Russian mentality: what does it mean to be a Russian person? National characteristics of the Russian mentality.

Russia has always been a country located between East and West. Russian people have repeatedly wondered whether he is a man of the West or, after all, the more spontaneous East. Philosophers have resolved this issue in their own way. Many of them even began to talk about the unique position of the country, which has its own unique path. The mentality of Russians is difficult to compare with the mentalities of neighboring countries, both Western and Eastern. Of course, you can find something in common from each of the powers, however, there is something in the Russian soul that defies simple classification.

The mentality has been formed over centuries. He was influenced by both countries and the new religion ( Orthodox Christianity). Moreover, a Russian person is predominantly Orthodox, because he reflects the dogmas of his faith. The peculiarities of the Russian mentality can be found not only in the way of thinking, but also in the way of life itself. The Western world is extremely simple, there is a threefold division of the universe: the divine world, the demonic world and the human world. Therefore, people living in the West strive to do something in this world. For Russian people, the universe is binary: either divine or demonic. This world is considered a dark kingdom, given over to the prince of darkness. Every day people see injustice and imperfection.

The Russian mentality has always strived for maximalism. And this desire results either in the creation of an ideal world here and now (revolution), or in complete self-elimination and asceticism. Russian people are predominantly apolitical. he acutely feels dissatisfaction with the authorities. Justice in Russian means equality and brotherhood. And since ideals are unrealizable, then the world is in the power of evil forces. Instead of doing something (as is customary in all capitalist countries), a Russian would rather fall into asceticism.

The Russian mentality formed Orthodox religion, not prepared to follow the path market economy. Only a few were able to accept the fact that self-elimination will not lead to anything good. Russia is an abundant country. And, at the same time, Russians continue to live worse than Europeans, a paradox that experts puzzle over year after year. The proximity of the Turkic people had a great influence on the mentality of the Russians; they themselves were a peace-loving people, hospitable and meek. The mixing of the Slavs with the Turks gave rise to a tendency towards melancholy, depression, cruelty and spree. This is exactly how the contradictory temperament of Russians was born, in which extremes coexist. The most eastern feature in the mentality of the Russian people is manifested in their collectivism and attitude towards power.

Power for a Russian is sacred, it is given from above. Authorities must be obeyed. However, as soon as rebellion is born in the soul, the Russian person is ready to destroy everything. Since ancient times, history has brought down to the present day cases of riots and uprisings. As soon as a Russian person sees the prince of darkness in the image of the Tsar, a sacred revolution begins. However, strong rulers could always pacify their subjects. Russian collectivism manifests itself not so much in peacetime as in times of war and disaster. Here you can find not only amazing mutual support among people, but also resilience. There are known cases when residents of Russian cities held the defense to the last without any control from military officials. This is an amazing fact that shows not only the high principles of collectivism, but also patriotism and citizenship. By the way, nationalism is not inherent in Russians in the form in which it manifested itself in a number of Western countries. The citizenship of this people has a completely different basis.

October 23, 2013

Western social research shows that Russians are similar in mentality to Northern Europeans. However, during the years of Putin’s rule, most of them experienced a retreat into “traditionalism.” There are still significant differences in the culture of Russians and Europeans...

What the Russian mentality is is shown in the book “The Impact of Western Sociocultural Models on Social Practices in Russia” (Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2009, Circulation 500 copies). Its definition is described by several experiments.

For several centuries now, the main enemy of the Russian people has been the state in the form of a serving-punitive class. “The source of good in the Russian mentality is the community, today it is relatives and friends (Gemeinshaft), and evil is projected onto the state in the form of bureaucrats (previously - the master, the policeman, etc.); the method of action is “everything will work out,” and we think of the triumph of good as undoubted, but... in the future (“not us, but our children...”),” write sociologists.

The Russian mentality is characterized by extremes and contradictions. Russians are characterized by extreme coldness and warmth, laziness and bursts of energy. Geographical location combines Russian features of Europe and Asia: despotism - anarchism; cruelty - compassion; collectivism - individualism; religiosity - godlessness; blind obedience is rebellion.

Distinctive feature Russians have always had a predominance of intuition over logic (“maybe”).

Orthodoxy - Russians have always had one faith; pluralism of opinions is unusual for them. In Germany there is such an opinion about Russians: they say, your problems are in your orthodoxy Orthodox Church. It’s as if earthly things don’t matter to us, we don’t have a home, give us the Universe. Take Russian philosophy. It's only about the life of the Spirit. The flesh is completely humiliated, everything material is humiliated. A person's life immediately becomes devalued. And a Russian person says: “If I live there, then everything here will be very inexpensive for me.”

