What is the Russian character? Negative qualities of the Russian people

02.04.2019

National character and features of the Russian mentality belong to the ethno- and socio-psychological characteristics of Russia.

History of the question of national character

The question of national character has not received a generally accepted formulation, although it has significant historiography in world and Russian pre-revolutionary science. This problem was studied by Montesquieu, Kant, and Herder. And the idea that different peoples have their own “national spirit” was formed in the philosophy of romanticism and pochvennichestvo both in the West and in Russia. In the German ten-volume “Psychology of Nations,” the essence of man was analyzed in various cultural manifestations: everyday life, mythology, religion, etc. Social anthropologists of the last century also did not ignore this topic. In Soviet society, the humanities took as a basis the advantage of class over nationality, so national character, ethnic psychology and similar issues remained on the sidelines. They were not given due importance back then.

The concept of national character

At this stage, the concept of national character includes different schools and approaches. Of all the interpretations, two main ones can be distinguished:

personal-psychological
value-normative.

Personal psychological interpretation of national character

This interpretation implies that people of the same cultural values have common personality and mental traits. A set of such qualities distinguishes representatives of this group from others. The American psychiatrist A. Kardiner created the concept of “basic personality”, on the basis of which he concluded about the “basic personality type” that is inherent in every culture. The same idea is supported by N.O. Lossky. He highlights the main features of the Russian character, which is different:

religiosity,
receptivity to the highest examples of skills,
spiritual openness,
subtle understanding of someone else's condition,
powerful willpower,
ardor in religious life,
ebullience in public affairs,
adherence to extreme views,
love of freedom, reaching the point of anarchy,
love for the fatherland,
contempt for the philistine.

Similar studies also reveal results that contradict each other. Absolutely polar traits can be found in any nation. Here it is necessary to conduct more in-depth research using new statistical techniques.

Value-normative approach to the problem of national character

This approach assumes that national character is not embodied in the individual qualities of a representative of a nation, but in the sociocultural functioning of his people. B.P. Vysheslavtsev in his work “Russian National Character” explains that human character is not obvious, on the contrary, it is something secret. Therefore, it is difficult to understand and unexpected things happen. The root of character is not in expressive ideas or in the essence of consciousness; it grows from unconscious forces, from the subconscious. In this underlying structure such cataclysms are ripening that cannot be predicted by looking at the outer shell. To a large extent this applies to the Russian people.

This social state of mind, based on the attitudes of group consciousness, is usually called mentality. In connection with this interpretation, the features of the Russian character appear as a reflection of the mentality of the people, that is, they are the property of the people, and not a set of traits inherent in their individual representatives.

Mentality

reflected in people's actions, their way of thinking,
leaves its mark in folklore, literature, art,
gives rise to an original way of life and a special culture characteristic of a particular people.

Features of the Russian mentality

The study of Russian mentality began in the 19th century, first in the works of Slavophiles, research was continued at the turn of the next century. In the early nineties of the last century, interest in this issue arose again.

Most researchers note the most characteristic features of the mentality of the Russian people. It is based on deep compositions of consciousness that help make choices in time and space. In the context of this, there is the concept of chronotope - i.e. connections of spatio-temporal relations in culture.

Endless movement

Klyuchevsky, Berdyaev, Fedotov noted in their works the sense of Space characteristic of the Russian people. This is the vastness of the plains, their openness, the absence of borders. Many poets and writers reflected this model of the national Cosmos in their works.

Openness, incompleteness, questioning

A significant value of Russian culture is its openness. She can comprehend another who is alien to her, and is subject to various influences from the outside. Some, for example, D. Likhachev, call this universalism, others, like, note universal understanding, call it, like G. Florovsky, universal responsiveness. G. Gachev noted that many domestic classic masterpieces literature remained unfinished, leaving the way for development. This is the whole culture of Russia.

Discrepancy between the Space step and the Time step

The peculiarity of Russian landscapes and territories predetermines the experience of Space. The linearity of Christianity and the European pace determine the experience of Time. The vast territories of Russia, the endless expanses predetermine the colossal step of Space. For Time, European criteria are used, Western ones are tried on historical processes, formations.

According to Gachev, in Russia all processes should proceed more slowly. The Russian psyche is slower. The gap between the steps of Space and Time gives rise to tragedy and is fatal for the country.

Antinomy of Russian culture

The discrepancy in two coordinates - Time and Space - creates a constant tension in Russian culture. Another of its features is connected with this – antinomy. Many researchers consider this trait to be one of the most distinctive. Berdyaev noted the strong inconsistency of national life and self-awareness, where the deep abyss and boundless heights are combined with meanness, baseness, lack of pride, and servility. He wrote that in Russia, boundless philanthropy and compassion can coexist with misanthropy and fanaticism, and the desire for freedom coexists with slavish resignation. These polarities in Russian culture do not have halftones. Other nations also have opposites, but only in Russia can bureaucracy be born from anarchism, and slavery from freedom. This specificity of consciousness is reflected in philosophy, art, and literature. This dualism, both in culture and in personality, is best reflected in the works of Dostoevsky. Literature always provides great information for studying mentality. The binary principle that is important in national culture, is reflected even in the works Russian writers. Here is the list selected by Gachev:

“War and Peace”, “Fathers and Sons”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Poet and the Crowd”, “Poet and Citizen”, “Christ and Antichrist”.

The names speak of the great inconsistency of thinking:

“Dead Souls”, “Living Corpse”, “Virgin Soil Upturned”, “Yawning Heights”.

Polarization of Russian culture

The Russian mentality with its binary combination of mutually exclusive qualities reflects the hidden polarity of Russian culture, which is inherent in all periods of its development. Continuous tragic tension manifested itself in their collisions:

G.P. Fedotov in his work “The Fate and Sins of Russia” explored the originality of Russian culture and depicted national mentality, its structure is in the form of an ellipse with a pair of opposite-polar centers that continuously fight and cooperate. This causes constant instability and variability in the development of our culture, while at the same time encouraging the intention to solve the problem instantly, through an outbreak, a throw, a revolution.

“Incomprehensibility” of Russian culture

The internal antinomy of Russian culture also gives rise to its “incomprehensibility.” The sensual, spiritual, and illogical always prevail in it over the expedient and meaningful. Its originality is difficult to analyze from a scientific point of view, as well as to convey the possibilities of plastic art. In his works, I.V. Kondakov writes that the most consonant with the national identity of Russian culture is literature. This is the reason for our deep respect for the book and the word. This is especially noticeable in Russian culture of the Middle Ages. Classical Russian culture of the nineteenth century: painting, music, philosophy, social thought, he notes, was created for the most part under the impression literary works, their heroes, plans, plots. The impact on the consciousness of Russian society cannot be underestimated.

Cultural identity of Russia

Russian cultural self-identification is complicated by the specific mentality. The concept of cultural identity includes identification of a person with cultural tradition, national values.

U Western peoples national-cultural identity is expressed according to two characteristics: national (I am German, I am Italian, etc.) and civilizational (I am European). In Russia there is no such certainty. This is due to the fact that the cultural identity of Russia depends on:

multi-ethnic basis of culture, where there are a lot of local variants and subcultures;
intermediate position between ;
the inherent gift of compassion and empathy;
repeated impetuous transformations.

