Russian character is a sealed secret. The mysterious Russian soul (national character of Russians and peculiarities of communication)

Scientists have been arguing for decades about what a Russian person looks like. They study genetic types, physical features, papillary patterns, and even hematological features of blood groups. Some conclude that the ancestors of Russians are Slavs, others argue that Finns are closest to Russians in genotype and phenotype. So where is the truth and what anthropological portrait does the Russian person have?

The first descriptions of the appearance of Russian people

Since ancient times, people have been interested in the origins of the human race, and attempts to explore this area have been made repeatedly. Ancient records of travelers and scientists who noted their observations in detail have been preserved. There are also records in the archives about Russian people, their external and behavioral characteristics. The statements of foreigners are especially interesting. In 992, Ibn Fadlan, a traveler from Arab countries described the perfect body and attractive appearance of the Russians. In his opinion, Russians “... are blond, red in face and white in body.”

Characteristics of Russians

In the 19th century, the famous scientist Anatoly Bogdanov created a theory about the characteristic features of a Russian person. He said that everyone quite clearly imagines the appearance of a Russian. In support of his words, the scientist cited stable verbal expressions from people’s everyday life - “pure Russian beauty”, “the spitting image of a hare”, “a typical Russian face”.
The master of Russian anthropology, Vasily Deryabin, proved that in their characteristics Russians are typical Europeans. In terms of pigmentation, they are average Europeans - Russians are more likely to have light eyes and hair.

Generalized anthropological portrait of a Russian person

Characteristic types of appearance of Russian people

Despite a number of morphological characteristics characteristic of Russian people, scientists have proposed a narrower classification and identified several groups among Russians, each of which has distinctive external features.
The first of them is the Nordids. This type belongs to the Caucasian type, common in Northern Europe, in northwestern Russia, and includes some Estonians and Latvians. The appearance of Nordids is characterized by blue or green eyes, an oblong skull shape, and pink skin.

Russian people - representatives of the East Slavic ethnic group, indigenous inhabitants of Russia (110 million people - 80% of the population Russian Federation), the most numerous ethnic group in Europe. The Russian diaspora numbers about 30 million people and is concentrated in countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the countries of the former USSR, the USA and EU countries. As a result of sociological research, it was found that 75% of the Russian population of Russia are followers of Orthodoxy, and a significant part of the population does not consider itself to be a member of any particular religion. The national language of the Russian people is Russian.

Each country and its people have their own importance in modern world, the concepts of folk culture and history of the nation, their formation and development are very important. Each nation and its culture are unique in their own way, the flavor and uniqueness of each nationality should not be lost or dissolved in assimilation with other peoples, the younger generation should always remember who they really are. For Russia, which is a multinational power and home to 190 peoples, the issue of national culture is quite acute, due to the fact that throughout recent years Its erasure is especially noticeable against the background of cultures of other nationalities.

Culture and life of the Russian people

(Russian folk costume)

The first associations that arise with the concept of “Russian people” are, of course, breadth of soul and strength of spirit. But national culture is formed by people, and it is these character traits that have a huge influence on its formation and development.

One of distinctive features The Russian people have always had and still have simplicity; in former times, Slavic houses and property were very often subjected to plunder and complete destruction, hence the simplified attitude towards everyday issues. And of course, these trials that befell the long-suffering Russian people only strengthened their character, made them stronger and taught them to get out of any life situations with their heads held high.

Another trait that prevails in the character of the Russian ethnic group can be called kindness. The whole world is well aware of the concept of Russian hospitality, when “they feed you, give you something to drink, and put you to bed.” A unique combination of such qualities as cordiality, mercy, compassion, generosity, tolerance and, again, simplicity, very rarely found among other peoples of the world, all this is fully manifested in the very breadth of the Russian soul.

Hard work is another one of the main traits of the Russian character, although many historians in the study of the Russian people note both its love of work and enormous potential, as well as its laziness, as well as complete lack of initiative (remember Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel). But still, the efficiency and endurance of the Russian people is an indisputable fact that is difficult to argue against. And no matter how much scientists around the world want to understand the “mysterious Russian soul,” it is unlikely that any of them can do it, because it is so unique and multifaceted that its “zest” will forever remain a secret to everyone.