Refusal to actively transform the surrounding world, patience for the sake of reward in the afterlife, accepted in Orthodox ethics, are fundamentally different from the norms of Western Protestant ethics.

A natural question is: what are the pros and cons of the Russian mentality in the implementation of “pro-Western” reforms? Sociologists answer this question: “A German does not rely on “maybe it will work out,” an Englishman or an American seeks justice in the courts that protect human rights, which are fixed in the Constitution on the basis of a “sacred” agreement between citizens and their elected authorities. As for the victory of good over evil, in Western culture this depends on the activities of parties, their ideas about what is good and what is evil and, most importantly, on the personal efforts of each citizen.”

The core of the German mentality is the idea of ​​professional duty. The main norm of Protestantism is rational management, focused on increasing productivity and multiplying capital. The American ideal: “the creditworthy man of integrity, whose duty is to regard the increase of his capital as an end in itself.”

The Protestant norm “making money is my duty, this is my virtue and the source of my pride and respect for me from my fellow citizens” differs from the norm “I will earn money, and it doesn’t matter what others think about it.” This is a calling “of God,” and fulfilling this role as diligently as possible is a sacred duty.

In Germany, as well as in other countries as well European countries, rational organization of your own business is the salvation of your own soul. Therefore, in Germany it is customary to count money, save and increase it. A German, English or American capitalist is pleasing to God not because he is rich and can relax and taste the fruits of the world. He is pleasing because he cannot afford it, because... fulfills the sacred duty of increasing capital, denying himself everything.

A characteristic feature of Protestant morality, which M. Weber called worldly asceticism, is the impossibility of rest, the high intensity of fulfilling labor duty due to the renunciation of earthly joys.

Well, then sociologists move from theory to practice. There are statistical data using psychological tests in cross-cultural studies. K. Kasyanova used the MMPI test on Russian students and a control group of pilots, comparing her data with the results obtained by other psychologists from many countries. She found that Russians are off the charts in terms of “cycloidity.” This concept from the language of psychoanalysts means that Russians are not inclined to systematically perform activities that do not depend on mood, unlike, for example, punctual Germans.

The most interesting results of cross-cultural research were obtained by E. Danilova, E. Dubitskaya and M. Tararukhina. They used psychological test Dutch sociopsychologist Gerd Hofstede, developed by him in the 60s and actively used to this day. The test is designed to measure organizational culture parameters. Hofstede identified ethnonational characteristics labor relations and refuted the belief in their universal rationality. It turned out that the Germans and, for example, the Japanese act equally rationally, but they assess the balance of the resources expended and the results achieved differently.

According to the Hofstede test, 70 nations were studied. IN last years mass testing of Russians was carried out: 1,700 respondents from among employees of energy companies in 23 regions of Russia and 518 employees of large engineering enterprises in Moscow and the Volga region, Vladimir region. The power engineering industry is distinguished by the fact that its composition is fairly represented by managers and specialists of the new generation, while the latter (mechanical engineers) are 90% ordinary Russian workers.

The authors came to the following conclusions. According to the “personal achievements - solidarity” index, Swedes, Dutch, Danes, Norwegians and Finns form one cluster. Dubitskaya and Tararukhina called this the “Northern European solidarity syndrome.” The British, Americans, Irish, as well as Germans, Austrians, Italians and Swiss formed another statistical cluster, which was called the “Romano-Germanic achievement syndrome.”

Russia fell into the group of Northern Europeans (by the way, based on these results it is clear what could take root in Russia as a political economic formation - liberalism of the Anglo-Saxon type, Southern European paternalism or Scandinavian socialism).

The researchers defined another scale in management vocabulary as “loyalty to the company in exchange for guarantees,” and in a broad sense this is the mentality of dependence on external environment or, on the contrary, configured for its own resource social subject. In the logic of management, the first is the mentality of the employee, and the second is the mentality of the partner. According to this index, Russians are among those who value guarantees from the organization more.

In general, they conclude that the Russian cultural matrix (remember, the matrix of labor relations) is far from the Roman-Germanic one, and is again closer to the mentality of hired workers in the countries Northern Europe. The organizational culture of Russia is built on two pillars: solidarity between employees and subordination to the organization. In Hofstede's scales, this refers to the culture of “femininity” according to test items: caring for each other, intuition, value of free time. The opposite pole of “masculinity” is assertiveness, rationalism, perseverance in achieving goals, money.