This ambiguity and inconsistency gives rise to discussions about its exclusivity and uniqueness. In Russian culture there is a deep thought about the unique path and highest calling of the people of Russia. This idea was translated into the popular socio-philosophical thesis about.

But in full agreement with everything mentioned above, along with the awareness of national dignity and conviction of one’s own exclusivity, there is national denial that reaches self-abasement. The philosopher Vysheslavtsev emphasized that restraint, self-flagellation, and repentance constitute national trait our character, that there is no people who criticized themselves, exposed themselves, and joked about themselves in such a way.

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Russia cannot be understood with the mind, it cannot be measured with a common yardstick: it has become something special - one can only believe in Russia. Fedor Tyutchev.

If the holy army shouts:

“Throw away Rus', live in paradise!”

I will say: “There is no need for heaven,

Give me my homeland."

Sergei Yesenin.

Who are these strange Russians, and what strange laws do they live by?

What is so special about the Russian character, and why doesn’t even a similar mentality exist anywhere in the world?

Why is the behavior of a Russian person abroad so recognizable, and for what reason are we either adored or hated, but never simply indifferent?

All attempts by the government to build in our state a state that lives strictly according to the laws and consciously observes them have failed with a deafening crash. Any imposed Western-style values are rejected by our people like a foreign body.

What is the reason? After all, all of Western Europe and America has stood and prospered on these principles for many years.

At the same time, the revolutionary ideas of Lenin and, which have no analogues anywhere in the world and are not supported by any other countries, were received with a bang, and in just two decades they revolutionized political system, creating a society that is fundamentally different in its mechanisms of existence.

What was that? A utopian idea that has taken root in an atypically thinking society?

You can't understand Russia with your mind,

The general arshin cannot be measured:

She will become special -

You can only believe in Russia.

Fedor Tyutchev.

Faith has always occupied a special place in the life of Russian people, but at the same time we have always been tolerant of people of other faiths. Many nationalities have always coexisted in Russia, and each had its own religion.

Russian character has always been a mystery to any foreigner. Completely illogical actions - this strange penchant for daring recklessness, ostentatious, inexplicable generosity, reaching the point of wastefulness, love for luxurious expensive things, even for one day, even without a penny in his pocket, as if it were his last day, and then take and give everything to someone, even to the first person he meets - no, it’s impossible to understand.

Terrible, brutal crime, total corruption and thieves' laws, which are observed better than the criminal code - is this also a feature of the national character or a dead end into which the whole country has reached?

Can our people abroad become so “at home” that they feel happy?

What determines the Russian character - heredity, climate, social system or landscape conditions?

Read on for the most comprehensive and most unexpected answers...

National character. Hot blood cold steppes

Russian character is a psychological portrait of an entire people, the mentality of the state, and not even Russia alone. It is partially present in everyone Russian person, these are the traits that unite us, make us similar, create the basis on which we understand each other a little better than people with a different mentality.

The formation of national character took place over many centuries, the foundation for this was the special geopolitics of one of the great leaders of the past - Genghis Khan.

The unique combination of endless steppes and impenetrable forests created the preconditions for the emergence of the urethral-muscular mentality, which forms the basis of the Russian character.

The specific role of the representative of the urethral vector is the leader, the head of the tribe, his task is to preserve the living matter of the flock, advance it into the future or develop new lands.

Unpredictable strategic thinking, complete absence of fear and high endurance are the properties that ensure the implementation of its species role.

The highest rank, the first right to bite, given by nature, cannot be challenged or doubted. Anyone who encroaches on his primacy will instantly know what urethral lion wrath is. There can only be one leader in a pack; when a second one appears, everything is decided by a mortal fight, the outcome of which is either the death of one of them or expulsion. The defeated one, at best, leaves to look for his pack.

He himself does not obey anyone and does not recognize any restrictions, having an innate sense of mercy and justice. Merciless towards strangers and the most tolerant towards his own, he forgives everything except crimes against the pack, for which he punishes immediately - cruelly and mercilessly.

The interests of the pack are of the highest value to him; personal interests are always deeply secondary. His pleasure is in giving, in the realization of his animal altruism. That is why the communist ideas of building an ideal society, where everyone works for the good of the country, receiving as much as they need to live, turned out to be so close to the hearts of the Russian people.

The most generous and selfless, he will give his last shirt to the one who needs it most. With this he satisfies his needs for bestowal and receives his pleasure. A fur coat from a master's shoulder, expensive gifts and fabulous tips - all this is a manifestation of urethral generosity, a kind of evidence of his highest rank, his status.

Hence the love for fame and luxury - the leader must have everything that is most expensive, luxurious and unique, but at the same time he has absolutely no intention of keeping, saving or hoarding it all. These are trifles, albeit royal ones, but compared to his goals and values, all these are trifles that he can give to anyone he meets whenever he wants.

Risk is a noble cause!

This expression is typical only for Russians. A leader cannot have fear. He is always the first to rush into battle, the first to attack, conquer new unexplored horizons, and commit actions that no one else is capable of. He was born for this, the whole flock follows him, he does not and cannot have any other way. Only for the flags, only forward, contrary to common sense, logic or experience. Restrictions, rules, laws are for others, he has a purpose and nothing else matters. And this goal is to preserve the flock, even at the cost own life, the goal is still more important.

Only a representative of the urethral vector is capable of making the decision to ram or throw himself into an embrasure, as the Heroes of the Great Patriotic War did, defending the Motherland, their people, even at the cost of their own lives.

The Russian man is a simple man

The impenetrable taiga and other forest areas of Russia are the closest and dearest place for representatives of the muscle vector: only they can accurately navigate and feel quite comfortable among dense forests.

The properties of the muscle vector are basic for all living beings, so they simply dissolve in the desires of other vectors, strengthening them.

The perception of oneself, characteristic of the muscle vector, as only an inseparable part of the common collective “we” and a wary attitude towards strangers is strikingly mixed with urethral generosity, tolerance and hospitality, turning into so-called xenophobia in reverse. This was manifested by our inexplicable love for foreigners, for whom we always set a sumptuous table, organized holidays, gave gifts, and gave the most beautiful girls as wives.

It is thanks to this property that a wide variety of nationalities with their own culture, traditions and religions coexisted peacefully in our vast country.

A muscular person will never take more than he needs for life, he simply does not have such a need and such a desire, and in combination with urethral altruism, he would rather give his own than take what is extra. , it was the muscular people who were ready to work for the good of the Motherland practically for free all their lives.

We have always lived this way - at the call of our souls

There are obvious reasons why the sound idea of Lenin and Trotsky, pushed forward by the urethral commissars and finding a response in inner world every Russian person, in such a short time brought such significant results and radically changed the face of the country.

Close to the urethral mentality, such values of the anal vector as honesty, decency, friendship, respect for elders, for the traditions of the past became widespread and became generally accepted, especially during the anal phase of human development, which ended with the end of the Great Patriotic War.

With the transition to the Russian people who until recently considered themselves Soviet, they found themselves in a contradictory situation.

On the one hand, the urethral mentality was and remains, but at the same time, the new values of modern society are sharply opposed to such a mentality.

The basis of all properties of the skin vector are restrictions that absolutely cannot be perceived in the urethral mentality. Any laws, rules, regulations, which are mandatory mechanisms for regulating skin society, are rejected by the Russian character, which is based on an unrestricted urethral mentality.