Traditions and customs of the Russian people

(Russian meal)

Folk traditions and customs represent a unique connection, a kind of “bridge of times” connecting the distant past with the present. Some of them have their roots in the pagan past of the Russian people, even before the baptism of Rus'; little by little their sacred meaning was lost and forgotten, but the main points have been preserved and are still observed. In villages and towns, Russian traditions and customs are honored and remembered in to a greater extent than in cities, which is due to the more isolated lifestyle of city residents.

A large number of rituals and traditions are associated with family life(this includes matchmaking, wedding celebrations, and baptism of children). Carrying out ancient rites and rituals guaranteed a successful and happy life in the future, the health of descendants and the general well-being of the family.

(Colorized photograph of a Russian family at the beginning of the 20th century)

Since ancient times, Slavic families have been distinguished big amount family members (up to 20 people), adult children, having already gotten married, remained to live in home, the head of the family was the father or older brother, everyone had to obey them and unquestioningly carry out all their orders. Typically, wedding celebrations were held either in the fall, after the harvest, or in the winter after the Epiphany holiday (January 19). Then the first week after Easter, the so-called “Red Hill,” began to be considered a very successful time for a wedding. The wedding itself was preceded by a matchmaking ceremony, when the groom's parents came to the bride's family along with his godparents, if the parents agreed to give their daughter in marriage, then a bridesmaid ceremony was held (meeting the future newlyweds), then there was a ceremony of collusion and hand-waving (the parents resolved the issues of the dowry and the date of the wedding festivities ).

The rite of baptism in Rus' was also interesting and unique, the child had to be baptized immediately after birth, for this purpose godparents were chosen, who would be responsible for the life and well-being of the godson all his life. When the baby was one year old, they sat him on the inside of a sheep's coat and cut his hair, cutting a cross on the crown, with such meaning that evil spirits would not be able to penetrate his head and would not have power over him. Every Christmas Eve (January 6), a slightly older godson should bring kutia (wheat porridge with honey and poppy seeds) to his godparents, and they, in turn, should give him sweets.

Traditional holidays of the Russian people

Russia is a truly unique state where, along with the highly developed culture of the modern world, they carefully honor ancient traditions their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, going back centuries and preserving the memory of not only Orthodox vows and canons, but also the most ancient pagan rituals and sacraments. And to this day they are celebrated pagan holidays, people listen to signs and age-old traditions, remember and tell their children and grandchildren ancient traditions and legends.

Main national holidays:

• Christmas Jan. 7
• Christmastide January 6 - 9
• Baptism January 19
• Maslenitsa from 20 to 26 February

• Forgiveness Sunday ( before the onset of Lent)
• Palm Sunday ( on the Sunday before Easter)
• Easter ( the first Sunday after the full moon, which occurs no earlier than the day of the conventional vernal equinox on March 21)
• Red hill ( first Sunday after Easter)

• Trinity ( on Sunday on the day of Pentecost - the 50th day after Easter)
• Ivan Kupala July 7
• Peter and Fevronia Day July 8
• Elijah's day August 2

• Honey Spas August 14
• Apple Spas August 19
• Third (Khlebny) Spas August 29
• Pokrov day October 14

There is a belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala (July 6-7), once a year a fern flower blooms in the forest, and whoever finds it will gain untold wealth. In the evening, large bonfires are lit near rivers and lakes, people dressed in festive ancient Russian attires lead round dances, sing ritual chants, jump over the fire, and let wreaths float downstream, in the hope of finding their soul mate.