“Submission to the organization in the culture of labor relations is associated with a well-known feature of the Russian mentality - statism, attitude towards the state in the role of its subjects, not free citizens. In practice, this means loyalty to the existing order in exchange for guarantees from the state,” sociologists conclude.

The value system in Russia compared to the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, is quite close to Western European, “but more conservative, traditional, more prone to order, hierarchy and less to individual rights and freedoms.” In general, Western and Russian sociologists have not made any discoveries here. Another thing is more interesting: has there been a transformation of values ​​in Russia in the last 20 years? There are also studies on this topic.

In the 1990s, there was a noticeable shift towards the values ​​of the “modern individual” (intellectual autonomy, value of mastery), especially among young people. However, in the period 2000-2005. an increase in hedonism was recorded instead of development values creativity. In the most important areas, there has been a rollback... the cultural prerequisites for modernization have worsened. According to monitoring surveys carried out in 1998, 2004 and 2007. employees of the Institute of Sociology, from 2004 to 2007. the share of so-called modernists decreased from 26% to 20%, and traditionalists increased from 41% to 47%, while maintaining the share of “intermediate” ones (33%).

The authors considered the signs of modernity to be the acceptance of the values ​​of individual freedom, which is “completely unacceptable” for traditionalists and those in between (80% of the sample!). “For them,” writes M.K. Gorshkov, “the traditional ethacratic model of development for Russia, based on the omnipotence of the state, which ideally serves as the spokesman for the interests of society as a whole and ensures the security of everyone, is optimal.” individual citizen, and community. Moreover, such a model is perceived rather as a chaotic community, where everyone performs their own function, than as a community of free individuals consciously building various life strategies, guided by human rights, recognized as basic by both the state and society.”

So, the evidence presented suggests that the value system of Russians is “quite close” to the North European one, but is more inclined towards order, hierarchy and less towards individual rights and freedoms. In addition, in recent years the share of traditionalists has been increasing.

However, the “cultural component” Russian mentality still far from European.

The cultural parameters of attitudes towards exclusion in modern Russia are considered in the works of S.S. Yaroshenko (attitudes towards the poor) and I.N. Tartakovskaya (gender stereotypes and lifestyles). The study by T.A. Dobrovolskaya and N.B. Shabalina noted the intolerance of Russian respondents towards the very idea of ​​coexistence with atypical people. Respondents expressed a negative attitude towards having a disabled person as their relative (39%), roommate (37%), boss (29%), government representative (27%), subordinate (22%), child’s teacher (20% ).

Other studies show that patience as a component of mercy and humanism is valued less and less in post-Soviet Russia. Thus, N.I. Lapin’s research demonstrates changes in the structure basic values Russians for the period from 1990 to 2006: if in 1990 the traditional value of self-sacrifice was in 8th place among fourteen basic ones, then in 1994 it dropped to 11th place, and by 2006 it dropped even lower on this list, increasingly giving way to such modernist values ​​as independence and initiative.

The situation is different in European countries. A survey was conducted of 135 Russian and 98 foreign (USA, Canada, Austria, Germany) respondents - students, teachers and university staff.

An intercultural study by S.A. Zavrazhin showed that only half of Russian respondents were in favor of providing assistance to mentally disabled people (44% believe that such people should be isolated, 2% - eliminated, 2% - ignored), while among foreign respondents no one supported the idea of ​​eliminating, isolating or ignoring people with disabilities, and 98% were in favor of helping them. Let us pay attention - this is a survey among the intelligentsia, and what can we say about common people

What conclusions can be drawn from this study? In general, Russians, in a “favorable environment” (democratic government, respect for individual rights, integration into Western world) are potentially ready to become “North Europeans” (at the level of the same Finns, who a hundred years ago were the same Russians, and who completed the transformation into Europeans in a very short period of time by the standards of world history).

But for now this is all “pie in the sky.” And the “bird in hand”, the realities of modern life, are broken by survival tactics in an environment hostile to the average Russian - where the only savior is the highest power with its exclusive right to the “only European”.

based on materials from ttolk.ru

mentality mentality Russian people

Characteristics of Russian culture from the point of view of its place in the East-West dichotomy are sufficient difficult task, since, firstly, it occupies a middle position in relation to the geopolitical factor (which is taken into account by representatives of the so-called “geographical” or “climatic” determinism); secondly, study Russian civilization is just beginning (it is generally possible in relation to the already established national-cultural integrity, and in Russia self-identity and national identity are formed quite late compared to European cultures); thirdly, Russian culture is initially super-multi-ethnic in its composition (Slavic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric took part in its formation with a noticeable participation of Germanic, Turkic, North Caucasian ethnic substrates).