The cutaneous phase of human development, like any other, is inevitable for everyone, including Russians. To judge her as good or bad would be wrong. It continues, and Russia also lives in a world of consumption, high technology and law. Somewhere it’s clumsy, somewhere it’s different, but we are learning to adapt the landscape in such strange conditions for us. This is development, moving forward, a kind of evolution, overcoming obstacles.

It is impossible to fence off the endless steppe, it is simply impossible. Making a leader obey is even more impossible. He would rather die in a mortal fight, but would not bow his head, especially in front of some leather worker, who by nature has a rank significantly lower than the leader. This behavior is contrary to the entire urethral nature. He didn’t care about any skin laws. The law is his word! This is how nature sets it, this is how he feels and simply cannot live any other way.

His urethral laws are the most correct, since they are based on real mercy and justice without a shadow of personal gain, only for the good of the pack, for the same reason they completely contradict logical and rational skin values and cannot be understood.

Representatives of the urethral vector, who have not received sufficient development of their properties before the end of puberty, and often, on the contrary, are beaten at home and driven into the school confines, run away from home in search of their pack, which they find on the street, among street children. Perceiving the world as hostile, as it was throughout childhood, they learn to defend themselves from it and protect their pack, living by their own laws and turning into a crime boss.

The laws of thieves, for all their cruelty, are fair, but they are fair for a primitive society, for an animal pack and are, in fact, a manifestation of the archetypal program of the urethral vector.

In which feelings of mercy, justice and responsibility for others are brought up, he perceives the entire society as his flock and is capable of bringing socially useful benefits into it like no one else.

Representatives of the Western skin mentality, being next to Russians, subconsciously feel their lower rank due to our urethral mentality. It manifests itself in any case, even if we are talking about a person with a skin vector, who, it would seem, has every chance of harmoniously fitting into a developed consumer society. A Westerner gets enormous stress from the way Russians spend money, because for him saving is a priority, rational logical thinking in everything that does not fit into urethral habits. Many Western women are captivated by the passionate, generous Russian nature, but at the same time they are alarmed by inexplicable behavior and illogical life decisions, and men are humiliated by the position of a lower rank next to the leader, even if all these points are not clearly manifested in behavior.

Misunderstanding of the behavior of Russians abroad is due to the peculiarities of the national character, which simply cannot be understood in a skin society due to the significant remoteness of innate properties. Only awareness of one’s own nature and the qualities of another person makes it possible to harmoniously communicate with a representative of any vector or mentality, since there are no bad or good vectors, everything depends on the level of development and degree of realization of the properties of each individual person.

A society with a urethral mentality is where the next phase of human development will begin, based on spiritual altruism. Read what awaits us in the next article.

The article was written based on the training materials “ System-vector psychology»

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

Among positive qualities usually called kindness and its manifestation in relation to people - goodwill, cordiality, sincerity, responsiveness, cordiality, mercy, generosity, compassion and empathy. They also note simplicity, openness, honesty, and tolerance. But this list does not include pride and self-confidence - qualities that reflect a person’s attitude towards himself, which indicates the characteristic attitude of Russians towards “others”, their collectivism.

The Russian attitude to work is very peculiar. Russian people are hardworking, efficient and resilient, but much more often they are lazy, careless, careless and irresponsible, they are characterized by disregard and sloppiness. The hard work of Russians is manifested in the honest and responsible performance of their work duties, but does not imply initiative, independence, or the desire to stand out from the team. Sloppiness and carelessness are associated with the vast expanses of the Russian land, the inexhaustibility of its riches, which will be enough not only for us, but also for our descendants. And since we have a lot of everything, we don’t feel sorry for anything.

“Faith in a good Tsar” is a mental feature of Russians, reflecting the long-standing attitude of the Russian people who did not want to deal with officials or landowners, but preferred to write petitions to the Tsar (General Secretary, President), sincerely believing that evil officials were deceiving the good Tsar, but All you have to do is tell him the truth, and everything will immediately become fine. The excitement around the presidential elections over the past 20 years proves that the belief is still alive that if you choose a good president, Russia will immediately become a prosperous state.

Passion for political myths is another characteristic feature Russian people, inextricably linked with the Russian idea, the idea of the special mission of Russia and the Russian people in history. The belief that the Russian people are destined to show the whole world the right path (regardless of what this path should be - true Orthodoxy, the communist or Eurasian idea) was combined with the desire to make any sacrifices (including their own death) in the name of achieving set goal. In search of an idea, people easily rushed to extremes: they went to the people, made a world revolution, built communism, socialism "with human face", restored previously destroyed temples. Myths may change, but the morbid fascination with them remains. Therefore, among the typical national qualities is gullibility.

Thinking "at random" is another Russian trait. It permeates the national character, the life of the Russian person, and manifests itself in politics and economics. “Maybe” is expressed in the fact that inaction, passivity and lack of will (also named among the characteristics of the Russian character) are replaced by reckless behavior. Moreover, it will come to this at the very last moment: “Until the thunder strikes, the man will not cross himself.”

The flip side of the Russian “maybe” is the breadth of the Russian soul. As noted by F.M. Dostoevsky, “the Russian soul is bruised by the vastness,” but behind its breadth, generated by the vast spaces of our country, hide both prowess, youth, merchant scope, and the absence of a deep rational miscalculation of the everyday or political situation.

The values of Russian culture in to a large extent are the values of the Russian community.

The community itself, “peace” as the basis and prerequisite for the existence of any individual, is the most ancient and most important value. For the sake of “peace” a person must sacrifice everything, including his life. This is explained by the fact that Russia lived a significant part of its history in conditions of a besieged military camp, when only the subordination of the interests of the individual to the interests of the community allowed the Russian people to survive as an independent ethnic group.

The interests of the collective in Russian culture are always higher than the interests of the individual, which is why personal plans, goals and interests are so easily suppressed. But in return, the Russian person counts on the support of the “world” when he has to face everyday adversity (a kind of mutual responsibility). As a result, the Russian person puts aside his personal affairs without displeasure for the sake of some common cause from which he will not benefit, and this is where his attractiveness lies. A Russian person is firmly convinced that he must first arrange the affairs of the social whole, more important than his own, and then this whole will begin to act in his favor at its own discretion. The Russian people are collectivists who can only exist together with society. He suits him, worries about him, for which he, in turn, surrounds him with warmth, attention and support. To become a person, a Russian person must become a conciliar person.

Justice is another value of Russian culture, important for life in a team. It was originally understood as the social equality of people and was based on economic equality (of men) in relation to the land. This value is instrumental, but in the Russian community it has become a target value. Members of the community had the right to their own, equal to everyone else, share of the land and all its wealth that the “world” owned. Such justice was the Truth for which the Russian people lived and strived. In the famous dispute between truth-truth and truth-justice, it was justice that prevailed. For a Russian person, it is not so important how it actually was or is; much more important is what should be. The nominal positions of eternal truths (for Russia these truths were truth and justice) were assessed by the thoughts and actions of people. Only they are important, otherwise no result, no benefit can justify them. If nothing comes of what was planned, don’t worry, because the goal was good.

The lack of individual freedom was determined by the fact that in the Russian community, with its equal allotments, periodic land redistributions, and stripes, it was simply impossible for individualism to manifest itself. Man was not the owner of the land, did not have the right to sell it, and was not even free in the timing of sowing, harvesting, or in choosing what could be cultivated on the land. In such a situation, it was impossible to demonstrate individual skill. which in Rus' was not valued at all. It is no coincidence that they were ready to accept Lefty in England, but he died in complete poverty in Russia.

