Political culture in modern Russia. Features of modern Russian political culture

Every country and every people has its own specific political culture. This is explained by the fact that the political culture of any country does not include all the currently existing political consciousness and behavior in society, but only historically formed, relatively stable, made a habit, embodying the experience of previous generations of people, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, behaviors, which, in fact, distinguish this society from others. So, most Western countries are characterized by a historically established formalized consciousness and based on it respect for law, law, agreement, a high degree of respect and self-respect of the individual, his rights and freedoms, non-interference of the state in the private life of citizens, a high degree of self-restraint of the individual, without which it is impossible true democracy and the rule of law.

Russian political culture, on the contrary, is characterized (and historically conditioned) by the priority of the state in the life of society (statism) and the authoritarian nature of power associated with this feature at almost all stages of Russian history, paternalism (the state's desire to "patronize" society) and the paternalistic nature of power relations , clientelism in the attitude of the population to power (the habit of being under the patronage, patronage of the state), weak structured society (underdevelopment of autonomous, state-independent civil society institutions), sacralization of power and personification of political relations (the supremacy of an individual, not the law).

Specificity, due to the peculiarities of historical development, allows us to speak about a special genotype of Russian political culture.

Even in Ancient Russia, culture, being traditional archaic, acquired a veche form. Its specificity consisted in the rejection of innovations that threaten the established order and rules, in the focus on the reproduction of local worlds, which came into conflict with the desire to form the state. This veche culture, the corresponding way of life had a huge impact on subsequent history, the formation of statehood.

Russia's geographic location between Europe and Asia has had a serious impact on Russian society. The country found itself at the intersection of two socio-cultural types: European or personality-centric, focusing on the personality, its freedom, natural rights, and Asian, or sociocentric, focused on society, collective, state. At the same time, the interaction of these two sociocultural types in Russian society is very peculiar: it presupposes not only intertwining, mutual enrichment with the content of both types, but also a continuous struggle between them. The dualism, duality, contradictory and conflicting nature of political culture arising on this basis is most vividly reflected to this day in the confrontation between "Westernizers" and "native people", the Western model of development and the model of the original path of Russia. TI Zaslavskaya suggests culturally recognizing Russia as "a marginal member of the European family, occupying about the same place in it as Pluto in the solar system" ]

The specific role and place of Russia was also determined by the huge geopolitical space in which peoples with different types of cultures coexisted. Under these conditions, a pronounced statist orientation of political culture was formed. In Russia, the state is perceived, in the words of E. Batalov, as "the backbone of civilization, the guarantor of the integrity and existence of society, the organizer of all life." In the absence of civil society, such a perception reflected the real role of the state, and not only in tsarist times, but also in the Soviet period, when it was necessary to maintain the victory of socialism in a capitalist encirclement. It was impossible to achieve international recognition without a strong state, therefore the Bolshevik government did everything possible for the statist orientation of Soviet political culture. In the post-Soviet period, the statist tradition was weakened, but it soon resumed along with the strengthening of the role of the federal center, which was the reason for the strengthening of the vertical of power.

State-centricity turns into a sacralization of the supreme power, i.e. persistent perception of it as sanctioned by extrahuman forces. The invariable attribute of the image of a leader in the mass consciousness is not the ability to coordinate positions and reach a compromise, but the ability to impose one's will. The leader appears to be the main object of paternalistic expectations, which is facilitated by the tenacious historical memory of the "benefactor fathers" drawn from the Russian political tradition. As a result, there was a conviction that the welfare of the country depends only on the sovereign, his mind and enlightenment. This is how the belief in the highest tsarist justice was formed, which became characteristic of the political culture of Russia. According to N. Eidelman, “as soon as the injustice of real power came into conflict with this idea, the issue was resolved, in general, unequivocally: the tsar is still“ right ”; if the tsar was wrong, it means that his true word was distorted by ministers, nobles, or this monarch is wrong, self-proclaimed and he urgently needs to be replaced with a real one "

The central role of the individual is represented at all levels of the state-social ladder down to its lower floors, where it leads to the formation of clientelistic relations. Real power relations are regulated rather informally - personally, and not on the basis of formalized bureaucratic procedures. The rules of the game here are a continuation of the tradition, legal control over their observance is not provided. Such traditions form the authoritarian personality type described by E. Fromm in his work "Escape from Freedom".

The history of the Russian state is closely related to Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church acted as the spiritual support of the Russians, opposed the Muslim East and the Catholic West. The Orthodox faith played an important role in the formation of ideas about the greatness of Russia, its scale, patriotism and devotion to the fatherland, the special path of Russia, which have become the most important components of the political consciousness of Russians. The Church elevated to the rank of saints prominent figures who, in the strict sense, were not her servants (Princess Olga, princes Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and others).

Being a follower of the Byzantine civilization, Russia took from it not only religion, but also culture, primarily the imperial idea, the implementation of which led to the transformation of the country into a multi-ethnic, multilingual empire. Maintaining the integrity of such a huge empire was only possible with the help of a despotic power, a strong centralized state. Understanding of this circumstance led to the realization of the need to subordinate the authorities and the state. At the same time, the authorities were tolerated, not accepting with their hearts, which was reflected in the negative attitude of the population towards its representatives, especially towards officials. Nevertheless, always and especially after the collapse of the USSR, a powerful centralized state in the minds of many people was perceived and perceived as the main historical achievement of the Russian people and its allies.

From the East Roman Empire, the mass consciousness also perceived a kind of cosmopolitanism - a supra-ethnic, supranational nature of both political power itself and statehood, which manifested itself in the international policy of the Soviet state and in the absence of the need for the formation of a Russian national state.

The messianic orientation of Russian political culture manifested itself at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. in the proclamation of Moscow as the Third Rome, as well as with the coming to power in 1917 of the Bolsheviks with the messianic goal of spreading the ideas of communism to the whole world.

The split in political culture often led to mutual violence, to a clash of opposing ideals right up to the civil war, and stimulated the desire to suppress the opposite cultural potential by force of arms. Such clashes continued throughout the history of the country (violence associated with the adoption of Christianity, mass terror in the twentieth century). The highest authorities have repeatedly tried to move away from direct violence, but all the time they returned to it, which indicates the inability of the authorities to solve the increasingly complex problems.

Under Peter I, the idea of ​​the "common good" was formed as a national value, which was embodied in the form of utilitarianism, which recognizes the benefit or benefit as a criterion of morality. A person begins to move away from the values ​​of traditionalism and look for fundamental solutions beyond its framework, to recognize himself as a subject capable of influencing the implementation of goals. As a result, a reformist impulse appeared, aimed at overcoming the country's backwardness, realized through raising the level of education and culture, using elements of Western potential. However, it turned out that society needs to learn how to use a new effective means of self-development, otherwise it becomes a means of destruction, as evidenced by both the post-Petrine rule and the reign of some sovereigns in the 19th century.

According to Yu. Pivovarov, Lenin, whom he calls "the demiurge of a new order", had a decisive influence on the Russian political culture of the twentieth century. For its formation, Lenin developed a communist theory, created a new type of party, brought it to power, laid the foundations of the Soviet system - "one-party democracy" and a fully state-run economy

The Russian man, being, in essence, a state man, at the same time was afraid of the state, avoided dealing with the authorities, did not trust state institutions. Hence the conflict nature of the state consciousness of the Russian person, on the one hand, and rejection of power, on the other. This feature took its extreme form during the Soviet period. The more terrible the power manifested itself, the stronger the person's desire was to join it, to enter it, to become a part of it. This attitude towards the state and authorities contributed to the formation of a double standard in their assessment. The person seemed to split in two, which testified to the antinomy of political culture.

NA Berdyaev wrote: "Russia is a country of endless freedom and spiritual distances, wanderers and seekers, a rebellious and terrible country in its spontaneity." And at the same time - "Russia is a country of unheard of servility and terrible obedience, a country devoid of consciousness of individual rights and does not defend the dignity of the individual, a country of inert conservatism, the enslavement of religious life by the state ..."