Maslenitsa is a traditional holiday of the Russian people, celebrated during the week before Lent. A very long time ago, Maslenitsa was more likely not a holiday, but a ritual when the memory of departed ancestors was honored, placating them with pancakes, asking them for a fertile year, and spending the winter by burning a straw effigy. Time passed, and the Russian people, thirsting for fun and positive emotions in the cold and dull season, turned the sad holiday into a more cheerful and daring celebration, which began to symbolize the joy of the imminent end of winter and the arrival of the long-awaited warmth. The meaning has changed, but the tradition of baking pancakes remains, exciting winter activities: sledding and horse-drawn rides down hills, a straw effigy of Winter was burned, throughout Maslenitsa week relatives went to pancakes either with their mother-in-law or sister-in-law, an atmosphere of celebration and fun reigned everywhere, various theatrical and theatrical events were held on the streets puppet shows with the participation of Petrushka and other folklore characters. One of the very colorful and dangerous entertainments on Maslenitsa was fist fights; the male population took part in them, for whom it was an honor to take part in a kind of “military affair” that tested their courage, boldness and dexterity.

Christmas and Easter are considered especially revered Christian holidays among the Russian people.

The Nativity of Christ is not only a bright holiday of Orthodoxy, it also symbolizes the rebirth and return to life, the traditions and customs of this holiday, filled with kindness and humanity, high moral ideals and the triumph of the spirit over worldly concerns, in the modern world they are rediscovered by society and rethought by it. The day before Christmas (January 6) is called Christmas Eve because the main dish festive table, which should consist of 12 dishes, is a special porridge “sochivo”, consisting of boiled cereal, drizzled with honey, sprinkled with poppy seeds and nuts. You can sit down at the table only after the first star appears in the sky. Christmas (January 7) is a family holiday, when everyone gathered at one table, ate a festive treat and gave each other gifts. The 12 days after the holiday (until January 19) are called Christmastide. Previously, at this time, girls in Rus' held various gatherings with fortune telling and rituals to attract suitors.

Easter has long been considered a great holiday in Rus', which people associated with the day of general equality, forgiveness and mercy. On the eve of Easter celebrations, Russian women usually bake kulichi (festive rich Easter bread) and Easter bread, clean and decorate their homes, young people and children paint eggs, which, according to ancient legend, symbolize drops of the blood of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. On the day of Holy Easter, smartly dressed people, meeting, say “Christ is Risen!”, answer “Truly He is Risen!”, followed by a three-time kiss and an exchange of festive Easter eggs.

Recent events such as the overthrow of the government in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and its decision to join the Russian Federation, the subsequent military campaign against the civilian population in Eastern Ukraine, Western sanctions against Russia, and Lately and the attack on the ruble - that's it this caused Russian society certain phase shift, which in the West is very misunderstood, if understood at all. This misunderstanding puts Europe at a serious disadvantage in terms of its ability to negotiate an end to the crisis.

And if before these events they tended to perceive Russia as “another European country,” now they remembered that Russia is another civilization with other civilizational roots (more likely Byzantine than Roman), which once or twice a century became the object of an organized Western attempt to destroy it, because it was attacked by Sweden, Poland, France, Germany or alliances of these countries. This has had a special impact on the Russian character, which, if misunderstood, could lead the whole of Europe and even the whole world to disaster.

If you think that Byzantium had little impact on Russia cultural influence, then you are mistaken: her influence was actually decisive. It began with the advent of Christianity - first through Crimea (the birthplace of Christianity in Russia), and then through the Russian capital Kyiv (the same Kyiv, which is today the capital of Ukraine) - and allowed Russia to “skip” an entire millennium of cultural development. This influence also determined the opaque and clumsy bureaucracy of the Russian state apparatus, which, along with many other things, irritates the West, which so loves transparency, especially among others. Russians often like to call Moscow the Third Rome, after the real Rome and Constantinople, and this is not entirely unfounded. But this does not mean that Russian civilization is something derivative. Yes, she managed to absorb the entire classical heritage, which was looked at primarily through an “eastern prism,” but the vast northern expanses turned this heritage into something radically different.

This topic is generally very complex, so I will focus on four factors that I consider fundamental to understanding the transformations we are witnessing today.

1. Reaction to attack

Western states were born under conditions of limited resources and unrelenting population pressure, which largely determines how these states react when targeted. For quite a long time, when the central government was weak, conflicts were resolved in a bloody way, and even the most insignificant prick from ex-friend immediately turned him into a rival with whom they fought with swords. The reason was that in these conditions, protecting the territory was the key to survival.