The habit of emergency mass activity (suffering) was fostered by the same lack of individual freedom. Here, hard work and a festive mood were combined in a strange way. Perhaps the festive atmosphere was a kind of compensatory means that made it easier to carry a heavy load and give up excellent freedom in economic activity.

Wealth could not become a value in a situation where the idea of equality and justice dominated. It is no coincidence that the proverb is so well known in Russia: “You cannot build stone chambers with righteous labor.” The desire to increase wealth was considered a sin. Thus, in the Russian northern village, traders who artificially slowed down trade turnover were respected.

Labor itself was also not a value in Rus' (unlike, for example, in Protestant countries). Of course, work is not rejected, its usefulness is recognized everywhere, but it is not considered a means that automatically ensures the fulfillment of a person’s earthly calling and the correct structure of his soul. Therefore, in the system of Russian values, labor occupies a subordinate place: “Work is not a wolf, it will not run away into the forest.”

Life, not oriented towards work, gave the Russian person freedom of spirit (partly illusory). It always stimulated creativity in man. It could not be expressed in constant, painstaking work aimed at accumulating wealth, but was easily transformed into eccentricity or work that surprised others (the invention of wings, a wooden bicycle, a perpetual motion machine, etc.), i.e. actions were taken that had no meaning for the economy. On the contrary, the economy often turned out to be subordinate to this idea.

Community respect could not be earned simply by becoming rich. But only a feat, a sacrifice in the name of “peace” could bring glory.

Patience and suffering in the name of “peace” (but not personal heroism) is another value of Russian culture, in other words, the goal of the feat being performed could not be personal, it must always be outside the person. The Russian proverb is widely known: “God endured, and He commanded us too.” It is no coincidence that the first canonized Russian saints were princes Boris and Gleb; They accepted martyrdom, but did not resist their brother, Prince Svyatopolk, who wanted to kill them. Death for the Motherland, death “for one’s friends” brought immortal glory to the hero. It is no coincidence that in Tsarist Russia the words were minted on awards (medals): “Not for us, not for us, but for Your name.”

Patience and suffering are the most important fundamental values for a Russian person, along with consistent abstinence, self-restraint, and constant sacrifice of oneself for the benefit of another. Without this, there is no personality, no status, no respect from others. From here comes the eternal desire for Russian people to suffer - this is the desire for self-actualization, the conquest of inner freedom necessary to do good in the world, to conquer freedom of spirit. In general, the world exists and moves only through sacrifice, patience, and self-restraint. This is the reason for the long-suffering characteristic of Russian people. He can endure a lot (especially material difficulties) if he knows why it is necessary.

The values of Russian culture constantly point to its aspiration towards some higher, transcendental meaning. For a Russian person there is nothing more exciting than the search for this meaning. For this, you can leave home, family, become a hermit or holy fool (both of them were highly revered in Rus').

On the day of Russian culture as a whole, this meaning becomes the Russian idea, to the implementation of which the Russian person subordinates his entire way of life. Therefore, researchers talk about the inherent features of religious fundamentalism in the consciousness of Russian people. The idea could change (Moscow is the third Rome, the imperial idea, communist, Eurasian, etc.), but its place in the structure of values remained unchanged. The crisis that Russia is experiencing today is largely due to the fact that the idea that united the Russian people has disappeared; it has become unclear in the name of what we should suffer and humiliate ourselves. The key to Russia's exit from the crisis is the acquisition of a new fundamental idea.

IN THE MASS MEDIA (OK, IN THE FOREIGN MEDIA HOSTILE TO US, BUT IN THE RUSSIAN!) THERE ARE INCREASED FICTIONS ABOUT THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE - SAYING THAT THEY ARE LAZY, UNTID IN EVERYTHING, PRODICED TO DRUNKENNESS, THEFT, AND MORE MANY THINGS THAT ARE BAD, AND EVEN HARMFUL FOR OTHER PEOPLES. AND THE MAIN THING OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES IS THAT THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE DOESN’T “FIT” INTO WESTERN CULTURE, AND TODAY IS JUST LIKE IN THE OLD TIMES, WILD...

BUT IN CHINA THEY WRITE ABSTRACTS ABOUT... THE POSITIVE FEATURES OF RUSSIAN PEOPLE, ABOUT THEIR UNIQUENESS. HERE IS ONE OF SUCH ABSTRACTS:

TYPICAL FEATURES OF THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHARACTER AND THEIR REFLECTION IN RUSSIAN PROVERBS AND SAYINGS

Song Yanwei, Dalian Polytechnic University (China)

National character is a set of the most significant defining features of an ethnic group and a nation, by which it is possible to distinguish representatives of one nation from another. IN Chinese proverb It is said: “As is the land and the river, such is the character of man.” Each nation has its own special character. Much has been said and written about the secrets of the Russian soul, about the Russian national character. And this is no coincidence, because Russia, having long history, experiencing a lot of suffering and changes, occupying a special geographical position, having absorbed the features of both Western and Eastern civilizations, has the right to be the object of close attention and targeted study. Especially today, at the turn of the third millennium, when, in connection with the profound changes that have occurred in Russia, interest in it is increasingly increasing. The character of the people and the fate of the country are closely interconnected, influencing each other throughout the entire historical path, therefore, an increased interest in the national character of the Russian people is noticeable. As the Russian proverb says: “When you sow character, you reap destiny.”

National character is reflected both in fiction, philosophy, journalism, art, and in language. For language is a mirror of culture; it reflects not only real world surrounding a person, not only the real conditions of his life, but also the social consciousness of the people, their mentality, national character, way of life, traditions, customs, morality, value system, attitude, vision of the world. Therefore, a language must be studied in inextricable unity with the world and culture of the people speaking the given language. Proverbs and sayings are a reflection of folk wisdom; they contain the people’s idea of themselves, and therefore the secrets of the Russian national character can be tried to be comprehended through Russian proverbs and sayings.

HARDWORK, GIFTEDNESS

Russian people are gifted and hardworking. He has many talents and abilities in almost all areas public life. He is characterized by observation, theoretical and practical intelligence, natural ingenuity, ingenuity, and creativity. The Russian people are great workers, creators and creators, and have enriched the world with great cultural achievements. It is difficult to list even a small part of what has become the property of Russia itself. This trait is reflected in Russian proverbs and sayings: “Happiness and work live side by side”, “Without work you can’t pull a fish out of the pond”, “Patience and work will grind everything down”, “God loves work”. The Russian people value work very much: “Gold is learned in fire, and man is found in work,” “Talent without work is not worth a penny.” Russian folklore also speaks about the existence of workaholics: “The day is boring until the evening, if there is nothing to do,” “Living without work is just smoking the sky,” “It’s not the concern that there is a lot of work, but the concern that there is none.” Working people are not envious: “Don’t blame your neighbor when you sleep until lunchtime.”

Proverbs condemn the lazy: “It’s a long time to sleep, but it’s a long time to get up,” “He who gets up late doesn’t have enough bread.” And at the same time they praise the hardworking: “He who gets up early, God gives him.”