The entire political history of Russia can be presented as a picture of a constant confrontation between liberal and partriarchal traditional values: on the one hand, private initiative, the thirst for self-assertion of the individual in competition with his peers, freedom of property and hard work, the maximum restriction of the role of the state in society; on the other - conciliarism, communality, collectivism, with a simultaneous inclination towards authoritarianism, a strong leader of the charismatic type, a strong state. The development of trade, commodity-money relations, private initiative, and private property, without being supplemented by the massive dissemination of the corresponding values, generated and accumulated in society a latent feeling of dissatisfaction, intensified a massive negative attitude towards such changes. From the reforms of Peter I to the present day, the political history of Russia resembles a "zebra" - the liberal trend, not having time to gain a foothold as a result of the efforts of the next reformers, is replaced by a return to traditional mass values.

In the structure of value relations of political culture, general cultural orientations, attitudes towards power, and political phenomena are distinguished.

The nature and direction of general cultural orientations reveals the place of political phenomena in the structure of values ​​of an individual, group, society. The importance of worldview orientations consists in the extent to which the choice of a person's political positions depends on their preferences for individual or collective values. Thus, the history of Russia shows, in contrast to the Western states, which have experienced the impact of capitalism, that the inhabitants of our country for centuries have been guided mainly by the norms of communal collectivism. It embodied the priority of the interests of the family, community, estate, collective, class, state, society over the goals and values ​​of the individual, the needs of the individual.

The generalized indicator is the emphasis on the ideal not of freedom, but of equality. This tradition in Soviet society received an additional impetus from the total control of the state over the individual and collectivist principles, asserted by the Soviet government in public life.

At the level of the individual, the most adequate expression of the essence of political culture is the code of its behavior, the style of activity as a participant in the political process. This code is ultimately determined by her value ideas about political phenomena and is being implemented in practice. It contains both a universally recognized and individually unique element.

Based on the existing political culture of the individual, we can talk about his political maturity (or immaturity - infantilism). A politically mature personality is distinguished by ideological conviction, citizenship, manifested in a conscious, constantly present interest in political processes, events, in the need for constant updating of political knowledge, independence of political analysis and individual decision-making, in a sense of responsibility for the fate of one's country.

The most important feature of Russian political culture is paternalism. In the modern interpretation, paternalism is understood as a doctrine and activity from the standpoint of "paternal care" in relation to strata and groups that are less protected in social and economic terms.

The roots of the paternalistic tradition in Russian culture, including political, are in the historical past. The patriarchal family was the basis of traditional culture, the most important social unit of the agrarian society. The total number of such a family could number several dozen people. The authority of the head of the family was indisputable.

The existence of a large family for a long time was an economic necessity due to the climate of central Russia, where the short summer often forced different field work to be carried out almost simultaneously. The labor rhythm contributed to the development of mobilization forms of community life, for which the most adequate feature of power relations in the family was authoritarianism.

Property relations, which left the head of the family the full right to dispose of all the means of the peasant household, imposed a great responsibility on him and required the performance of a number of functions in the social, household, and moral and psychological spheres.

In the public sphere, he represented family interests in relations with the outside world: the community, neighbors, headman, master. In the domestic sphere, he managed property, gave assignments and supervised their execution. He was assigned the functions of encouragement and punishment, control over the observance of moral norms. In fact, we are talking about power relations of an authoritarian type in the primary cell of society.

The concentration of command functions for authority, in this case for the head of the patriarchal family, leaves all household members only the functions of execution. In such a situation, a person does not feel the need to feel like a person, he shifts the responsibility for his destiny to the family, the state, the government, he escapes individual responsibility, and therefore freedom.

The head of the family had the right to dispose of the life of the household at his own discretion, and they had to make any decision as inevitable, since such behavior guaranteed the survival of the family as a whole.

Paternalistic features caused by natural and climatic conditions have taken root in Russian peasant culture. Orthodoxy sanctified these relations with the authority of the church. Thus, paternalism has become an axiom, a cultural archetype, enshrined in the Russian mentality and political culture.

Historical thought was drawn to this typological feature of Russian society as early as the 19th century, starting with N. Karamzin's well-known assertion that autocratic rule in Russia is paternal rule.

The traditions preserved in the folk, peasant culture were also characteristic of the culture of the educated elite of Russian society. Liberalism of the European type, which spread after the bourgeois-democratic revolutions, began to transform under the onslaught of internal and external circumstances.

Russia's victory in the war against Napoleon strengthened national pride, consolidated society and acted as an incentive in the search for its own path of development. While creating an industrial society, that is, moving in line with the global development trend, Russia simultaneously strengthened its orientation towards traditional cultural values.

Paternalism, as a behavioral stereotype, permeated the political culture of an educated society. Naturally, its manifestations were designated by concepts adequate to the time. The most common words that reflected different aspects of paternalism were care and patronage, as well as derivatives from them. Paternalism, as a basic foundation, in the Russian Empire was realized in the following categories: care, supervision, encouragement, protection, beneficence, assistance, donation, relief, benevolence, donation.

The history of the Soviet period confirms the stability of the established paternalistic traditions. All the children of primary school age were Octobrists - Ilyich's grandchildren. For a quarter of a century the country was ruled by the “father of nations” - JV Stalin. Party organs carried out the functions of guardianship, overseeing, encouraging and punishing citizens, guided by the norms of the moral code of the builder of communism.

The relevance of the problems of paternalism is also confirmed by the events of our days, when the situation that has developed in the post-Soviet period has demonstrated the need of the people for guardianship by the state, for guarantees of social assistance and protection, which they consider as something a priori, as an obligatory function of power. Paternalistic traditions can be attributed to the "collective unconscious", that is, the archetype of culture, assimilated by a person in the process of socialization, and which governs his behavior at the subconscious level.

In Russia, there are all types of political culture and its subcultures: patriarchal, subject, activist. However, according to researchers, patriarchal-subject and subject-activist dominate.

Describing the subject nature of political culture, R. Mukhaev identifies a number of specific features due to the influence of civilizational, geographical and historical features of the development of Russia. First, the dualism of political culture, which is a complex interaction of two sociocultural streams (from the East and from the West), oriented towards different value systems: on the one hand, the values ​​of collectivism, justice, equality, adherence to patriarchal traditions; on the other hand, the values ​​of freedom, individualism, human rights, pluralism. Secondly, the confrontational nature of relations between the carriers of political culture, expressed in riots, civil wars, revolutions. Third, the concentration of political domination in the hands of the ruling class, which led to the fact that at the slightest weakening of it, the uncontrollability of the system grew. Fourth, the absence of a free individual and a mature civil society, leading to the concentration of political life within the ruling class, which contributes to the political powerlessness of the population

As a result of the influence of many factors, both historical and contemporary, the political culture of modern Russian society is internally contradictory. It presents many subcultures - authoritarian and democratic, elite (political elite, bureaucracy) and mass (ordinary citizens), liberal and socialist. There are subcultures in every social group: among young people and pensioners, entrepreneurs and marginalized people, workers and intellectuals.

However, the peculiarity of the modern stage of the political culture of Russian society is not so much in the variety of subcultures, but in the fact that a significant number of them are engulfed in a hidden or explicit struggle, clash. The main lines of confrontation are democracy-authoritarianism, socialism-capitalism, centralism-regionalism, globalization-isolationism, anarchism-statism, etc. groups questioning the success of reforming society, social and political stability in it.

Thus, the political culture of modern Russian society is in a state of its formation, experiencing a serious impact on the part of geopolitical and historical factors and radical transformations taking place in it today.

Zaslavskaya T.I. Modern Russian society: Social mechanism of transformation: textbook. allowance. M., 2004.S. 63.

Batalov E. Political culture of Russia through the prism of civic culture // Pro et Contra. 2002. No. 3.

Eidelman N.N. Edge of the centuries. Political Struggle in Russia: Late VIII - Early XIX Centuries. M., 1982.S. 36.

Fromm E. Escape from freedom / Per. from English M., 1989.S. 141-148.

Akhiezer A. Specificity of Russian political culture and the subject of political science (Historical and cultural research) // Pro et Contra. 2002. No. 3.