Russian culture began to stand out as a special type within the framework of Christian civilization in the 9th-11th centuries during the formation of the state Eastern Slavs and introducing them to Orthodoxy. From the very beginning, Russian culture has been formed on the basis of such cultural characteristics as:

  • · Autocratic form state power(“patrimonial state”);
  • · Collective mentality;
  • · Subordination of society to the state;
  • · Little amount of economic freedom.

One of the most significant factors in the formation of Russian culture was Orthodoxy as a religious and moral guideline for spiritual culture. Old Russian state was a confederation of independent states. Orthodoxy set a common normative and value order for Rus', the only symbolic form of expression of which was the Old Russian language. It “captured” all layers of society, but not the whole person. The result of this is a very superficial (formal and ritual) level of Christianization of the “silent majority”, their ignorance in religious matters and a naive social-utilitarian interpretation of the fundamentals of the doctrine. Therefore, we can talk about a special type of Russian mass Orthodoxy - formal, closely “fused” with pagan mysticism and practice, which allowed N.A. Berdyaev to call it “Orthodoxy without Christianity.”

Middleness in relation to the Western and Eastern types of cultures is perhaps one of the leading characteristics of Russian culture, since the “Western” and “Eastern” features in the Russian mentality do not strictly contradict each other, but rather are combined and complementary. So, for example, Christian values ​​are borrowed by Russia as a value system of the culture of the West, but in the “eastern” version they are inherited from Byzantium, and the Russian church has been dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople since the 15th century. Also in the types of socio-political structure: Rus' “tried on” both the Eastern and Western models, and the centers of the Ancient

If we try to formulate which features of the Russian mentality can be characterized as clearly Western, and which as Eastern, then we can present them as follows:

Western features:

  • · Christian values;
  • · the urban nature of culture, which determines the entire society;
  • · military-democratic genesis of state power;
  • · absence of the syndrome of total slavery in relations of the “individual-state” type.

Eastern features:

  • · absence private property in the European sense;
  • · the dominance of the principle under which power gives rise to property;
  • · autonomy of communities in relation to the state;
  • · evolutionary nature of development.

As for the so-called “paths” of Russian culture, its cultural history has a completely unique specificity. Our history is not so “eternally lasting”, aimed rather at stagnation, any maintenance of stability, balance and, if possible, immutability, as in the East, facing eternity, and, at the same time, not as gradually progressive as in the West, moving along the path of qualitative and extensive development. It’s as if we are playing, shuffling the eastern and western types structuring of historical time. Russian culture then falls into a kind of hibernation, in which it even “misses” the most important points European history of the spirit (so we did not survive Antiquity, which gave European and eastern cultures such a powerful cultural innovation (which K. Jaspers called the “axis” of world history) as the transition from the mythological type of thinking to the rational exploration of the world, to the emergence of philosophy - we began to form our ethnocultural “self” immediately in the Middle Ages; The Renaissance personality type never took shape in Russian culture, since we also “stepped over” the Renaissance, stepping straight into a good and strong Enlightenment), then it concentrates and, from nowhere, drawing strength, is included in some kind of “explosion”, no matter external whether it is a war, an internal revolution, or something like “perestroika” or other reforms. This is another specific feature of the Russian mentality - polarity. Therefore, life in everyday language is a zebra, therefore “it’s either pan or gone”, “who is not with us is against us”, “from rags to riches”... That is, the Russian person does not tolerate intermediate states, he loves to “walk along the blade of a knife and cut your bare soul into blood.” Therefore, he feels great and adapts in crisis, milestone, turning point situations at the collective and even state level. This affects our way of fighting wars and our ability to resist external enemies. Likewise, at the individual level, no one, probably, like a Russian person knows how to come to terms with life’s circumstances, with fate (or even destiny), and if fate itself does not present any twists and tests, then the Russian person “helps” it, provokes it. It is no coincidence that all over the world the game with death, when a person himself “pulls its mustache,” is called “Russian roulette.” This is one of the heterostereotypes of the Russian person in many foreign cultures.