On the contrary, Russia extends over an almost endless territory over which resources are dispersed. In addition, Russia skillfully took advantage of the bounty of the trade route that led from the Varangians to the Greeks, and was so active that Arab geographers were confident in the existence of a strait that connected the Black and Baltic seas. In these conditions, it was important to avoid conflicts, and people who grabbed weapons at every side glance would have had a hard time living in such an environment.

Therefore, a very different conflict resolution strategy was formed, which has survived to this day. If you offend or harm a Russian in any way, it is unlikely that a fight will break out (although this is exactly what happens during demonstrative confrontations in public or during the expected settling of scores through violence). More often than not, the Russian will simply send you to hell and want nothing to do with you. If the situation is complicated by physical proximity, then the Russian will think about moving - in any direction, but most importantly, away from you. In ordinary conversation, all this is formulated with the one-syllable statement “Pshel,” a form of the verb “to send.” With an almost endless amount of free land on which to settle, this strategy works great. Russians live sedentary lives, but when they need to move, they behave like nomads, among whom the main way to resolve conflicts is voluntary movement.

This reaction to insult is something of a permanent aspect of Russian culture, and therefore the West, which does not understand this, can hardly achieve the results it so desires. For people from the West, an offense can be redeemed with an apology, something like “I am sorry!” But for a Russian, to a certain extent, this is nothing, especially in the case when the apology was made by the one who was sent to hell. A verbal apology, which is not accompanied by anything tangible, is one of the rules of good manners, which for Russians is a kind of luxury. Just a few decades ago, the usual apology sounded like “I’m sorry.” Today Russia is much more polite, but the basic cultural patterns are preserved.

And while a purely verbal apology is priceless, tangible restitution is not. “Getting things right” could mean parting with a rare possession, proposing a new and significant commitment, or announcing a fundamental change in direction. The main thing is to do everything, and not only in words, because at a certain stage words can only aggravate the situation, and the call to “go to hell” can be supplemented by the less pleasant phrase “let me show you the way there.”

2. Tactics against invaders

In Russia big story invasions from all sides, but above all from the West, thanks to which Russian culture has come to a certain type of thinking that is difficult to understand from the outside. First of all, we must realize that when the Russians repel invasions (and the fact that the CIA, along with the US State Department, is ruling Ukraine through Ukrainian Nazis is considered an invasion), they are not fighting for territory, at least not directly. They are rather fighting for Russia as a concept. And the concept is that Russia has been attacked many times, but no one has ever conquered it. In the Russian consciousness, conquering Russia means killing almost all Russians, and as they like to say, “You can’t kill us all.” The population can be restored over time (22 million were killed at the end of World War II), but once the concept is lost, Russia will be lost forever. To people in the West, the words of Russians about Russia as “a land of princes, poets and saints” may seem nonsense, but this is precisely the line of thought we are talking about. Russia has no history, it itself is history.

And since the Russians are fighting over a concept rather than a specific piece of Russian territory, they are always willing to retreat first. When Napoleon invaded Russia, he saw the land scorched by the retreating Russians. Finally he reached Moscow, but it also died in the flames. He stopped there for a while, but in the end he realized that he could not do more (did he really have to go to Siberia?), so he finally left his retreating, hungry and frozen army, leaving it to the mercy of fate. As he retreated, another aspect of the Russian cultural heritage: every peasant in every village burned during the Russian retreat participated in the Russian resistance, which created many problems for the French army.

The German invasion during World War II also moved very quickly at first: a large territory was occupied, and the Russians continued to retreat, evacuating the population, entire factories and other institutions to Siberia, families moved inland. But then the German march stopped, turned around and eventually turned into a complete defeat. The standard model was repeated when the Russian army broke the will of the invaders, and most of the local residents who found themselves under occupation refused to cooperate, self-organized into partisan detachments and inflicted the maximum possible damage on the retreating aggressors.