Pivovarov Y. Russian political culture and political culture (Society, power, Lenin) // Pro et Contra. 2002. No. 3.

Berdyaev N.A. The fate of Russia. Experiments on the psychology of war and nationality // Destiny of Russia: Works. M., 2000.S. 283.

Mukhaev R. Theory of politics: a textbook for university students. M., 2005.S. 252-254.

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Introduction

3. The influence of political culture

Conclusion

List of sources and literature used

Introduction

Despite the fact that interest in the study of the political culture of modern society has grown significantly recently, it cannot be said that this problem has been sufficiently developed. This can be confirmed by various interpretations of the term "political culture" and numerous discussions of researchers about its structure and place in the mechanism of functioning of the political system.

One of the most pressing issues in the study of the political culture of Russia is the question of the form of democracy in the country. Some foreign researchers believe that the focus on the formation of a democratic culture in Russia is doomed to failure, because Russians do not respect democracy in the same way as they respect autocracy (this is due to both objects and subjective factors in the development of political culture in Russia). One cannot argue with the fact that every nation has a certain genotype that affects all the processes taking place in society. So the emerging statehood in Russia is contradictory. On the one hand, old state structures are adapting to new conditions, and on the other, new mechanisms and institutions are being created. The modern political culture of Russia is of a transitional nature.

The relevance of studying the political culture of modern Russia lies in the fact that as a political institution it is going through the stage of its formation.

The aim of the work is to reveal the essence of Russia's political culture, characteristic features and development problems.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Definition of the concept of "political culture"

Determination of the constituent elements of political culture

Analysis of socio-cultural prerequisites for the development of political culture in Russia

Highlighting the main features of the modern political culture of Russia

Determination of ways of development of political culture in modern Russia.

political culture sociocultural russia

1. The concept of political culture

1.1 Typology of political cultures

The concept of political cultures originated in the mainstream of the Western scientific tradition. So, the phrase "political culture" arose in the works of the German scientist I. Gerder in the 18th century in his work "Ideas for the philosophy of the history of mankind." But the enlightener did not give a scientific definition to this concept.

As a scientific category, the concept of "political culture" arose in modern science. Today there are many definitions of the term and in different textbooks it is given in different ways. But the generally accepted definition is given by the American scientist G. Almond in the article "Comparative Political Systems" (1956). Later with S. Verba in his work "Civic Culture" he defined political culture as "a system of values ​​deeply rooted in the consciousness of motivation or orientations and attitudes that regulate people's behavior in situations related to politics" Burenko V., Zhuravlev V. Political science: Textbook. M.: Publishing house of Moscow Humanitarian. University, 2004, С311. Thus, political culture can be defined as a value-normative system that includes political traditions, political consciousness and political behavior. Political culture at any given moment is the general result of mastering the experience of modern civilization and political education.

In the second half of the 60-70s, the development of the category was associated with the names of American sociologists and political scientists R. Markris, W. Neumann, D. Marwick and others. The term "political culture" has become the most important tool for the study of political processes and phenomena.

Today, there are many works that are devoted to the study of the most important aspects of the political culture of the country and regions.

Determining the content of political culture requires a clear understanding of its structure. The following categories are elements of the structure of political culture:

Political views,

Political values ​​and value orientations,

Political attitudes

Political behavior,

Political traditions.

N. Baranov combined all these numerous elements into the main groups: cognitive (political knowledge, education, consciousness, ways of political thinking), moral - evaluative (political feelings, traditions, values, ideals, beliefs) and behavioral (political attitudes, types, forms, styles). Isaev B.A., Baranov N.A. Political relations and political processes in modern Russia. Textbook. SPB.: Peter, 2008, p. 185

Political culture combines a set of factors and elements of public consciousness associated with social and political institutions and political processes that influence their formation and development. We can say in the words of G. Almond and S. Verba: "We talk about political culture in the same way as we can talk about economic culture or religious culture." In the same place

In the political life of society, political culture performs a number of specific functions. Among the most important, one can single out: normative (consisting in determining the norms and standards of political behavior), identification (defining oneself as a member of a certain group), orientation (including a person's desire for a semantic reflection of political phenomena), adaptation (expressing the individual's need to adapt to the political environment) , Socialization (acquisition of political skills and knowledge), reproduction (continuity of political traditions).

From the point of view of the theory of types of political culture, each political culture of the country is characterized by a special model in which the dominant culture, subculture and counterculture are closely intertwined. Dominant culture is a certain combination of basic elements of culture that are accepted and shared by the majority of the population. It includes national symbols, values, norms. Cultural symbols, values ​​and norms of behavior, closely related to the dominant culture, but also different from it, is called a subculture. Counterculture is a collection of symbols, values, norms and patterns of behavior that oppose the dominant culture. Radugin A. Political Science: Textbook. M.: Center, 2001, p. 106

The typology of political culture can be built on various grounds. So, we can talk about the political culture of individual societies (political culture of France and Germany), regions (European political culture), according to the class stratification of the political system (socialist political culture), according to the historical stages of the development of society (political culture of a traditional society).

But the typology developed by G. Almand and S. Verba is especially popular. After analyzing the political cultures of 13 countries, scientists have identified three ideal types of political culture: parish, subordination and participation.

The parish type of political culture is widespread in societies where there are no independent political institutions. Members of such societies are not interested in politics and therefore do not associate the facts of life with the political system. There is no separation of powers, and power is personified by the leader or other person who decides all issues of public life individually.

Submission (a subservient type of political culture) is characteristic of societies that are passive in relation to politics. Members of the society humbly await mercy from the "bosses". Having a good understanding of the stability of the political system, the community does not consider itself capable of influencing the decision of the authorities.

Participation (a participatory type of political culture) dominates societies whose members are politically active and literate. Every citizen considers it possible to influence political decision-making.

But since these types are ideal, they do not occur in their pure form. In reality, societies distinguish between a mixed type of political culture, which G. Almond and S. Verba called "civic culture".

In the mid-90s of the twentieth century, an improved typology of political cultures appeared, developed by the Dutch political scientists Hunck and Hickspurs.

The classification was based on only two groups - passive and active political cultures. The already known political scientists G. Almond and S. Verba belong to the passive parish culture and the culture of submission. In addition to these types, the so-called “culture of observers” belongs to the group of passive cultures. Isaev BA, Baranov NA Political relations and political processes in modern Russia. Textbook SPB .: Peter, 2008, p. 188 (characterized by a higher level of subjective political interest in the facts and phenomena of politics). This group is called passive because a characteristic feature of the above cultures is political apathy.

Active types include protest cultures (low level of political interests and trust in the authorities), clienist (low level of political interests with trust in the authorities), autonomous (medium level of interest in politics and low level of trust), civic (medium level of interests with a high level of trust). trust), the already well-known culture of participation (a high level of political interest with a low level of trust) and civic participation (a high level of interests with a high level of trust). A characteristic feature of these cultures is a high level of participation in political processes, as well as the belief of people in a real opportunity to influence on the decisions applied by the authorities.

In addition to these classical typologies, there are also specific ones. For example, the typology of a sentence by W. Rosenbaum. It takes as a basis the degree of coherence of society regarding fundamental political values, and the presence and specifics of subcultures. The researcher identified two extreme versions of political culture: integrated and fragmented.

A fragmented culture is characterized by a lack of agreement on the basic concepts of the country's political structure, the predominance of local political authorities over national ones, and the absence of procedures for settling social conflicts and trust between individual groups of society.

An integrated political culture is characterized by consistency of political identifications, a low level of political violence, the predominance of civil procedures in resolving conflicts, and trust in the political relations of social groups.

2. Political culture of Russia

2.1 Social factors, traditions that determine the characteristics of Russian political culture

Political culture is the result of the development of many hundreds of years. This development includes political knowledge, political consciousness, political behavior, political thinking, in a word, everything that is included in the concept of "political culture".

The development of the listed structures of the elements is due to socio-economic, national-cultural and socio-historical factors.

The development of political culture and its current state is largely due to sociocultural factors.