One can also note the accentuated binary as a characteristic feature of Russian culture, where such oppositions as “collectivism - personality” “coexist” in a completely unique and paradoxical way; “activity - passivity”; “borrowing is originality”; “development - stability”; “deconstruction - construction”; “Uniqueness - universalism.

The results of modern ethnopsychological research document the clash in the minds of Russian people of contradictory attitudes and behavioral stereotypes. Thus, there are five main behavioral orientations:

  • · collectivism (hospitality, mutual assistance, generosity, gullibility, etc.);
  • · on spiritual values ​​(justice, conscientiousness, wisdom, talent, etc.);
  • · on power (honoring rank, creating idols, controllability, etc.);
  • · for a better future (hope for “maybe”, irresponsibility, carelessness, impracticality, lack of self-confidence, etc.);
  • · for a quick solution life problems(habit of rush jobs, daring; heroism, high ability to work, etc.).

One of the central features of the Russian mentality is the ideal of obedience and repentance in Christianity (and not physical labor as a mandatory prerequisite for “smart work”, similar to the Western Christian commandment “pray and work”, which, according to M. Weber, was one of the essential prerequisites the formation of capitalism in Western Europe after the Reformation). Hence the Russians have such heightened sense guilt and conscience as the individual’s ability to exercise moral self-control. It is savored with a special masochistic taste in Russian literature and is also one of the most common stereotypes.

Russian culture is characterized by a special ethnocentrism and messianism, which are an important part Russian image thinking. This sensitively captures and expresses language, ironizing and hyperbolizing these properties of our mentality (“Russia is the homeland of elephants”; or in one of the modern commercials: “It was a long time ago, when everyone was still Jews, and only the Romans were Russian”). . We are also largely inclined towards traditionalism, which justifies attempts to attribute Russian culture to the East. This is an all-encompassing traditionalism of thinking - a force perceived by members of society, which consists not in the individual and his self-worth, as in Western culture, but in the crowd, the mass. Hence our desire for collective forms - conciliarity in Orthodoxy, “hey, come on, men”, “the whole world, all the people”, “Get up, huge country”, these are rush jobs, collective creativity in all spheres cultural life. Traditionalism is expressed in “decency and orderliness”, in everyday life and personal life Russian people, in the presence of strict canons in literature and art, as well as in a special attitude to time - in addressing the past or the very distant future (A.P. Chekhov: “Russian people love to remember, but not to live”). One of the sides of our traditionalism is monumentalism - a penchant for grandiose forms of self-expression and self-affirmation. Despite its openness to any intercultural contacts and borrowings, Russian culture is largely introverted. Open to external influences, it is not susceptible to them due to cultural immunity developed over centuries and a “suspicious” attitude towards other, alien cultures. This is well illustrated by our particular way of carrying out reforms. For example, Peter’s “Westernization” in terms of goals and form became the deepest “anti-Westernization” in essence, and the “revolutionary” and Westernizer Peter I turned out to be a guardian and a traditionalist.

One thing that keeps many people from moving to another country or marrying a foreigner is the difference in mentality. The difference is in the little things and in the attitude towards life in general. What is mentality? How does it differ from mentality? And how does the mysterious Russian soul manifest itself? Some are proud of their origin and mentality, while others are trying with all their might to eradicate its manifestations. It is important to distinguish between what is genetic and what can still be changed.

What is mentality

Mentality is a historically and genetically formed set of socio-psychological qualities of a people. Etymologically comes from the Greek word mentis- mind, thinking, soul, reason, way of thinking. That is, one word unites many phenomena and processes, which gives rise to a large number of interpretations. If you describe the mentality in ordinary words- This historical experience reflected in culture, which is absorbed by a person brought up in this culture.

IN scientific literature Two concepts are often used: mentality and mentality. Some authors consider words to be synonyms, others try to draw a line between these concepts. According to the second theory of differences mentality- this is a historically and genetically developed spiritual constant that reflects the deep values ​​of a people and ethnic group. A mentality- a dynamic, private, concrete manifestation born of the era. There are as many types of mentalities as there are social groups. And the mentality characterizes the people as a whole.

On the one hand, mentality reflects the overall characteristics of people living in a particular culture, on the other hand, it characterizes the psychological aspects of the differences between one nation and another. This allows us to separately consider the mentality of Americans, French, Germans or British.