Another Russian method in the fight against an invader is to rely on the Russian climate, which will do its job. In the countryside, people usually get rid of all unnecessary living creatures in the house by simply stopping heating: in a few days at minus 40, all the cockroaches, fleas, lice, nits, as well as mice and rats will die out. This also works with occupiers. Russia is the northernmost country in the world. And although Canada is further north, most of its population lives along the southern border, and no Big City is not located beyond the Arctic Circle. And in Russia there are two such cities at once. Life in Russia in some respects resembles life in space or on the high seas: you cannot live without mutual assistance. The Russian winter simply will not allow us to survive without cooperation with local residents, so to destroy the aggressor it is enough to simply refuse cooperation. And if you are sure that the occupier can force cooperation by shooting several locals in order to scare the rest, see point 1.

3. Tactics in relations with foreign powers

Russia owns almost the entire northern part of the Eurasian continent, which is almost a sixth of the land. On the scale of planet Earth, this is enough. This is not some kind of exception or historical accident: throughout their history, Russians have sought to ensure their collective security by developing as much territory as possible. If you're wondering what prompted them to do this, go back to Tactics Against Invaders.

And if you think that foreign powers have repeatedly tried to attack and conquer Russia in order to gain access to vast natural resources, then you are mistaken: access has always been there - all you have to do is ask. Typically, Russians do not refuse to sell their natural resources - even to potential enemies. But the enemies, as a rule, wanted to “suck in” to Russian sources for free. For them, the existence of Russia is a nuisance, which they tried to get rid of through violence.

But they only achieved that after their failure the price for themselves increased. This is a simple principle: foreigners want Russian resources, and to protect them Russia needs a strong, centralized state with a large and strong army, so that foreigners have to pay and support thereby Russian state and the army. As a result, most of the Russian state's finances come from export tariffs, primarily oil and gas exports, rather than from taxation of the Russian population. After all, the Russian population had paid dearly fighting constant invaders, so why burden them with even more taxes? This means that the Russian state is a customs state, which uses duties and tariffs to obtain funds from enemies who could destroy it, and also uses these funds for its own defense. Due to the fact that there is no replacement for Russian resources, the principle works: the more hostile the world behaves towards Russia, so more money he will pay for Russia's national defense.

But this policy is used in relations with foreign powers, not with foreign peoples. Over the centuries, Russia has “absorbed” a mass of immigrants, say from Germany, during the Thirty Years’ War, and France, after the revolution there. Later people migrated from Vietnam, Korea, China and Central Asia. Last year, Russia accepted more migrants than any other country except the United States. In addition, Russia accepted almost a million people from war-torn Ukraine without much difficulty. Russians are a displaced people more than many others, and Russia is a bigger melting pot than the United States.
4. Thank you, but we have our own

Another interesting cultural trait is that Russians always see the need to be the best in everything - from ballet and figure skating, hockey and football to space flights and microchip production. You might think that Champagne is a protected French brand, but recently... New Year I made sure that “Soviet Champagne” is still selling out at the speed of light, and not only in Russia, but also in Russian stores in the USA, because, understand, French things may be good, but they don’t taste Russian enough. For almost everything you can think of, there is a Russian version, which the Russians consider the best, and sometimes they directly say that it is their invention (for example, Popov, not Marconi, invented the radio). Of course, there are exceptions (for example, tropical fruits), which are acceptable provided that they are from a “brotherly people,” which, for example, is Cuba. This model has already worked in Soviet times, and it seems that to some extent it has survived to this day.
During the ensuing “stagnation” of the era of Brezhnev, Andropov and Gorbachev, when Russian ingenuity truly declined along with everything else, technologically (but not culturally) Russia lost ground in relation to the West. After the breakup Soviet Union the Russians coveted Western imports, which was completely understandable, since Russia itself at that time produced practically nothing. In the 90s, the time came for Western managers who flooded Russia with cheap imports, setting themselves the long-term goal of destroying local industry and Russian production, turning Russia into a simple exporter of raw materials, which would be defenseless against the embargo, and which could easily be forced to lose sovereignty. It would all end in a military invasion, against which Russia would be defenseless.