The political culture of Ancient Rus acquired a veche form. This form hindered the adoption of innovations and in many respects limited the possibility of forming a centralized state. The veche lifestyle had a great influence on the formation of statehood.

The geographical position of Russia between Europe and Asia also had a huge impact on the formation of political culture. Russia has become the successor to both the European type of culture, which puts the personality and its freedom at the forefront, and the Asian type, which is based on society, the collective and the state. The interaction of the two types of cultures in Russia takes different forms and characterizes the culture of Russia as in many respects contradictory, conflict. The dispute between "Westernizers" and "Slavophiles" over the path of Russia is a vivid confirmation of this. And this inconsistency persists to this day.

An important factor in the development of political culture was the geopolitical space, where peoples with different types of cultures coexisted. According to Baranov, in such conditions the statist orientation of political culture was formed. Isaev B.A., Baranov N.A. Political relations and political processes in modern Russia. Uchebnoe posobie.SPB .: Peter, 2008.P.190 Researcher E. Batalov expressed this idea more precisely, who wrote that in Russia the state is perceived as "the backbone of civilization, the guarantor of the integrity and existence of society, the organizer of all life." Batalov.E. Political culture of Russia through the prism of civic culture // Pro et Contra. 2002 №3.

In addition to statism, Russia's geopolitical position has formed two main features of the Russian character, which Likhachev noted in his article "On the national character of Russians": devotion to the idea of ​​freedom and maximalism, the desire to go to the extreme in everything, to the limit. The development of the vast territories of Russia took place not only at the expense of strong state power, but also by the forces of fugitive peasants. The love of freedom, as well as the basis, formed a valuable cultural class - the Russian Cossacks.

Another factor was the sacralization of the supreme power. For many years in Russia there was a belief that power is given to tsars from God, and therefore the ruler is just.

The formation of Russia's political culture is associated with Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church acted as a kind of core of the Russian state, opposed both the Catholic Zap and the Muslim East. Also connected with Orthodoxy is the idea of ​​the greatness of Russia's chosenness (the concept of "Moscow is the third Rome"), which has become an important component of the creation of culture.

Religiously, Russia became the successor of Byzantium, from which our country adopted not only culture, but also the imperial idea. This was very important in relation to strengthening the supreme power in order to maintain a multi-ethnic and multilingual state.

On the political culture of the twentieth century, on the estate. The researcher Y. Pivovarov, a huge influence was exerted by V. Lenin - "demiurge of the new order" Pivovarov Y. Russian political culture and political culture (Society, power, Lenin) // Pro et Contra. 2002 No. 3 who created a party of a new type and led it to absolute power.

The entire political history of Russia is a constant confrontation between liberals (West) and patriarchal - traditional (East) values. Liberal values ​​include freedom of the individual and his rights, the thirst for self-assertion of the individual, freedom of property. Patriarchal values ​​are collegiality (for most Russian philosophers it is the main feature of the Russian mentality), collectivism, and a penchant for authoritarianism.

2.2 The main features of Russian political culture

The results of a sociological study conducted in Russia in 1996 on the method of identifying ideal types of political cultures allow us to say that the majority of the population (namely, 70%) share a passive culture, and the dominant culture is the “culture of observers” (a high level of interest in politics at different trust and low participation in political action). In developed Western countries, the percentage of the population belonging to this type ranges from 2 to 6% versus 56% in Russia. Isaev BA, Baranov NA Political relations and political processes in modern Russia. Tutorial) SPB .: Peter, 2008, p. 189. Although today one can note an increase in interest in politics and a higher involvement of the population in political processes, as well as a higher political activity.

The following processes have a significant impact on the political culture of modern Russia:

1. Radical changes in the economic, spiritual and social life of the country, as well as the massive movement of immigrants from the near abroad to Russia and, as a consequence, the creation of new interethnic and territorial entities.

2. Change and complication of the social structure of society, the emergence of new groups, changes in stratification and the strengthening of various types of social mobility.

3. Reevaluation based on the accumulation and expansion of the translational experience of the lessons of the past, present and future prospects. Ibid., S. 191

These processes have an impact on the transformation of all components of political culture.

Following the researcher G. Pikalov, G.A. Pikalov. The theory of political culture: Textbook. Saint Petersburg, 2004, pp. 148-149. the following characteristic features of the political culture of modern Russia can be distinguished:

1. The values ​​of communitarianism (priority of group justice over the principles of individual freedom).

2. Indifferent attitude towards political participation.

3. Personalized perception of power.

4. Predisposition to conformism.

5. Disbelief in representative bodies of power, gravitation towards executive functions with limited individual responsibility.

6. Subject attitude to the authorities.

7. Legal nihilism.

8. Intolerance to other people's opinions and principles.

9. Uncritical perception of foreign experience, copying of its dubious samples.

10. Predisposition to forceful methods of conflict resolution, rejection of consensus decisions.

Modern Russian society is a society in which there has been a stratification of the type of class division, characterized by a difference in functions, position, rights. Polyakov L. Russia in the Mirror of Political Science // RGIU Online Library www.i-u.ru In Russia there are all types of political culture and its subcultures: passive and active, subject and parish. But the dominant cultures are still of the patriarchal-subject and subject-activist type.

As a result of the interaction of many factors of a historical, social and cultural nature, the political culture of Russian society at the present stage of development is internally contradictory. Many subcultures interact in it: authoritarian and democratic, elite and mass, liberal and conservative, socialist and bourgeois.

But the peculiarity of this stage is not only the diversity of cultures, but also the fact that a significant number of them enter into contradictory relations. This state indicates the absence of any main direction in the mainstream of which political culture would receive its further development.

2.3 Old and new in the political culture of Russians

The traditional political culture of Russians is characterized by a focus on statism. Most Russians perceive the state as much more than just a political institution. This is due to the enormous role of the state in the life of society, associated with geopolitical conditions, at all stages of development.

The focus on statism manifested itself to some extent in Soviet political culture, although anti-statist sentiments prevailed in the post-revolutionary years (in connection with the idea of ​​building communism and the imminent withering away of the institution of the state). In the second half of the 1920s, it became clear that communism was still far away, Lenin's successors had to think about consolidating the victory of socialism in a separate holy country, which inevitably led to the strengthening of the role of the state. Gradually, statism became the foundation of the existence of Soviet power.

When the Soviet regime collapsed, the statist tradition had to disappear with it. But in recent years, the federal authorities have embarked on a policy of strengthening the state, increasing influence on local authorities. From the policy of distributing sovereignty to the regions, the federal authorities have come to a policy of severely limiting the capabilities of regional authorities.

However, this does not mean that the development of Russia's political culture is moving in the direction of traditional attitudes toward statism, paternalism and centralism. Now the Soviet political culture is being replaced by a new culture.

In modern discussions about the nature of the political culture of the post-Soviet period, two views are opposed. Proponents of the innovative point of view talk about the novelty of cultural norms and values ​​that are taking shape before our eyes. According to supporters of the traditional point of view, the political culture of modern Russia reproduces the traditional Russian norms: authoritarianism, statism, nationalism. Perina E.I. On the question of the political culture of modern Russia / E.I. Perina // Bulletin of the Ural State University. 2007. # 51.C.90.

Thus, we can talk about the traditional elements of political culture and about the emerging new elements in its structure.

E. Batalov notes four factors that affect the nature of modern political culture: the dynamics of generations, the nature of the political socialization of youth groups, the directions and rates of development of new economic and political relations in the country, the purposeful formation of a political culture corresponding to a democratic political system. Although our political culture cannot yet be called democratic, it is quite obvious that there is movement in this direction and the emergence of new institutions and forms of behavior.

The modern political culture of Russia is characterized by a sharp confrontation between subcultures. Antagonistic contradictions do not make it possible to combine all the diversity of opinions, and, consequently, to ensure the internal integrity of the state.

