some west, this is a place where neat life, guarantees of personal rights, dynamics, progress. And for the other West, this is an essence, carrying danger, destruction. The simplest thing is to dump it on Soviet propaganda. We know that NATO and imperialism soviet people scared 70 years. I think the problem is deeper, since the attitude towards the West was difficult and in the XIX century, and in the XVIII century. And the point here is not only a confessional confrontation of Catholics and Orthodox, and these are some even deeper things related to the fact that the West elected the historical strategy, the strategy of life is different than Russia elected. Notice, Russia never changed in itself. It changes under the influence of external circumstances. Our ideal is a calm stay in the unchanged world. And the West is dynamic, and this is his nature. Here the rejection of the West is rejection of a dynamic stable, static oriented society.

Veronica Bode: Well, now let's turn to the east. The same question: What is included in this concept?

Igor Yakovenko: Well, strictly speaking, the East, it is scary heterogeneous, because the Islamic East, India or China is completely different things. The West is much more intended and one.

Veronica Bode: I mean - from the point of view of Russian, let's say, the average, not elite.

Igor Yakovenko: The point is that, starting with Peter I, Russia is trying to catch up with the West all the time, so the West mean. And about the East know little. This is something generalized, what we laugh are: I fought easily with them, easily defeated them, oust Turkey, say, with Black Sea coast- and looked east as a whole down. It is not differentiated, it is not impaired as a whole, well, something like the Turks, something like the Chinese. Moreover, we easily confuse Turkey with China, Persia with Pakistan.

Veronica Bode: Igor Grigorievich, what information about Russians, about their public consciousness gives us this attitude to the West and east or the assignment of Russia in one direction or another?

Igor Yakovenko: This suggests that Russia has not been determined as a whole as society in some fundamental question: it chooses a European development strategy and a strategy of existence or it is ready to go in the east. But after all, she also does not imagine east. Russia simply did not decide to its future. And it was not determined because she does not understand his present.

Veronica Bode: And what is the peace still preferred today, oriental or western? Let's just say what kind of world does he take a greater extent and why? Here is a religion, social system - to what extent are they here are criteria?

Igor Yakovenko: The fact is that formally Orthodoxy is part of the Christian world, of course. But this is a special part, and we have already spoken about it. Concerning public building, The West declares the values \u200b\u200bof parliamentary democracy, which, as we know, in Russia are very difficult to take root and are very painfully approved. So there are problems here. Economic freedom is also in Russia, as we see, difficult way is included in the situation market economy. Therefore, while we are seeing a complex and painful experience in the world of Western models, Western values.

Veronica Bode: And now we offer you the heading "System of Concepts". Today guest headquers - Boris Dubin, Head of the Department of Social and Political Studies of the Levada Center. He will tell about such a concept as "culture", in sociology.

Boris Dubin: First, for a sociologist, culture is some resource of understanding of social action. A sociologist is dealing with social actions and interactions, with their sustainable forms, and it is interested in: to what the meanings are involved in these forms of action. That is, for a sociologist, culture is a resource for the interpretation of social activities and social forms. But at the same time, the sociologist cannot forget that after all the word "culture" in the European tradition from the end of the approximately XVIII century and during the century XIX was an extremely loaded term, and, above all - in Germany, in German philosophy and in German social sciences But wider - in European. Because the culture was a certain program in the new value that did not apply to the antique, Latin, in the new value of the construction program modern society. And the importance of the culture came to the importance of this modernization program, which, as it were, first, raised a person, that is, helped him to be a creature independent, helped, as Kant said, without the help of authority to walk along the ground. Secondly, they sent it to an increasingly complex, more qualitative behavior, thinking, action, that is, there were such a mechanism for self-improvement within the person himself. Thirdly, these are the meanings that were sent beyond any specific groups of people. Culture does not belong to anyone, it unites everyone. And fourth, last. Culture is what is embodied in practical action, with all its ideality. Therefore, people's enlightenment, therefore romance, with all their dreamability, cabinets, idealizations of life, and so on, they were great practices, great administrators. And they spawned new Type Schools, a new type of university, a new type of mental clinic, a new type of literature, if you please, because these sense of culture in real, practical, collective action are constantly introduced.

Therefore, I would say today about "Culture-1" - it is like an objectivist understanding: culture as meanings involved in collective action and interaction. And the second, so to speak, "culture-2" is some enhanced quality of these values, their special orientation to unite people, direct them to higher goals and help them in practical action.