This process got quite far before it hit a few snags. First, Russian production and non-hydrocarbon exports have recovered and increased several times over the course of one decade. The growth also affected the export of grain, weapons and high-tech products. Secondly, Russia has found quite a few friendlier and more profitable trading partners in the world, however, this in no way diminishes the importance of its trade with the West, or more precisely with the EU. Thirdly, the Russian defense industry was able to maintain its standards and independence from imports. (The same can hardly be said about defense companies in the West that depend on Russian titanium exports).

And today a “perfect storm” has broken out for Western managers: the ruble has partially depreciated due to low prices for oil, which displaces imports and helps local producers. Sanctions have undermined Russia's confidence in the West's reliability as a supplier, and the conflict in Crimea strengthens Russians' self-confidence. The Russian government has taken the opportunity to support companies that can immediately replace Western imports with other products. The Russian Central Bank was entrusted with financing them credit rate, which makes import substitution even more attractive.

Some compare the current period with when in last time the price of oil fell to $10 per barrel, which to a certain extent brought the collapse of the USSR closer. But this analogy is wrong. At that time, the USSR stagnated economically and depended on Western grain supplies, without which it would not have been able to feed the people. The collapse was led by the helpless and controlled Gorbachev - a peacemaker, capitulator and phrase-monger on a global scale, whose wife loved to go shopping in London. Russian people despised him. Today, Russia is once again one of the world's largest grain exporters, led by an exemplary President Putin, who enjoys the support of more than 80% of the population. By comparing the USSR before the collapse with today's Russia, commentators and analysts are only demonstrating their ignorance.

This passage literally writes itself. This is a recipe for disaster, so I’ll write everything down, point by point, as in a recipe.

1. Take the people who respond to attacks by sending you to hell, turning away from you and not wanting anything to do with you - instead of fighting with you. Realize that this is a people whose natural resources are necessary so that you can have light and heat in your homes so that you can produce transport aircraft, military fighters and much more. Remember that a quarter of the light bulbs in the United States come on from Russian nuclear fuel, and cutting off Europe from Russian gas would mean a real disaster.

2. Introduce economic and financial sanctions against Russia. Watch in horror as your exporters lose profits and the Russian response blocks agricultural exports. Remember, this is a country that has suffered a long chain of attacks and traditionally relies on unfriendly countries to fund Russian defenses aimed precisely at those enemies. Or Russia turns to methods such as the already mentioned winter. “No gas for NATO countries” sounds like a great slogan. Hope and pray that Moscow doesn't like him.

3. Organize an attack on their national currency, which will lose part of its value, and do the same with oil prices. Imagine how Russian officials chuckle as they go to the Central Bank when the low ruble exchange rate means filling the state budget despite the low oil price. Watch in horror as your exporters go bankrupt because they can no longer take up space. Russian market. Remember that Russia has no national debt worth discussing, that it is run with a miniscule budget deficit, and that it has large gold and foreign exchange reserves. Remember your banks, which “lent” hundreds of billions of dollars to Russian companies - those companies to which, by imposing sanctions, you cut off access to your banking system. Hope and pray that Russia doesn't freeze debt payments on the West Bank when they impose new sanctions, because that will blow your banks out of business.

4. Watch in horror as Russia rewrites gas export agreements that now involve everyone except you. And when they start working, will there be enough gas left for you? But it seems that this is no longer Russia’s concern, because you offended it, because the Russians, so and so, sent you to hell (and don’t forget to take Galich there). Now they will trade with countries that are more friendly to them.

5. Watch with horror as Russia actively seeks ways to exit its trade relationship with you, seeks suppliers in other parts of the world, and sets up production to replace imports.

And then a surprise appears, by the way, underestimated by everyone, euphemistically speaking. Russia recently proposed a deal to the EU. If the EU refuses to sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US, it could join Customs Union with Russia. Why freeze yourself when Washington can freeze? This would be reparation for the EU's previous aggressive behavior, which Russia would accept. And this is in highest degree generous offer. And if the EU accepts it, it will prove a lot: that the EU does not pose any military or economic threat to Russia, that European countries are very nice and small, they produce delicious cheeses and sausages that the current crop of politicians are worthless, dependent on Washington and that great pressure needs to be created in order to understand where the interests of their peoples actually lie... So will the EU accept such a proposal or will it accept Galich as a new member and “freeze” ?