Only honest earnings were valued by the people: “Easy to get, easy to live,” “A free ruble is cheap, an acquired ruble is expensive.” And in the upbringing of young people, preference was given to work: “Teach not by idleness, but teach by handicraft.”

LOVING FREEDOM

Love of freedom is one of the main, deep-seated properties of the Russian people. The history of Russia is the history of the struggle of the Russian people for their freedom and independence. For the Russian people, freedom is above all.
The word “will” is closer to the Russian heart, understood as independence, freedom in the manifestation of feelings and in performing actions, and not freedom as a conscious necessity, that is, as the possibility of a person expressing his will on the basis of awareness of the law. For example, the proverbs: “Even though the lot is hard, everyone has their own will”, “One’s own will is dearer than anything else”, “Freedom is dearer than everything else”, “The will of a bird is dearer than a golden cage” - speak of the desire for love of freedom.

WILLPOWER, COURAGE AND COURAGE

Possessing a freedom-loving character, the Russian people repeatedly defeated invaders and achieved great success in peaceful construction. Proverbs reflect the traits of Russian warriors: “ Better death in battle than shame in the ranks”, “Either a colonel or a dead man.” These same traits also manifest themselves in the lives of peaceful people. “He who does not take risks does not drink champagne” - that the Russian people love to take risks. “Either it’s hit or miss” - about the determination to do something, to take risks, despite possible failure, death. The proverbs are similar in meaning: “Either your chest is in the crosses, or your head is in the bushes,” “Either your foot is in the stirrup, or your head is in the stump,” “Either you eat a fish or run aground.”

The proverb “If you are afraid of wolves, do not go into the forest” says that there is no point in getting down to business if you are afraid of the difficulties ahead. And luck always accompanies the brave: “Luck is the companion of the brave”, “He who dares eats.”

The characteristic features of Russian people are kindness, humanity, a penchant for repentance, cordiality and spiritual gentleness. Many proverbs and sayings illustrate these traits: “God helps the good,” “It’s good to live with the good,” “Hasten to do good,” “A good deed does not melt in water,” “Life is given for good deeds,” “A good age will not be forgotten.” “, “It’s hard for those who remember evil.” Fate treats a good person fairly: “For the wicked there is death, and for the good there is resurrection.” However, proverbs condemn someone who is too meek: “Only a lazy person doesn’t beat him,” “He beats a meek dog.”

PATIENCE AND RESISTANCE

This is perhaps one of the most characteristic features of the Russian people, which has become literally legendary. Russians seem to have limitless patience, an amazing ability to endure difficulties, hardships and suffering. In Russian culture, patience and the ability to endure suffering are the ability to exist, the ability to respond to external circumstances, this is the basis of personality.

It is not difficult to find a reflection of this trait in Russian proverbs and sayings: “Patience is better than salvation,” “Patience will give skill,” “There is patience for what you want,” “Live forever, hope forever.”

The Russian people are patient and enduring, stubborn and persistent, not discouraged by failures and believing in their own strength. Proverbs say about this: “Endure grief, drink honey”, “Endure an hour, but live a century”, “By enduring, they become people”, “Live as slaves, maybe you will become a master”, “God will give the day, He will give and food."

HOSPITALITY,
GENEROSITY AND BREADNESS OF NATURE

Russian hospitality is well known: “Even though you are not rich, you are happy to see your guests.” The best treat is always ready for the guest: “If there is something in the oven, it’s all swords on the table!”, “Don’t feel sorry for the guest, but pour it thicker.”

Russian people greet a guest on the threshold of their home. The custom of presenting guests with bread and salt comes from time immemorial and is still preserved in Russia. Bread and salt is at the same time a greeting, an expression of cordiality, and a wish for good and prosperity to the guest: “Eat bread and salt, and good people Listen". Without bread there is no life, there is no true Russian table. Russian proverbs speak about this: “Bread is the head of everything”, “Bread is on the table, so the table is the throne”, “It’s a bad lunch if there is no bread”, “Bread is a gift from God, father, breadwinner”, “Not a piece of bread, so and in the mansion there is melancholy, and there is no bread, so there is paradise under the fir tree.” And salt, as you know, plays an important role in human life: “Without salt, without bread, bad conversation,” “Without bread, death, without salt, laughter.”

RESPONSIBILITY

A distinctive feature of the Russian people is their responsiveness, the ability to understand another person, a sensitive attitude to someone else’s state of mind, the ability to integrate with the culture of other peoples and respect it. Amazing ethnic tolerance, as well as an exceptional ability to empathize, the ability to understand and accept other peoples allowed the Russian nation to create an empire unprecedented in history. And this trait is reflected in popular proverbs and sayings: “Whoever remembers us, we will remember him,” “They pay for good with good.” According to Vl. Solovyov, “the true unity of peoples is not homogeneity, but nationality, i.e. interaction and solidarity of all of them for an independent and full life for everyone.” Such properties of the Russian person as humanism, goodwill towards other peoples, hospitality, self-sacrifice, altruism give rise to socially deeper properties, such as internationalism, mutual respect for people, their national customs, and culture.

Russians pay special attention to their attitude towards their neighbors: “It’s a bad thing to offend a neighbor”, “To live among neighbors is to be in conversations”, “A close neighbor is better than distant relatives”, “Between the borders and the borders there are quarrels and abuse.”

Analyzing Russian folklore, we came to the conclusion that a proverb is not just a saying. It expresses the opinion of the people. It contains the people's assessment of life, observations of the people's mind. Not every saying became a proverb, but only one that was consistent with the lifestyle and thoughts of many people. Such sayings have existed for millennia, passing from century to century. Proverbs are rightly considered bundles of folk wisdom, i.e. the same folk experience that is stored in the language and passed on from generation to generation. Analysis of Russian national character based on proverbs is a new approach to the study of this issue.

Literature:
1. Vyunov Yu.A. “A Word about Russians.” M., 2002.
2. Vorobiev V.V. “Linguocultural paradigm of personality.” M.1996.
3. Dal V.I. “Proverbs of the Russian people.” M., 2000.
4. Soloviev V.M. “Secrets of the Russian soul.” M., 2001
5. Vereshchagin E.M. Kostomarov V.G. “Language and Culture”. M, 1990.
6. Ter-Minasova S.G. "Languages intercultural communication" M., 2000.

We are Russians...
What a delight!
A.V. Suvorov

Reflections on the character of the Russian people lead us to the conclusion that the character of the people and the character of an individual do not have a direct correlation. The people are a conciliar, symphonic personality, therefore it is hardly possible to detect in every Russian person all the features and properties of the Russian national character. In general, in the Russian character one can see the qualities of Peter the Great, Prince Myshkin, Oblomov and Khlestakov, i.e. both positive and negative properties. There are no peoples on earth who have only positive or only negative character traits. In reality, there is a known relationship between both. It is only in the assessment of some peoples by others that a false idea arises, giving rise to stereotypes and myths, that another (not our) people has mainly negative character traits. And, on the contrary, there is a desire to attribute all kinds of positive characteristics V superlatives own people.