The modern political culture of Russia began to take shape after the collapse of the USSR. As a result of denationalization and privatization, a new class of property owners has emerged, striving to impose the values ​​of liberalism on the population: individualism, competition. Radugin A. Political Science. Tutorial. M .: Center, 2001. S. 117. In the future, the formation of market relations and the variety of forms of ownership created favorable conditions for the approval of the norms and values ​​of a liberal democratic society, which were not characteristic of traditional political culture. Today, political culture is also changing under the influence of the formation of civil society.

The distant past and centuries of historical experience have formed traditional values ​​and images of political culture. But do not forget that new values ​​and norms are constantly being created that affect modern society.

3. The influence of the political culture of Russians on the nature of the political process in the Russian Federation. Political culture and prospects of Russian politics (political regime, political participation, conflicts, solutions)

The political process in Russia is the interaction of social subjects, bearers and institutions of power that operate on the basis of specific features of historical development, culture, and traditions. Radugin A. Political Science. Tutorial. M .: Center, 2001. S. 312 That is, the political processes taking place in society are influenced not only by the political regime, but also by the relations of power in society, as well as by the nature of political culture. The political process largely depends on the values ​​of the dominant culture. In Russia, political processes of a non-Western type prevail, although with the gradual development of a democratic political culture and the emergence of civil society, one can also distinguish trends in the liberalization of political processes.

The evolution of Russia's political culture comes down to building a stable democratic system. It is not just about transferring Western models of democracy to Russian soil, but about whether Russia will be able to consolidate civilized relations between the authorities and citizens.

The primordially Russian features of political culture - statism, collectivism - do not contribute to the formation of democratic foundations and civic culture in Russia. These traits in their pure form lead to the establishment of authoritarianism or even totalitarianism. Therefore, it seems necessary to supplement these features with alternative values ​​and norms. Regardless of the political regime in Russia, due to subjective circumstances (geopolitical position, economic reasons), the role of the state will always be great. However, in the course of the democratization of society (which Russia is now experiencing), the power of the state and power is limited by the citizens themselves. The tasks of the political power of modern Russia is to form a counter-statist psychology among Russians (a direction not towards destruction, but towards the restriction of the state) instead of anti-statism.

The political culture of Russia is still characterized by weak democratic traditions, and a system of local government is needed to establish a democratic regime in Russia. The experience of Western countries can help Russia in this. It must be remembered that the task of forming a civil culture in Russia is not solved by a simple synthesis of the tradition of Russian culture and a culture of the Western type.

There are several ways to promote the formation of a culture of a democratic type (followed by a democratic political regime).

1. Formation of the economic, general cultural and socio-political environment. For Russia, this means the formation of a market and civil society.

2. Political socialization of generations. Civic culture is transmitted during the learning process in all social institutions. The formation of political attitudes and non-political in nature, but is based on participation in the affairs of the family, school and other agents of socialization.

The duality of the development of Russia's political culture at the present stage is that civil society is gradually forming in Russia, and the political authorities are trying to ignore this process. The legal and legal consciousness of the society is growing. Ultimately, this leads to an increase in the conflict between society and the government, to the disruption of the interaction process.

The authorities need to maintain faith in their legitimacy, otherwise the political regime will not be able to group various communities of people around common goals. It is necessary not only to create an effective socio - economic policy that meets the urgent needs of people, but also to influence the formation of political culture.

The further development of Russia largely depends on the formation of political culture. The prospect of such development will be great if it is connected with the integration processes in the post-Soviet space.

Conclusion

The following features stand out in the political culture of Russia, past and present:

1. Expression of a subject political culture, which is characterized by the one-sided dependence of the individual on power and the need for leadership.

2. Concentration of the political state in the center of power: for centuries, the center of power has been a monarch, a strong state, a ramified bureaucratic apparatus.

3. Political culture is concentrated in the hands of the ruling circle.

6. The fragmentation of the political culture of Russia.

The political culture of a society is a traditional, established form of political outlook and the organization of political efforts. The political culture of Russia in this regard is a complex set of forms, including democratic, authoritarian, patriarchal, messianic and revolutionary political cultures. The history of the development of our country shows that in each period of time one of the forms came to the fore, but one cannot speak of the complete dominance of any form of political culture in each period. At the present stage of development, preference is given to the formation of a democratic political culture. At the moment, the main question is whether citizens will be able to master the experience of a democratic political culture. This is a long-term process that goes through a stage of fragmented political culture. Society, on the one hand, is losing its previous guidelines and value, and on the other hand, it does not yet perceive the new values ​​as undoubted. The problem of the formation of Russia's political culture is whether the country will be able to move to a civilized relationship between a person and a state, in which citizens could influence the policy of the authorities.

The results of the policy pursued in Russia over the past 20 years turned out to be far from those expected by society. The mistakes were often caused by the fact that the ruling circles did not take into account the political culture that had developed in Russia. The so-called "Putin phenomenon" is connected with the fact that he drew attention precisely to the traditions of the country's political culture: the struggle between authoritarianism and democracy.

Despite the fact that the political culture of Russia is still a contradictory and uncertain process, one can observe the processes of democratization. In Russia, there is still a struggle between various political ideologies: communist, liberal and national-patriotic; coexistence of different subcultures is observed. However, the ruling circles are already aware of the need to enter the Western "democratic world", where Russia is still viewed critically. Only the unification of political circles around one goal can help Russia get out of the crisis and become an important player in world politics.

List of used literature

1.Burenko V., Zhuravlev V. Political science: Textbook. M .: Publishing house Mosk. humanizes. University, 2004, p. 328.

2. Isaev BA, Baranov NA Political relations and political processes in modern Russia. Tutorial. Saint Petersburg: Peter, 2008.S. 395.

3. Perina E.I. On the question of the political culture of modern Russia / E.I. Perina // Bulletin of the Ural State University. 2007. No. 51. S. 87-91.

4. Pikalov G.A. The theory of political culture: Textbook. SPB., 2004.S. 320.

5. Radugin A. Political science. Tutorial. M .: Center, 2001.S. 336.

6. Batalov.E. Political culture of Russia through the prism of 2002. №3.

7. Polyakov L. Russia in the mirror of political science // Online library RGIU.

8. Pivovarov Yu. Russian political culture and political culture (Society, power, Lenin). 2002. No. 3.

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There are several ways of typologizing political cultures, which allow one to penetrate deeper into its essence, to understand its features. In political science, the socio-class typology of political culture is widespread. It is based on the connection of political cultures with the nature of government in society, its political system. In accordance with this approach, the “democratic”, “authoritarian” and “totalitarian” political culture, as well as its transitional states, are distinguished.

A democratic political culture is characterized by an orientation toward truly democratic values ​​and ideals, the rule of law and civil society, free participation in politics, ideological, political and economic pluralism, the priority of human and civil rights, and a rich political language.

Authoritarian political culture is focused on the decisive role of the state and one party in society, the appropriate forms and methods of government, control over political life and participation in it. In accordance with them, the state interests are more important than the interests of individuals and social groups. The main values ​​are: "one ideology", "political order", "support for public policy", "political unity". The political language is standardized.

A totalitarian political culture presupposes state-directed and controlled forms of people's participation in politics, rigidly ideologized stereotypes of behavior, and a loyal focus on official institutions and symbols. The political language is formalized and ideologically rigidly defined.

In addition, there are also transitional models of political culture: from authoritarian to democratic.

From the point of view of attitudes towards transformations, two types of culture can be distinguished: closed, aimed at recreation according to the model established by traditions, and open, oriented to change. easily assimilating new elements.

The political culture of any society influences the nature of political participation. Quite interesting in this respect is the classification proposed by G. Almond and S. Verba, who, on the basis of a comparative analysis of the USA, Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Mexico, identified several types of political culture and participation in politics, depending on the level of development of society: or “traditional” (parochial) - the political culture of economically backward societies; “Subject” - political culture in industrial, authoritarian societies; “Participant” - a culture of participation in democratic societies.

Parish political culture is characteristic of economically backward societies - African tribes, local autonomous communities, etc., where there are usually no specialized political roles, political orientations are not separated from religious or economic ones, attitude towards the government is little determined by any norms, political knowledge practically absent, the masses of the population are illiterate. In a society dominated by a “subject political culture,” people are aware of the existence of specialized political institutions and have certain feelings for them, can evaluate them and orient themselves towards them, but this attitude is generally very passive. In the context of a “participatory political culture”, or “culture of participation,” members of society are internally oriented towards the existing political system and all its main structures, i.e. both at the “entrance” and “exit” of the system, for a conscious and active participation in political life.