The evolution of the concept of “mentality”

Origins national mentality Russian people and representatives of other nations are at the dawn of humanity. The subject of analysis of emerging folk thinking is often oral evidence: epics, fairy tales, tales, legends, proverbs, myths. These ancient cultural monuments reflect all periods spiritual development peoples and ethnic groups.

Reflections on the topic of generalized socio-psychological characteristics of people are found in the works Herodotus, Pliny and many historians of antiquity. The most important cultural monuments that have survived to this day are the Bible and the Koran. The Bible, in the form of religious and artistic subjects, contains a certain code of worldview and attitude to reality. The Koran sets out the basic cultural and spiritual principles and values ​​of the Muslim world.

But in scientific practice this problem was first addressed in the 18th century by a Swedish physician Carl Linnaeus and French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu. At the same time it was born new science ethnopsychology. The object of study of ethnopsychology was the “soul of the people”, “national character”, and the main attention was paid to Man in history, his emotions, worldview, and value system.

The English word Mentality came into use back in the 17th century, but as a scientific term it was first used by a classic of French ethnology Lucien Lévy-Bruhl. In his book “Primitive Mentality,” the author described the life of the indigenous people of Australia and New Guinea, and the term “mentality” described the personality traits and values ​​inherent in different tribes.

In the late 1920s, French scientists Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre founded the “Annals School” - a scientific historical movement that placed man above the events of political history. Since that time, the concept of mentality has become a scientific category that describes mass consciousness people or ethnic group. In psychology, mentality is represented by another concept - social or national character. The largest psychoanalysts of the 20th century were engaged in research in this area. Sigmund Freud, Erich Fromm, Carl Jung.

Today, many sciences are engaged in the study of mentality: philosophy, sociology, history, ethnology, social Psychology, cultural studies. Besides scientific research Cultural figures and politicians talk about mentality. There is a branch of historical science - the history of mentalities, which studies history not from the point of view of events and wars, but as a socio-cultural phenomenon. The field of study of the history of mentalities is the totality of the material conditions of life, life and worldview of the people.

Russian mentality

While studying the peculiarities of the Russian mentality, culturologists and sociologists divide history into six historical periods: pagan, pre-Christian, pre-Petrine, imperial, Soviet, Novorossiysk. Each of these periods influenced the formation of the Russian mentality. But the influence of Orthodox Christianity turned out to be especially strong.

Throughout the history of the Russian people, the motive of suffering has been especially reverent. was perceived not in itself, but as a reward for suffering and misfortune. Initially, the connection is visible in proverbs and sayings: “ there would be no happiness, but misfortune would help», « He who has not known need does not know happiness" Truly folk songs are permeated with “sadness,” and in fairy tales the main character has to overcome many trials in anticipation of a reward. There are stories about the plight of the Russian people in the works of all Russian poets and writers.

In the 19th century, the ideologist of the official nationality, Count Sergei Uvarov, formulated the famous triad “Orthodoxy. Autocracy. Nationality." Later, Stalin reduced it to two components: “Simplicity and nationality.” But in literature, philosophy, and culture, debates about mentality have never subsided. The most extensive studies of national consciousness and Russian philosophy were conducted by the religious and political philosopher N. Berdyaev.

Modern research shows that the mentality of a Russian person is manifested by behavioral stereotypes, regardless of his place of residence:

  • Fear of “what people will say.”
  • The desire to “live in truth.”
  • Choose feeling between reason and feeling.
  • See your flaws more often than your strengths.
  • Argue about anything.
  • Smile only at people you know.
  • Love in freebies and expectation of a miracle.
  • Conservatism and pity.

And it doesn’t matter whether the Russian mentality is good or bad. In any case, it prevails in the life of the entire nation, symbolizing the superiority of the spiritual over the material. It is very difficult to change mentality even when it leads not to development, but to destruction.

But you shouldn’t exaggerate the power of mentality either. On the one hand, mentality moves a person to certain actions, on the other hand, it forces him to repel everything alien and unpleasant. But the word “mentality” comes from the word “thinking”. This means that changing your thinking and learning new skills will help you change your mentality.

Wealth mentality: is it possible to restructure your thinking?

Factors influencing mentality can be divided into 2 groups:

  • Objective: genetics, place of birth and residence, cultural environment, a system of relations in society.
  • Subjective: mental characteristics, worldview, values, relationships.

Every year, Forbes magazine publishes “honest” lists of rich people who earned their wealth rather than inheriting it. Many grew up in dysfunctional families or didn't receive higher education. Scientific experts analyzed the success stories of self-made millionaires and compiled a series of exercises to change mentality. If genetics or place of birth cannot be changed, then if desired, it is possible to tune the mind to wealth.