In the character of the Russian people, such properties as patience, national fortitude, conciliarity, generosity, immensity (breadth of soul), and talent are often noted. BUT. Lossky, in his book “The Character of the Russian People,” begins his study with such a trait of the Russian character as religiosity. “The main, deepest character trait of the Russian people is their religiosity, and the search for absolute good associated with it... which is feasible only in the Kingdom of God,” he writes. “Perfect good without any admixture of evil and imperfections exists in the Kingdom of God because it consists of individuals who fully implement in their behavior the two commandments of Jesus Christ: to love God more than yourself, and your neighbor as yourself. Members of the Kingdom of God are completely free from selfishness and therefore they create only absolute values - moral goodness, beauty, knowledge of truth, benefits that are indivisible and indestructible, serving the whole world" [ 1 ].

Lossky puts emphasis on the word “search” for absolute good, thereby he does not absolutize the properties of the Russian people, but seeks to designate their spiritual aspirations. Therefore, in the history of Russia, thanks to the influence of the great holy ascetics, the ideal of the people became not powerful, not rich, but “Holy Rus'”. Lossky cites the insightful remark of I.V. Kireyevsky, that in comparison with the businesslike, almost theatrical behavior of Europeans, one is surprised by the humility, calmness, restraint, dignity and inner harmony of people who grew up in the traditions of Russian Orthodox Church. Even many generations of Russian atheists, instead of Christian religiosity, showed formal religiosity, a fanatical desire to realize on earth a kind of kingdom of God without God, on the basis of scientific knowledge and universal equality. “Considering Christian religiosity and the search for absolute good associated with it as the main property of the Russian people,” wrote Lossky, “in the following chapters I will try to explain some other properties of the Russian people in connection with this essential feature of their character” [ 2 ].

Lossky calls such derived traits of the Russian character the ability to higher forms of experience, feeling and will (powerful willpower, passion, maximalism), love of freedom, kindness, giftedness, messianism and missionism. At the same time, he also names negative traits associated with the lack of the middle area of culture - fanaticism, extremism, which manifested themselves in the Old Believers, nihilism and hooliganism. It should be noted that Lossky, when analyzing the features of the Russian national character, has in mind the thousand-year experience of the existence of the Russian people and in fact does not give assessments related to the trends characteristic of the Russian character in the 20th century. For us, what is important in Lossky’s works is the basic feature of the national character, the dominant that determines all other properties and sets the vector for the analysis of the problem posed.

Modern researchers of this topic take more into account the trends in the development of the Russian national character of the 20th century, without denying the tradition that throughout thousand years of history Russia and the Russian people formed these properties. So, V.K. Trofimov in the book “The Soul of the Russian People” writes: “Acquaintance with the national-physical and spiritual determinants of the psychological properties of the Russian people allows us to identify the fundamental internal qualities of national psychology. These fundamental qualities, which constitute the essence of national psychology and the national character of the Russian people, can be designated as the essential forces of the Russian souls" [ 3 ].

Among the essential forces he considers the paradoxical nature of mental manifestations (the inconsistency of the Russian soul), contemplation with the heart (the primacy of feeling and contemplation over reason and understanding), the immensity of life's impulse (the breadth of the Russian soul), the religious desire for the absolute, national resilience, “We-psychology” and love of freedom. “The essential forces inherent in the deep foundations of the Russian soul are extremely contradictory in the possible consequences of their practical implementation. They can become a source of creation in economics, politics and culture. In the hands of a wise national elite, for centuries the emerging features of national psychology served prosperity, strengthening of power and Russia's authority in the world" [ 4 ].

F.M. Dostoevsky, long before Berdyaev and Lossky, showed how the character of the Russian people combines the base and the sublime, the holy and the sinful, the “ideal of Madonna” and the “ideal of Sodom,” and the battlefield of these principles is the human heart. In Dmitry Karamazov’s monologue, the extremes and boundless breadth of the Russian soul are expressed with exceptional force: “Moreover, I cannot bear that another person, even higher in heart and with a lofty mind, begins with the ideal of the Madonna, and ends with the ideal of Sodom. It is even more terrible who is already with the ideal of Sodom in his soul does not deny the ideal of the Madonna, and his heart burns from it and truly, truly burns, as in his young, blameless years. No, the man is broad, too broad, I would narrow it down." 5 ].

The consciousness of their sinfulness gives the Russian people the ideal of spiritual ascent. Characterizing Russian literature, Dostoevsky emphasizes that all the timeless and beautiful images in the works of Pushkin, Goncharov and Turgenev were borrowed from the Russian people. They took from him simplicity, purity, meekness, intelligence and gentleness, in contrast to everything that was broken, false, superficial and slavishly borrowed. And this contact with the people gave them extraordinary strength.

Dostoevsky highlights another fundamental need of the Russian people - the need for constant and insatiable suffering, everywhere and in everything. He has been infected with this thirst for suffering from time immemorial; a stream of suffering runs through its entire history, not only from external misfortunes and disasters, but wells up from the very heart of the people. For the Russian people, even in happiness there is certainly a part of suffering, otherwise happiness for them is incomplete. Never, even in the most solemn moments of his history, does he have a proud and triumphant look, but only a look of tenderness to the point of suffering; he sighs and lifts up his glory to the mercy of the Lord. This idea of Dostoevsky found clear expression in his formula: “Whoever does not understand Orthodoxy will never understand Russia.”

Truly, our shortcomings are a continuation of our strengths. The polarities of the Russian national character can be represented as a whole series of antinomies expressing positive and negative properties.

1. breadth of soul - absence of form;
2. generosity - wastefulness;
3. love of freedom - weak discipline (anarchism);
4. prowess - revelry;
5. patriotism - national egoism.

These parallels can be increased many times over. I.A. Bunin gives a significant parable in “Cursed Days”. The peasant says: the people are like wood, from it you can make both an icon and a club, depending on who processes this wood - Sergius of Radonezh or Emelka Pugachev [ 6 ].

Many Russian poets sought to express the total immensity of the Russian national character, but A.K. succeeded especially fully in this. Tolstoy:

If you love, so without reason,
If you threaten, it’s not a joke,
If you scold, so rashly,
If you chop, it’s too bad!

If it's too bold to argue,
If you punish, that's the point,
If you forgive, then with all your heart,
If there is a feast, then there is a feast!

I.A. Ilyin draws attention to the fact that immensity for a Russian person is a living concrete reality, his object, his starting point, his task. “Such is the Russian soul: passion and power are given to it; form, character and transformation are its historically vital tasks.” Among Western analysts of the Russian national character, these features were most successfully expressed by the German thinker W. Schubart. The greatest interest in contrasting two diametrically opposed types of worldview - Western (Promethean) and Russian (Johnnian) - is a number of positions proposed by Schubart for comparison, which are saturated with diverse specific material. Let's reproduce one of them. The culture of the middle and the culture of the end. Western culture- culture of the middle. Socially it rests on the middle class, psychologically on state of mind middle, balance. Her virtues are self-control, good manners, efficiency, discipline. “The European is a decent and diligent, skilled worker, a flawlessly functioning cog in a large mechanism. Outside his profession, he is hardly taken into account. He prefers the path of the golden mean, and this is usually the path to gold.” Materialism and philistinism are the goal and result of Western culture.

The Russian moves within the framework of a peripheral culture. Hence the breadth and immensity of the Russian soul, the feeling of freedom right up to anarchism and nihilism; feelings of guilt and sinfulness; an apocalyptic worldview and, finally, sacrifice as the central idea of Russian religious morality. “Foreigners who came to Russia for the first time,” wrote Schubart, “could not get rid of the impression that they found themselves in a sacred place, set foot on holy land... The expression “Holy Rus'” is not an empty phrase. A traveler in Europe is immediately carried away by the noisy rhythm its active forces; the high melody of labor reaches his ears, but this - with all its greatness and power - is a song about the earth" [ 7 ].