A special kind of political culture according to this typology is the so-called civic culture, which is characteristic of the United States and Great Britain. This type of political culture is characterized by a consensus of the legitimacy of political institutions, the direction and content of public policy, tolerance for pluralism of interests, competence and mutual trust of the majority of citizens.

Features of the political culture of Russia

The political culture of Russia has its own characteristics and characteristics. The main thing, perhaps, is that Russia represents a kind of civilization, with its inherent political values, traditions, and people's mentality.

The origins of Russian political culture are rooted in the patriarchal way of peasant life, in the collectivist-communal experience, totalitarian (monarchic) ​​consciousness, archaic customs of allegiance, conformism and non-resistance to violence, rebellion against direct oppressors for a just tsar. The “Eastern (“ Asian ”) mode of production” (despotism + community), developed by Karl Marx on the example of the societies of the East, also took place in Russia and influenced the formation of its culture and politics. Russia is always an unresolved peasant issue and a high degree of concentration of power: the grand duke - the tsar - the emperor - the monarch - the general secretary - the president.

A characteristic feature of the Russian character, its inherent political and cultural quality is maximalism, a tendency to extremes in thinking and behavior, since the practice and experience of free political participation were insufficient. Hence the strong traditions of authoritarian-patriarchal political culture.

In Russian history, there is another - the democratic tradition. It is associated with communal governance, conciliarism, episodic republican forms of government, the experience of liberal reforms, as well as parliamentarism and a multiparty system in the 20th century.

On the whole, the political culture of Russians is characterized by: an orientation toward the norms of collectivist or communal morality; ideologization in political and other issues; inclination to political radicalism, political extremes; political loyalty and subservient attitude to the authorities; legal nihilism and a low level of legal consciousness; predisposition to political conformism (adaptation to a specific political regime); a certain political credulity; lack of political knowledge and experience.

It is possible to single out a number of national traits of Russians (Russians), which are reflected in the political culture of society: simplicity; belief in the ideal; daydreaming; Oblomovism; the idea of ​​messianism (“Moscow is the third Rome”, “Russia is a bird of three”, “the Soviet people are the pioneer of socialism”); the idea of ​​conciliarity; the idea of ​​community; the desire to make everyone happy (including by force); striving to reach “the end” in everything; selflessness, selflessness; traits of fanaticism; craving for prophecy; love for the Motherland, justice and freedom; the breadth of the Russian soul.

In general, Russian political culture is on the threshold of the 21st century. is a transitional one from an authoritarian-statist, “subject-and-participatory” culture to a democratic, civic culture.

The modern political culture of Russia can be defined as fragmentary, characterized by different value orientations; contradictions between elite and mass culture; the discrepancy between the subcultures of the urban and rural population, the metropolitan and provincial electorate.

The political culture of each country always includes specific, inherent only to its population, political values, orientations and traditions, symbols and rituals, norms, forms and methods of political behavior. It is formed under the influence of closely interrelated conditions and factors that develop in the process of formation and civilizational development of a particular society and state, reflects the state of the political system, the level of legitimacy of political power.

The initial, basic elements of Russian political culture were formed and developed under the influence of special ones that have not lost their influence in our time conditions and factors... First of all, these include geopolitical position of Russia... It is characterized by: the forest-steppe landscape of the country, the presence of a sharply continental climate in most of its territory, the large size, man-made spaces and the weak protection of some of them, the special importance in ensuring the security and development of the country of natural-geographical and raw materials and sources and resources, etc. etc. Influencing the life of many generations of the Russian people, these geopolitical features determined and determine the rhythm of life of a significant part of the population, its way of life.

Their own and very significant role in the formation and development of Russian political culture is played by general civilizational circumstances reflecting the most important forms of organizing the joint life of the Russian people, its basic life values ​​and guidelines, ways of organizing and organizing state and political life. These circumstances include: the socio-cultural position of Russia between the East and the West, the domination of collective forms of social life, which ensure the primacy of the interests of the community, class over the interests of the individual; the use of emergency methods of public administration; lack of traditions of legal statehood and sustainable mechanisms of self-government. In the twentieth century, the development of political culture in Russia was carried out under the influence of changes in the economy, socio-political structure and spiritual life of society, caused by the destruction after October 1917 of entire social strata and ethnic formations, the rejection of market regulators of economic development, the forcible introduction of communist ideology, deformation of the country's intercultural ties with the world community. The state and development of political culture is particularly influenced by the radicality of socio-political changes and transformations, which are permanently repeated in the history of Russia, in the process of which certain established forms of organization of state-political life, political traditions, historically always dominant position in the society of the state are revolutionary. , etatism as a principle of organizing social relations.

Under the influence of these circumstances, the political culture of Russian society at all stages of its historical development, as a rule, is an internally split, horizontally and vertically polarized phenomenon, in which its main components contradict each other in their basic and secondary orientations. The population of the country, almost always, is divided into two main parts: one gravitates towards the rational, individualistic culture of the West, the other towards the traditionalist, collectivist culture of the East. In addition, these two main value components of the political culture of Russian society are also permeated by various moral and ideological positions and approaches. Since the baptism of Russia, the confrontation of individual political subcultures has led its way through the antagonism and struggle of supporters of paganism and Christianity, Slavophiles and Westernizers, white and red, democrats and communists. In the political culture of the Russian people, emotional elements prevail over rational ones, which often leads to the anarchism of its individual groups. For these reasons, it is traditionally difficult to develop common values ​​and guidelines in society on the problem of the country's political structure, to combine its cultural diversity with political unity, and to ensure the internal integrity of society.

Contemporary Russian political culture is a developing phenomenon that combines variability in content with continuity and preservation in it of the main basic characteristics of the past. The transitional state of Russian society also presupposes a transitional state of its political culture, the transformation of its components. The political culture of post-Soviet Russia today is influenced not only by established, traditional conditions and factors, but also by new ones that emerged in the late XX - early XXI centuries, is being modernized and developed mainly due to four main sources. At first, due to the revival of some elements and values ​​of pre-revolutionary Russian political culture. They can be elements and values ​​that were borrowed from Soviet Russia, as well as those that turned out to be unclaimed: zemstvo self-government or its analogue, jury trials, etc. Imperial Russia, as the Russian philosopher N. Lossky noted, in the field of political culture created values ​​that will gain worldwide fame when they are sufficiently studied and understood.

Secondly, the source of the formation of the modern political culture of Russia is the Soviet political culture. She was not only totalitarian-authoritarian, ideologized, but also embodied many archetypal features of the "Russian character": various forms of collectivism, loyalty to tradition, Fatherland, patriotism, etc. All of them are extremely necessary in modern Russian reality.

Thirdly, the enrichment and development of Russia's political culture is achieved by borrowing the values ​​and norms of foreign and, mainly, Western European and American political cultures. If a civil society and a legal state are being built in Russia, then the creation of its political culture, no matter how original it may be, is impossible without the creative assimilation of universally significant democratic values. These are: openness and transparency in politics; respect for the law; pluralism of opinions; political and religious tolerance; competition and rivalry of various political forces; non-violent resolution of social problems, etc.

And finally, the source of the formation of modern Russian political culture is today's political practice, the political life of society.

The combination of circumstances affecting the political culture of post-Soviet Russia, the sources of its change and development determines specifics and modern features both political culture in general and its individual components. As a single, integral phenomenon, the political culture of modern Russian society, as in the past, is characterized by value split and conflict, heterogeneity of attitudes and standards of political behavior... It is predominantly subservient political culture... She retains such traditional features as longsuffering, obedience to authority, low self-discipline and self-organization, national self-flagellation, confidence in the availability of simple and quick solutions to complex problems... The peculiarity of the political culture of Russian society today is expressed in a significant differences in the content of political subcultures, political culture of individuals, in the absence of their stable relationships and interaction with each other.