Successful people:

  • Focus on quality, not quantity.
  • They believe in their talent and their strength.
  • Set clear short-term and realistic long-term goals.
  • They know how to focus on the main thing, but regularly adjust their course.
  • They take care of their health and do not forget about creativity.
  • They create a financial “safety cushion”.
  • They study all their lives.

But luck does not play as important a role in the life success of millionaires as it seems. It ranks only 13th in the list of success factors.

But the main thing to remember is that setting your mind to think like a millionaire does not guarantee wealth. But they're worth it.

conclusions

  • From the point of view of an individual, mentality is a way of perceiving reality that is influenced by the environment and surroundings of a person.
  • Mentality is a static “quantity” that changes very slowly. Mentality changes under the influence of the era.
  • The Russian mentality is best described by the phrase: “the mysterious Russian soul.”
  • Copying the habits of millionaires will not bring you wealth. But changing your mindset will help you achieve success.

I distrust the science of psychology and psychologists in particular. But now it's all fashionable. I invite readers to evaluate this popular article on the Internet.

In it, Nikolai Ivanovich Kozlov, Doctor of Psychology, names features of the mentality of Russians that are impossible not to recognize both in himself and in his compatriots.

In general, mentality is the prevailing schemes, stereotypes and patterns of thinking. Russians are not necessarily Russians. An individual may be proud of being a “Cossack”, “Bashkir” or “Jew” within Russia, but outside its borders all Russians (past and present) are traditionally called (regardless of origin) Russians. There are reasons for this: as a rule, they all have similarities in their mentality and behavioral patterns.

12 traits of the Russian mentality in which you recognize yourself

Russians have something to be proud of, we have a huge and strong country, we have talented people and deep literature, while we ourselves know our own weak sides. If we want to become better, we must know them.

So, let's look at ourselves from the outside, namely from the side of strictly scientific research. What do cultural researchers note as specific features of the Russian mentality?

1. Sobornost, the primacy of the general over the personal: “we are all our own,” we have everything in common and “what will people say.” Conciliarity results in the absence of the concept of privacy and the opportunity for any neighbor’s grandmother to intervene and tell you everything she thinks about your clothes, manners and the upbringing of your children.

From the same opera, the concepts of “public” and “collective”, which are absent in the West. “The opinion of the collective”, “don’t separate from the team”, “what will people say?” - conciliarity in its purest form. On the other hand, they will tell you if your tag is sticking out, your shoelace is untied, your pants are stained, or your grocery bag is torn. And also - they flash their headlights on the road to warn about the traffic police and save you from a fine.

2. The desire to live in truth. The term "truth", often found in ancient Russian sources, means the legal norms on the basis of which the trial was carried out (hence the expressions “to judge the right” or “to judge in truth”, that is, objectively, fairly). Sources of codification are norms of customary law, princely judicial practice, as well as borrowed norms from authoritative sources - primarily the Holy Scriptures.

Outside of Russian culture, people often talk about law-abiding, decorum, or following religious commandments. In the Eastern mentality, Truth is not talked about; in China, it is important to live according to the precepts left by Confucius.

3. When choosing between reason and feeling, Russians choose feeling: sincerity and sincerity. In the Russian mentality, “expediency” is practically synonymous with selfish, selfish behavior and is not held in high esteem, like something “American.” It is difficult for the average Russian citizen to imagine that one can act intelligently and consciously not only for oneself, but also for the sake of someone, therefore selfless actions are identified with actions “from the heart,” based on feelings, without the head.

Russian - dislike of discipline and methodicality, life according to one's soul and mood, change of mood from peacefulness, forgiveness and humility to merciless rebellion to complete destruction - and vice versa. The Russian mentality lives rather according to the female model: feeling, gentleness, forgiveness, reacting with crying and rage to the consequences of such a life strategy.

4. A certain negativism: most Russians more often see flaws in themselves rather than virtues. Abroad, if a person accidentally touches another person on the street, the standard reaction of almost everyone is: “Sorry,” an apology and a smile. That's how they were raised. It’s sad that in Russia such patterns are more negative, here you can hear “Well, where are you looking?”, and something more harsh. Russians understand well what melancholy is, despite the fact that this word is untranslatable into other European languages. On the streets, it is not customary for us to smile, look into the faces of others, make indecent acquaintances, or simply start talking.