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.

Russian attitude to work in a very peculiar way. 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 labor responsibilities, 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 hype around presidential elections, held 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 of the Russian person, 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 way(regardless of what this path should be - true Orthodoxy, communist or Eurasian idea), was combined with the desire to make any sacrifices (including one’s own death) in the name of achieving the goal. In search of an idea, people easily rushed to extremes: they went to the people, committed 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 calculation of the everyday or political situation.

The values ​​of Russian culture are to a large extent 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. The 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 they combined in a strange way hard labour and a festive mood. Maybe, celebration atmosphere was a kind of compensatory means that made it easier to move 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 Tsarist Russia on the awards (medals) the words were minted: “Not to us, not to us, but to 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.

For many centuries, foreign guests and merchants, visiting first Rus' and then - tried to understand the secret of the mysterious Russian soul. Russian Empire. World famous classics Russian literature They also did not remain aloof from solving the riddle of the Russian mentality - in their works they tried to describe Russian men and women and reveal as fully as possible the facets of their character and the peculiarities of their worldview. But still, even now, to most foreigners, Russians seem mysterious and largely incomprehensible, and Russians themselves can unmistakably distinguish their compatriots among a crowd of foreigners in another country. But what is the peculiarity of the mentality and psychology of Russians that makes them so different from representatives of other nations?

National characteristics of Russians

The national character traits of Russians have been formed over the centuries, and the foundation of the nation’s unique mentality began to be laid back in the Middle Ages, when most Russians lived in villages and lived collective farming. It was from those centuries that for Russians the opinion of society and their own position in the team began to mean a lot. Also at that time, such a national trait of Russians as and adherence to patriarchal traditions - the survival and well-being of the entire village, volost, etc. largely depended on the cohesion of the team and the presence of a strong leader.

These features are inherent in the psychology of Russians even now - the majority of the nation’s representatives are confident that the country needs a strong leader, do not consider themselves to have the right to openly criticize and challenge the decisions of their superiors, and are ready to support the government in any case. In relation to the role of each individual in society, the Russian mentality, like the geographical position of Russia, is between the “West” and the “East”: it is difficult for representatives of this nation to accept the Western European model of society, in which the individuality of each individual person is considered an absolute value, but also to such The Russians do not have a privileged role of the collective over the individual, as is typical of the Chinese. We can say that the Russians were able to find a “golden mean” between collectivism and individualism - they attach great importance public opinion and their role in the team, but at the same time they know how to appreciate the individuality and uniqueness of each person’s personality.

Another national feature of the Russian character, which distinguishes it from the mentality of other nations, is the “breadth” of the soul of the Russian person. Of course, the soul cannot be broad in the literal sense of the word, and this expression means that Russian people have the following features character:

Psychology of Russians in personal life and everyday life

Most Russian people believe that the spiritual is more important than the material, so they do not set the goal of their life to earn millions, but choose other priorities - family, self-development, etc. Many Representatives of this people tend to have a “easy” attitude towards money - a Russian person will not be too depressed during the holidays, and will often prefer to spend money on something pleasant for themselves rather than saving up for the future.

However, despite this attitude towards finances, Russians love luxury and pretentiousness, so they do not spare money on expensive home renovations, fashionable gadgets and status items. In Russian houses, in addition to furniture and household appliances, there are a lot of interior decorations - various souvenirs, figurines and other cute trinkets. It is also not uncommon for some unnecessary things to lie in the closet of an apartment or house for years - Russian people, since the existence of the USSR, have not yet completely gotten rid of the habit of keeping in reserve everything that could theoretically be useful in the future.

IN love relationships Russian men are gallant, romantic, generous and courteous and always strive to surround their lady with maximum care. Russian women are able to completely dissolve in a loved one, they are ready to make sacrifices for the sake of love and are sure that “with a sweetheart there is heaven in the hut.” In most Russian families, husband and wife have equal relations, but still caring for children and household chores are considered predominantly women's work, and earning money for the whole family is considered men's.