They also have a pronounced specificity. separate structural components of political culture modern Russia. For political consciousness of the Russian people today are characterized by: a combination of a high level of expectations from the state with a growing distrust of the authorities; orientation towards a charismatic political leader; confusion of the concepts of patriotism and loyalty to the political regime; identification of love for the Fatherland with loyalty to the authorities; combination of futurism, i.e. striving for the future, with an immunity to innovative ideas and transformations; inability and unwillingness to seek compromises, ways of interacting with political opponents; the predominance of state rather than national self-identification of citizens; low level of ideology, lack of a unifying and rallying national idea; declining interest in politics; lack of consensus on the main goals and priorities of domestic and foreign policy.

Political behavior of Russians As a component of political culture, inconsistency and unpredictability, legal nihilism and disregard for legal principles and norms, the weakness of the general civil component, the prevalence of radical methods and forms are inherent.

V functioning of political institutions authoritarian-administrative principles and methods of managing society prevail, there are no uniform rules of the "political game" both for those in power and for opposition political forces, unprofessionalism and incompetence in making and implementing political decisions are manifested, there are elements of corruption and staff stagnation, there is no ability to respond adequately and in a timely manner to the processes taking place in society, the priorities and prospects of the country's socio-political development are poorly identified. The ruling political elite of Russia strives to fully occupy the "political space", political pluralism is limited in society, and the legal field for rivalry between various political forces and ideologies is narrowed.

The current state of the political culture of Russian society testifies to its instability and fragmentation, high mobility and dynamism. In its content, general civilizational democratic segments have not yet been established, there are no basic foundations for the consensus of political forces, their concerted actions to reorganize social life in accordance with the principles of justice, humanism and legality. In such conditions, the objective necessity of raising and developing the political culture of modern Russia is obvious.

The improvement and optimization of the political culture of Russian society can currently be achieved in different ways. The most important of these is assimilation of political knowledge by people, their expansion and deepening... Political knowledge is the foundation of meaningful and conscientious political behavior. Without political knowledge, it is difficult to navigate the political situation in the country and the world, to choose the correct line of political behavior in specific situations. A politically illiterate person is outside politics, he becomes a bargaining chip in the game of various political demagogues and adventurers. And a politically uneducated person who has power or has become a political leader is dangerous for society, his activities, as a rule, are destructive.

Today, every Russian citizen needs knowledge about the essence and content of political relations, about democratic principles and rules for organizing political life, about the alignment of political forces in society, their political goals and ideological orientation, about the structure and functions of political institutions, their powers and role in political governance. society. You cannot consider yourself a politically educated citizen without knowing the country's Constitution, your constitutional rights, duties and freedoms, the main provisions of the programs of leading political parties operating in Russian society, political and legal documents and principles governing public life. It is extremely important to know about the forms and methods of citizens' participation in public and political life, about the goals and priorities of the state's domestic and foreign policy, about the prospects for the country's political development, and its security problems. It goes without saying that the volume and depth of political knowledge of an individual, depending on his social status and position, profession and other characteristics, can and should be different. But in one way or another, everyone must have them, because without this knowledge, the individual cannot join politics, become its independent, conscious subject. An effective factor in the concretization and actualization of political knowledge is the tracking of political events and facts based on media materials, their independent comprehension, analysis and assessment.

A special way to improve and develop the political culture of modern Russian society is mastery by the broad masses of the rules, methods and techniques of political behavior... This is achieved by the specific and widespread participation of people in various political actions and campaigns, taking into account their political status as citizens of the country, guaranteed by the Constitution and other regulatory legal acts. Immediate skills and methods of political behavior of people are formed as a result of their participation in elections of state authorities, in the work of political parties, public councils and other formal and informal socio-political associations and institutions, in meetings, demonstrations, etc. Of great importance for a person's mastery of the rules, methods and techniques of political behavior is her participation in the discussion of various state programs for the development of the country, programs of political parties, documents and materials of social and political organizations and movements. A special role is also played by the individual's contacts with government authorities and the media, his communication with the political elite and political leaders, other subjects of the political process, and mastering the experience of the political life of different countries.

And, finally, one of the main ways to improve and develop the political culture of modern Russia is democratization of public life... The democratization of public life is the real foundation of political culture, the most important prerequisite for the socio-political activity of the individual, and the increasing role of the human factor. Its most important requirement is the involvement of people in political relations and political practice and the formation of the necessary legal framework for this. Democracy and law-abidingness represent the basic values ​​of political culture, the source of its improvement.

Development and enhancement of political culture in modern Russia provided by the activities of various socio-political institutions, socio-political forces, social formations and groups, individual individuals. Leading among them are considered the state, political parties and public organizations, the media, the church, the army and other power structures, educational and cultural institutions. Each of these subjects of social and political life has its own impact on political culture, fulfills its role in its improvement and development.

Russian state in the aggregate of its legislative, executive and judicial bodies largely determines the content and the most important parameters of modern political culture. It adopts legislative and other normative acts regulating the political behavior of people, the activities of political institutions, and controls their implementation. State bodies develop, improve and consolidate political symbols (flag, coat of arms, anthem, military oath, etc.), form political traditions inherent in the modern stage of social development, replicate and introduce certain models of political activity and political participation. History has proved and modern practice confirms this that the state has always played a leading role in the formation of political culture. And what kind of political culture is taking shape in Russian society today, how it rises and develops, mainly depends on the priorities and goals of the activities of states, on its capabilities and ability to be a consolidating force of society.

Political parties and public organizations by their activities, they lay down certain forms of political thinking and behavior of people, introduce them to political practice. They form political and ideological values ​​among citizens, ideas about the relationship of political parties, public organizations with the state, their place and role in the political life of the country, in the exercise of political power. A variety of ideologies and orientations, and most importantly, the goals, content and nature of the activities of political parties and public organizations operating in modern Russia, has a rather ambiguous and contradictory impact on the political culture of society, social groups and entities, individuals.

Mass media form mass political beliefs and attitudes, stereotypes of political consciousness and behavior. Their capabilities in Russia have increased many times over the past decade due to changes in the socio-political situation in and around the country, with the invasion of television and other mass media into people's daily lives, and the development of information technologies. This sharply strengthened the emotional and visual aspects of the process of the formation of political culture. Thanks to the media, many abstract ideas and principles are now being "transformed" into a figuratively visible, directly perceived and emotionally experienced form.

Church and other religious institutions, as subjects of the development and enhancement of political culture, are the main keepers of the historical traditions of the peoples inhabiting the country, the greatness of their strength and spirit. They also actively participate in everyday political life, the production of the basic models of political behavior of citizens, influence the political consciousness of people, especially at the emotional and psychological level. This role of religious institutions is especially growing in the context of the current weakness of the Russian state, the low level of institutionalization and the image of political parties and public organizations in the country.

Army and other power structures are a special social environment in which a person assimilates, first of all, political values ​​and norms supported by the state, forms and methods of political behavior of an individual, corresponding to the official normative legal space of organizing the country's political life. The army and other power structures of modern Russia can fulfill such a role in conditions of stability and stability of their functioning and development, a clear organization of their life activities, and the presence of high authority and respect in society.

Educational and cultural institutions ensure the dissemination of political knowledge, preservation and transfer of political experience, encourage people to develop their own political position. A significant role in the formation and development of political culture, its enhancement belongs to famous people in various areas of public life, political leaders.

The formation, enhancement and development of the political culture of modern Russian society is a natural historical process in which both conscious and spontaneous political forces operate today, focused on various values, principles and norms. Therefore, in order to develop a democratic, civic political culture in Russia, tremendous efforts and time are required. The cultural self-identification of Russian society is possible, first of all, on the way of overcoming its social, political, ethnic and confessional split, ensuring the organic synthesis of the civilizational originality of the development of modern Russia and democratic tendencies characteristic of modern world social development. It is necessary to consistently strengthen the spiritual freedom of the individual, expand the socio-economic and political-legal space for the manifestation of civic activity of people, their involvement in the process of allocating public resources, control over state power. The peaceful existence of even opposite ideologies and styles of civic behavior should be ensured, contributing to the formation, uniting, rather than opposing each other, ideological and political orientations and positions. It is only on this basis that mass ideals of civic dignity, self-respect, and democratic forms of interaction between the individual, society and the state can develop in Russian society.