5. A smile in Russian communication is not mandatory attribute politeness. In the West, the more a person smiles, the more polite he is. In traditional Russian communication, priority is given to the requirement of sincerity. A smile among Russians demonstrates a personal affection for another person, which, naturally, does not apply to everyone. Therefore, if a person smiles not from the heart, it causes rejection.

You can ask for help - most likely they will help. It's normal to beg for both a cigarette and money. Man with constantly good mood arouses suspicion - either sick or insincere. Anyone who usually smiles affably at others is, if not a foreigner, then, of course, a sycophant. Of course, insincere. He says “Yes”, agrees - a hypocrite. Because sincere Russian man will definitely disagree and object. And in general, the truest sincerity is when you swear! Then you trust the person!

6. Love of controversy. Disputes traditionally occupy a large place in Russian communication. Russian people love to argue on a variety of issues, both private and general. Love for debate on global, philosophical issues is a striking feature of Russian communicative behavior.

Russian people are often interested in argument not as a means of finding the truth, but as a mental exercise, as a form of emotional, sincere communication with each other. This is why in Russian communicative culture those arguing so often lose the thread of the argument and easily deviate from the original topic.

At the same time, it is completely uncharacteristic to strive for compromise or to let the interlocutor save face. Uncompromisingness and conflict are manifested very clearly: our person is uncomfortable if he did not argue, could not prove that he was right. “As an English teacher formulated this quality: “A Russian always bets to win.” And vice versa, the characteristic “conflict-free” rather has a disapproving connotation, like “spineless”, “unprincipled”.

7. Russian people live by faith in good, which will one day descend from heaven (or simply from above) onto the long-suffering Russian land: “Good will definitely defeat evil, but then, someday.” At the same time, his personal position is irresponsible: “Someone will bring us the truth, but not me personally. I can’t do anything myself and I won’t do anything.” For several centuries now, the main enemy of the Russian people has been the state in the form of a serving-punitive class.

8. The “keep your head down” principle. The Russian mentality has a disdainful attitude towards politics and democracy as a form of political structure in which the people are the source and controller of the activities of power. Characteristic is the conviction that people don’t really decide anything anywhere and democracy is a lie and hypocrisy. At the same time, tolerance and habit of lies and hypocrisy of their authorities due to the conviction that it is impossible otherwise.

9. Habit of theft, bribery and deception. The conviction that everyone steals everywhere, and that it is impossible to earn big money honestly. The principle is “if you don’t steal, you don’t live.” Alexander I: “In Russia there is such theft that I’m afraid to go to the dentist - I’ll sit in a chair and they’ll steal my jaw...” Dahl: “Russian people are not afraid of the cross, but they’re afraid of the pestle.”

At the same time, Russians are characterized by a protest attitude towards punishment: punishing for minor violations is not good, somehow petty, it is necessary to “forgive!” will sigh for a long time until he gets angry and starts a pogrom.

10. A characteristic feature of the Russian mentality that follows from the previous paragraph is the love of freebies. Movies need to be downloaded via torrent, pay for licensed programs - it’s a waste, the dream is the joy of Leni Golubkov in the MMM pyramid. Our fairy tales depict heroes who lie on the stove and eventually receive a kingdom and a sexy queen. Ivan the Fool is strong not because of his hard work, but because of his intelligence, when Pike, Sivka-Burka, Little Humpbacked Horse and other wolves, fish and firebirds do everything for him.

11. Taking care of health is not a value, sports are strange, getting sick is normal, but it is categorically not allowed to leave the poor, including it is considered morally unacceptable to leave those who did not care about their health and as a result became essentially helpless disabled people. Women look for the rich and successful, but love the poor and sick. “How can he live without me?” - hence codependency as a norm of life.

12. In us, pity takes the place of humanism. If humanism welcomes care for people, placing them on the pedestal of the free, developed, strong man, then pity directs care to the unfortunate and sick. According to statistics from Mail.ru and VTsIOM, helping adults is in fifth place in popularity after helping children, the elderly, animals and environmental problems. People feel more sorry for dogs than for people, and among people, out of a sense of pity, it is more important to support non-viable children, rather than adults who could still live and work.

In the comments to the article, some agree with such a portrait, others accuse the author of Russophobia. No, the author loves Russia and believes in it, having been engaged in educational and educational activities for your country. There are no enemies here and there is no need to look for them here, our task is different: namely, to think about how we can raise our country and raise children - our new citizens.

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