However, a simple listing of certain qualities of the Russian national character will be very incomplete or haphazardly redundant. Therefore, in further analysis, one should take a different path: to determine sufficient grounds (criteria) according to which it is possible to summarize the characteristics of the Russian character. In modern scientific literature There has long been a discussion about what is the determining principle in the study of national identity: “blood and soil”, or “language and culture”. And, although most researchers pay attention to language and culture, nevertheless, the national genotype and natural and climatic conditions are directly related to the formation of the qualities and properties of the national character.

In my opinion, the following basic factors should be considered as the initial formative foundations of the Russian national character:

1. Nature and climate;
2. Ethnic origins;
3. The historical existence of the people and the geopolitical position of Russia;
4. Social factors (monarchy, community, multi-ethnicity);
5. Russian language and Russian culture;
6. Orthodoxy.

This order is not at all accidental. The analysis of factors should begin with external, material, physical and climatic ones, and end with spiritual, deep ones, defining the dominant character of the national character. It is the religiosity of the Russian people (N.O. Lossky), rooted in Orthodox Christianity, that most researchers of this issue consider as the deep basis of the Russian character. Consequently, the order of importance of these factors is arranged in an ascending line.

Threats and challenges to the existence of national identity and Russian character undoubtedly exist. As a rule, they have objective and subjective content and greatly increase their negative impact during periods of unrest, revolutions, social breakdowns and crisis situations. The first objective trend leading to a threat to the existence of Russian national identity is associated with the collapse of the USSR ( historical Russia) at the end of the 20th century, it was she who called into question the very existence of the Russian people, and, consequently, their national identity. The second objective trend is associated with the “reform” of the economy, which, in fact, was a complete collapse of the economy of the entire country, the destruction of the military-industrial complex, huge amount Research institutes that have provided for a number of decades priority areas development of the country. As a result, the economy of post-Soviet Russia has acquired an ugly, one-sided character - it is entirely based on the production and export of hydrocarbons (oil and gas), as well as on the export of other types of raw materials - ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood, etc.

The third objective trend is the depopulation of the Russian people, associated with a low birth rate, a high number of abortions, low life expectancy, high mortality from road accidents, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide and other accidents. Over the past 15 years, the population of Russia has been declining by 700-800 thousand people annually. The depopulation of the Russian people is a consequence of the above objective trends and leads to a sharp increase in migration flows, often uncontrolled, from the Caucasus, Central Asia and China. Already today, 12.5% of students in Moscow schools are Azerbaijanis. If migration policy is not strictly controlled, then in the future this process will lead to the replacement of the Russian people by migrants, to the displacement and extinction of Russian national identity. Depopulation is largely a consequence of the crisis processes of the 90s. XX century.

Subjective tendencies leading to threats to the existence of Russian national identity can be summed up as a loss of identity. However, this provision requires decoding and detailing. The loss of identity is associated with the invasion of the world of Russian national self-awareness by external influences alien to the Russian person, aimed at transforming national self-awareness and Russian character according to the Western model: in the field of education - accession to the Bologna Charter; in the field of culture - replacing traditional examples of Russian culture with pop culture, pseudoculture; in the field of religion - the introduction of various sectarian movements associated with Protestantism, occult and other anti-Christian sects; in the field of art - the invasion of various avant-garde movements, emasculating the content of art; in the field of philosophy - the frontal offensive of postmodernism, which denies the originality and specificity of national thinking and tradition.

We see how diverse the ways of denying national identity are every day in various media programs. The most dangerous among them is Russophobia - denial and contempt for Russian culture, national identity and the Russian people themselves. It can be assumed that if the Russian national identity is replaced by the Western mentality that has been introduced in our country for a decade and a half, then the Russian people will turn into a “population”, into ethnographic material, and the Russian language and Russian culture, in the future, may share the fate of dead languages ( ancient Greek and Latin). The denationalization of culture, the suppression of national consciousness, its transformation into a comic-clip consciousness, the distortion of Russian history, the desecration of our Victory, the lulling of defense consciousness is becoming an everyday phenomenon.

Dysfunctional economic situation countries, the permanent political crisis of the late 20th century, and the crime situation led to a “brain drain” - the mass emigration of scientists to other, more prosperous countries. Scientists who went abroad filled research centers and universities in the USA, Canada, Germany and other Western countries. Estimated Russian Academy Sciences, over 15 years, about 200 thousand scientists left the country, including 130 thousand candidates of science and about 20 thousand doctors of science. In fact, this is a catastrophe, almost a complete loss intellectual property countries. Talented graduates of the best universities in Russia tend to go to rich business corporations or go abroad. This led to the loss of the middle-aged level of RAS research workers. Today, the average age of doctors of science at the Russian Academy of Sciences is 61 years. There is a “brain drain”, the steady aging and impossibility of replenishing scientific personnel, the disappearance of a number of leading scientific schools, and the degradation of topics scientific research [8 ].

How to resist, what can be counteracted to these negative trends leading to the erosion of Russian national identity?

Firstly, we need a balanced program (ideology) for a long-term historical perspective, which must correspond to the national interests of Russia, take into account the limits of national security in the development of Russian culture, school and university education, science, and the protection of the moral, religious, and ethnic values of the people. At the same time, such an ideological program should outline the prospects for the development of the economy, agriculture, military-industrial complex and other spheres of production that could ensure the independence of our country at the proper level. The so-called “national projects” developed and implemented by the administration of President D.A. Medvedev, are very fragmented and do not have the character of a universal national program. As I.A. wrote Ilyin, Russia does not need class hatred or party struggle, tearing apart its single body, it needs a responsible idea for the long term. Moreover, the idea is not destructive, but positive, state-owned. This is the idea of cultivating a national spiritual character in the Russian people. “This idea should be state-historical, state-national, state-patriotic, state-religious. This idea should come from the very fabric of the Russian soul and Russian history, from their spiritual happiness. This idea should speak about the main thing in Russian destinies - and past and future; it should shine for entire generations of Russian people, making sense of their lives, pouring cheerfulness into them" [ 9 ]. Today there is already experience in developing such promising programs [ 10 ].

Secondly, it is necessary to educate the Russian national elite, whose aspirations would correspond to the national interests of Russia and the Russian people. The foreign and heterodox elite will always push the country either to another revolution (in essence, to a redistribution of power and property), or, in the words of F.M. Dostoevsky, will once every few decades “let go of a convulsion,” i.e. carry out the next crisis situation. As the experience of the tragic 90s for Russia shows. XX century, such an elite - the "Chicago boys" - was directed and controlled by external forces hostile to Russia, contrary to the national interests of the country.

Thirdly, it is necessary to educate new generations of Russian people in the spirit of love for the Motherland, in the spirit of patriotism, and this requires a fundamental restructuring of the entire system of education and upbringing. Only in this case can the negative consequences of modern national nihilism and Russophobia be overcome. “The Pepsi generation”, brought up under the motto - “Take everything from life!” is a social product of the destructive processes of the 90s.