Political culture is a complex multi-level phenomenon with specific features. It includes elements of political consciousness and political behavior of people, the functioning of political institutions. Political culture is of different types, differing from each other in certain characteristics. In public practice, all types of political culture are interconnected and interact with each other. Political culture has a significant impact on social relations, stimulates the social, political and labor activity of people.

In each society, under the influence of a combination of historical conditions and factors, a specific socio-political situation, a political culture specific in content is formed. The political culture of modern Russia includes a wide range of segments that are different in nature and direction, is unsettled and contradictory, constantly changing and developing. At present, its development and enhancement is required, which can be ensured by the effective activity of various social and political institutions and forces. The formation of a democratic, civil political culture of Russian society is an important condition for its socio-political stability and progressive development.

Control questions

1.Select the main approaches to the characterization of political culture as a phenomenon and give a definition of the concept of "political culture".

2. List and describe the structural elements of political culture and its main types.

3. What is a political subculture? What specific features are inherent in the political culture of the military personnel of the modern Russian army?

4. Name and reveal the functions of political culture.

5. What is the relationship between political culture and the political system of society?

6. Highlight and analyze the features and problems of the political culture of modern Russia. What are they caused by?

7. What are the ways to improve and develop the political culture of modern Russian society? What is the place and role of the Armed Forces in enhancing and developing the political culture of an individual?

Literature

Gulyaev L.N. Political culture of Russian society: theoretical and methodological aspect. - Kirov, 1999.

V.O. Rukavishnikov Political Culture and Social Change: International Comparisons. Issue 1, 2.- M., 1998, 2000.

Cemorro S.M. Common and special in the development of political and legal culture of the societies of the West, East and Russia. - M., 1998.

Penkov V.F. Political process and political culture. On the question of the methodology and practice of political research in modern Russia. - M., 2000.

Perov A.V. Trends and features of the formation of political subcultures in modern Russian society // Bulletin of Moscow University. Ser. 12. - 2003. - No. 2.

Sedykh N. Dynamics of political culture: socio-philosophical analysis // Power. - 2003. - No. 7.

Sharan M. Political culture and socialization // Comparative political science. Part 2. - Moscow: Nauka, 1992.

The political culture of an individual country is usually formed in the process of intertwining various value orientations and methods of political participation of citizens, national traditions, customs, methods of social recognition of a person, dominant forms of communication between the elite and the electorate, as well as other circumstances that express the stable features of the civilizational development of society and the state.

The basic values ​​of Russian political culture were formed under the influence of the most powerful factors that have not lost their influence at the present time. First of all, they include geopolitical reasons, which are expressed, in particular, in the peculiarities of its forest-steppe landscape, in the presence of a sharply continental climate in most of the territory, in large-scale manned territories, etc. Influencing the life of many and many generations, these factors (reasons) determined the basic rhythm of life, attitudes and attitudes towards life for significant, mainly rural, strata of the population. For example, the winter-summer cycles contributed to the combination of gravity, Oblomov contemplation and long-suffering (caused by prolonged passivity in the winter) with increased activity and even explosive character (originating from the need to do a lot in a short summer) in a Russian person.

General civilizational factors also had their own influence on the dominant features of Russian political culture, reflecting the most indicative forms of organizing the life of Russians together, their basic values ​​and guidelines. For example, these include the sociocultural middle ground between the areas of the East and the West; constant orientation of the state towards extraordinary management methods; the powerful influence of Byzantine traditions, expressed, for example, in the dominance of collective forms of social life; the lack of traditions of legal statehood and the low role of mechanisms of self-government and self-organization of the population, etc. In the XX century. the destruction by totalitarian regimes of entire social strata (merchants, humanitarian intelligentsia, officers) and nationalities, the rejection of market regulators of economic development, the forcible introduction of communist ideology significantly transformed many trends in the development of Russian civilization, violated the natural mechanisms of reproduction of Russian traditions, broke the continuity of generations and the development of values pluralistic way of life, distorted intercultural ties and relations between Russia and the world community.

The long-term and contradictory influence of various factors has now led to the formation of the political culture of Russian society, which can be characterized as an internally split, horizontally and vertically polarized culture, where its leading segments contradict each other in their basic and secondary orientations. The main strata of the population gravitate more towards the cultural programmatics of either rational or traditionalist subcultures based on the basic values ​​of the Western and Eastern types. In many ways, these subcultures, unequal in scale and influence, are also permeated with various ideological positions and approaches.

The dominant traditionalist subculture of Russian society is based on the values ​​of communitarianism (going back to communal collectivism and determining not only the priority of group justice over the principles of individual individual freedom, but also, ultimately, the leading role of the state in regulating political and social life), as well as personalized perception of power. , constantly provoking the search for a "savior of the fatherland" capable of leading the country out of the crisis. The leading political idea is also "social justice", which predominantly determines moralizing assessments of intergroup political competition. Typical of such cultural orientations is a misunderstanding of the role of representative bodies of power, a gravitation towards executive functions with limited individual responsibility, disinterest in systemic control over the authorities, denial of the meaning of codified legality and preference for it of one's own, “Kaluga” and “Ryazan” legality (Lenin) ... This type of political culture is also distinguished by a tendency towards unauthorized forms of political protest, a predisposition to forceful methods of resolving conflict situations, and a low interest of citizens in using consensus technologies of power.

In contrast to these guidelines, representatives of more rationalized and liberal-oriented values ​​have a system of cultural norms and views that includes many of the same standards that are characteristic of Western political culture. However, most of these values ​​are not yet firmly rooted in their consciousness and have a somewhat bookish, speculative character.

As already noted, almost all political cultures of a country are a combination of various subcultures. For example, even in a fairly integrated American political culture, D. Elazar distinguishes individualistic, moralistic and traditionalist subcultures. Two very different political cultures have developed in modern China (PRC and Hong Kong). However, in Russian society, the level of differences and confrontation between subcultures is extremely high. If, for example, traditionalists mythologize the peculiarity of Russia, then the democrats - its lagging behind, the former criticize Western liberalism, the latter - inert Russian reality. At the same time, both of them are distinguished by unshakable confidence in the correctness of "their" principles (customs, traditions, leaders, etc.), an attitude towards compromise with opponents as an unacceptable violation of principles and even betrayal.

In fact, this form of mutual confrontation between political subcultures is a modern version of the cultural split that developed in our society during the years of the baptism of Russia and leads its way through the opposition of supporters of paganism and Christianity, adherents of conciliarism and authoritarianism, Slavophiles and Westernizers, white and red, democrats and communists. Due to this, mutually opposing subcultures do not make it possible to develop common values ​​of the political structure of Russia, combine its cultural diversity with political unity, and ensure the internal integrity of the state and society.

As the experience of the development of Russian society shows, its cultural self-identification is possible on the way to overcome the split and ensure the organic synthesis of the civilizational originality of the country's development and world trends towards the democratization of societies and the expansion of foreign cultural contacts between them. The political and cultural qualities of Russian society can be transformed in this direction, first of all, by means of a real change in the civil status of an individual, the creation of power mechanisms that transfer power in decision-making to legally elected and reliably controlled representatives of the people.

Our society needs not the suppression of the previously dominant ideologies and not the invention of new "democratic" doctrines, but the consistent strengthening of spiritual freedom, the real expansion of socio-economic and political space for the manifestation of civic activity of people, their involvement in the redistribution of social material resources, control over managers. The policy of the authorities should ensure the peaceful coexistence of even opposite ideologies and styles of civic behavior, contributing to the formation of political orientations that unite rather than oppose the positions of socialists and liberals, conservatives and democrats, but at the same time radically limit the ideological influence of political extremists. Only on such a basis in society can mass ideals of civic dignity, self-respect, and democratic forms of interaction between man and power be formed.