Fourthly, it is necessary to fight the negative features of the Russian national character - anarchism and extremism, disorganization and "hoping for chance", lack of formality and hooliganism, apathy and loss of the habit of systematic work, which was largely the result of the crisis of the last year and a half. decades. This struggle should not be waged through “outbursts of revolutionary spirit,” but through the development of persistent self-discipline, continuous self-control, patience and endurance, spiritual sobriety and obedience. S.N. Bulgakov spoke about Christian asceticism, which is continuous self-control, the fight against the lower sinful sides of one’s self, asceticism of the spirit. Only on this path can the negative tendencies of the Russian national character be neutralized to some extent, which in an era of historical unrest lead to the destruction of the essential forces of the people, when the “underground” comes to the fore human soul"When a people is on the verge (and even beyond) of physical existence, it is difficult to demand from them compliance with highly moral behavior. This requires measures of a social, political, economic nature, but, above all, spiritual ones. Only in this case is there hope for a prosperous, positive result in the development of Russia, the Russian people and their national identity.

If the Russian people have sufficient national and social immunity, then they will again return to their own national identity. Historical experience gives us enough grounds for an optimistic scenario for the development of events. Russia and the Russian people overcame the most difficult situations and found a worthy Answer to the Challenge of History. Such an analysis of the Russian national character by Dostoevsky, who revealed the deepest contradictions, gives hope that the abyss of fall in which the Russian people find themselves today will sober them up, and they will overcome the stage of yet another self-destruction, going through repentance and suffering.

Here the question involuntarily arises: how did the Russian people, who have positive qualities along with negative ones, become seduced at the beginning of the 20th century? ideas of the revolutionary reorganization of Russia and atheism, which resulted in regicide, destruction of churches, renunciation of the faith of their ancestors and impoverishment of the people's soul. We find the answer to this question in Dostoevsky. For a Russian person, in his opinion, it is typical to forget every measure in everything. Whether it is love, wine, revelry, pride, envy - here some Russian people give themselves up almost selflessly, ready to break everything, renounce everything, family, custom, God. “This is the need to reach over the edge, the need for a frozen sensation, having reached the abyss, hang halfway into it, look into the very abyss and - in special cases, but very often - throw yourself into it like a crazy person upside down.

This is the need for denial in a person, sometimes the most non-denying and reverent, the denial of everything, the most important shrine of his heart, his most complete ideal, the entire people's shrine in all its fullness, which now he was only in awe of and which suddenly seemed to have become unbearable to him somehow a burden, - this is how Dostoevsky characterizes the traits of self-denial and self-destruction characteristic of the Russian folk character. - But with the same strength, the same swiftness, with the same thirst for self-preservation and repentance, the Russian man, as well as the entire people, saves himself, and usually when he reaches the last line, that is, when there is nowhere else to go. But what is especially characteristic is that the reverse impulse, the impulse of self-restoration and self-salvation, is always more serious than the previous impulse - the impulse of self-denial and self-destruction. That is, it always happens on the account of petty cowardice; whereas the Russian person goes into restoration with the most enormous and serious effort, and looks at the negative previous movement with contempt for himself" [ 11 ].

In conclusion, let us once again turn to the listing of the main features of the Russian national character. The natural and climatic conditions of Russia have formed such traits in the character of the Russian people as patience, endurance, generous nature, and hard work. This is where the passionarity and “native” character of the people come from. The multi-ethnicity and multi-confessional nature of Russia have instilled in the Russian people brotherhood, patience (tolerance) towards other languages and cultures, selflessness, and the absence of violence. The historical existence of the Russian people and the geopolitical position of Russia forged in its character such properties as national resilience, love of freedom, sacrifice, and patriotism. The social conditions of existence of the Russian people - the monarchy, the community - contributed to the formation of a monarchical sense of justice, conciliarity, collectivism, and mutual assistance. Orthodoxy, as the main dominant of Russian national identity, formed in the Russian people religiosity, the desire for absolute goodness, love for one’s neighbor (brotherhood), humility, meekness, awareness of one’s sinfulness and imperfection, sacrifice (readiness to give one’s life for one’s friends), conciliarity and patriotism. These qualities were formed in accordance with the gospel ideals of goodness, truth, mercy and compassion. In this we must see the religious source of Russian fortitude and patience, endurance and strength of sacrifice of the Russian people.

Every Russian person should clearly know the negative properties of his national character. The breadth and immensity of the Russian soul is often associated with maximalism - either everything or nothing. Weak discipline leads to revelry and anarchism; from here lies a dangerous path to extremism, rebellion, hooliganism, and terrorism. The immensity of the soul becomes the source of a daring test of values - atheism, denial of tradition, national nihilism. The absence of ethnic solidarity in everyday life, the weakness of the “tribal instinct”, disunity in front of “outsiders” makes the Russian person defenseless in relation to migrants, who are characterized by cohesion, arrogance, and cruelty. Therefore, migrants in Russia today feel like masters to a greater extent than Russians. Lack of self-discipline often leads to the inability to work systematically and achieve your goal. The above-mentioned shortcomings increase many times during periods of unrest, revolutions and other crises. social phenomena. Gullibility, a tendency to temptation, makes the Russian people a toy in the hands of political adventurers and impostors of all stripes, leads to the loss of the immune forces of sovereignty, turns them into a mob, into an electorate, into a crowd led by a herd mentality. This is the root of all social unrest and disasters.

However, negative properties do not represent the fundamental, dominant traits of the Russian character, but rather are the flip side of positive qualities, their perversion. A clear vision of the weak traits of national character will allow every Russian person to fight them, eradicate or neutralize their influence in himself.

Today, the topic related to the study of Russian national character is extremely relevant. In the conditions of a permanent social crisis at the end of the 20th century - beginning of the XXI centuries, when the Russian people have been humiliated, slandered, and have largely lost their vital forces, they need confirmation of their merits, including at the level of research into the Russian national character. Only on this path can the connection of times be realized by turning to tradition, to the deeds of our great ancestors - heroes, leaders, prophets, scientists and thinkers, to our national shrines, values and symbols. Turning to the national tradition is like touching a healing source, from which everyone can draw faith, hope, love, willpower and an example for serving the Motherland - Holy Rus'.
Kopalov Vitaly Ilyich, Professor of the Department of Philosophy, IPPC at USU. A.M. Gorky, Doctor of Philosophy

Notes:

1 - Lossky N.O. The character of the Russian people. Sowing. 1957. Book. 1. P.5.
2 - Ibid. P.21.
3 - Trofimov V.K. The soul of the Russian people: Natural-historical conditioning and essential forces. - Ekaterinburg, 1998. P.90.
4 - Ibid. P.134-135.
5 - Dostoevsky F.M. Brothers Karamazov // Dostoevsky F.M. Full collection Op. In 30 volumes. T. XIV. - L., 1976. P.100.
6 - Bunin I.A. Damned days. - M., 1991. P.54.
7 - Schubart V. Europe and the soul of the East. - M., 1997. P.78.
8 - Fourteen knives in the body of Russia // Tomorrow. - 2007. - No. 18 (702).
9 - Ilyin I.A. creative idea our future // Ilyin I.A. Collection Op. V. 10 vol. T. 7. - M., 1998. P.457-458.
10 - See: Russian Doctrine ("Sergius Project"). Under the general editorship. A.B. Kobyakov and V.V. Averyanova. - M., 2005. - 363 p.
11 - Dostoevsky F.M. Writer's Diary. Featured Pages. - M., 1989. P.60-61.