Image of the future: the foundations of national ideology for modern Russia

A QUESTION OF TIME

After the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the question of the foundations of national ideology was sharply on the agenda. It became obvious that the confrontation is not only with the Kiev regime, but also with the NATO alliance, with the collective West and its allies, who are waging a civilisational war of annihilation against Russia.

It is necessary to admit that society was not fully prepared for new challenges. Society is largely ideologically demobilised and lives in the present day. The managerial layer, some cultural figures, representatives of big business, and young people are imbued with the spirit of consumerism and conformity.

Given the repeated increase in military, economic, and information and propaganda pressure on the Russian Federation, there is an urgent need for a clear alignment of ideological priorities and guidelines that give a clear understanding of the reasons for what is happening, the goals and meanings of actions taken by Russia.

Our citizens, and first of all, the younger generation, must clearly understand what is being fought for, what ideals and values our country stands for, and why we are doing the right thing.

RUSSIAN CIVILISATION – AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE DYING WORLD

The Russian Federation is not just one of the nearly 200 states that exist on the globe. Russia is more than just a country. Russia is a "state-civilisation" (V. Putin). A synonym for the phrase "Russian civilisation” is the phrase "Historical Russia".

The collective West exerts a powerful ideological influence on the rest of the world, positioning itself as a "leader of humanity", a universal model of modern development. However, Western civilisation is just one of several local civilisations in the world, and it is in the same weight category as Russian civilisation in terms of its weight and significance.

For the last five centuries, our civilisation has been under aggressive pressure from the West. Every century we have to fight a Western invasion again and again, defend ourselves against the Polish-Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Swedish invaders (1709), Napoleon's "grand army" (1812), the German-Fascist invaders (1945). All the signs of the all-embracing aggression of the West are still present today.

It would be wrong to explain this only by the desire to appropriate the territories and colossal natural resources that our country possesses. Although this, of course, drives the aggressors. But the roots of that brutal hatred for Russia, the desire to destroy it in any way, must be sought in the basic civilisational differences between Russian and Western civilisations.

Forming our values "from the opposite" in comparison with the values of the West, it is possible to ascertain that we are characterised by: justice, not the Western cult of comfort; collectivism, not Western individualism; ethnic equality, as opposed to Western colonial oppression.

We are people of goodness, conscience, truth and faith. This is reflected in our soul, in our history, in our traditions, in our way of life.

Conscience is a purely Russian concept. Thanks to conscience, a person's actions determine not only external rules, but, above all, internal moral law.

Truth is the embodiment of the demands of conscience in everyday life-personal, family, social, political. "God is not in power, but in truth" - these words of Aleksandr Nevsky are the moral imperative of our history.

Faith gives us hope that truth will always prevail, and good will overcome evil. That in a historical dispute, the best will prevail, not the richest or strongest.

The contribution of our civilisation to world science, culture, social progress and social development is enormous. That is exactly why the existence of a "world without Russia" is meaningless ("Why do we need a world without Russia?" – V. Putin).

We are a special civilisation, we have our own truth and our own way. Today, in the midst of a universal crisis, our civilisation is conceived as an alternative to the degrading West.

Our civilisational ideologems:

• We are more than a country. We are a civilisational state;
• Why do we need a world without Russia?
• Russia – a civilisation of good;
• Fairness is more valuable than comfort;
• Collectivism instead of selfishness;
• Equality instead of oppression;
• Solidarity is more valuable than competition;
• Russia is an alternative to the declining Western civilisation.

MAKE WAY FOR NEW GENERATIONS

Our values are a fusion of the values of many peoples of Russia, united around the state-forming Russian core. The traditional Russian family is built on these values.

The importance of the ideal of family for our people is immutable. We do not accept the destruction of the family caused by the West. The family is the foundation of the stability of our state, the source of strength of our people. It is thanks to the family that new generations come to our world, new people are born.

The formation of a new person and a future citizen - birth, nurturing, education and enlightenment - is the most important productive work.

A person is the main value, which is more important than any material goods.

The birth of children is not only the continuation of the family of the father and mother of the child. This is the multiplication of our nation, this is the line of continuation of the present of Russia into its future. A healthy, strong, hardworking, educated population is the main value of the country.

Raising new generations and increasing the number of citizens is a strategic task of a responsible government and a strong state.

An unpopulated, depopulated country will always be doomed to defeat in a confrontation with an external enemy.

The Russian superpower should have a population size and an internal market and labour market corresponding to this status.

Support for families with children is not the "charity" of the state and society, but a legitimate reward for parental work.

Demographics dictate the transformation of the pension system.

The work of new generations is the basis of the pension system for current generations. The main condition for its functioning is the numerical excess of younger generations over older ones. Raising children is a huge parental effort. The future pension system should be based on the relationship between the personal professional work result and the personal parental contribution of each person.

A responsible state and a cohesive society encourages large families - not only financially, but also morally.

The most important tasks in the cultural and educational sphere, economic policy, and media activities should include the task of creating maximum prestige for large families and respect for large families.

Having many children should become popular and fashionable. The creativity of parenting should be valued more than meaningless and absurd "creativity".

Our priorities in family policy can be formulated in the form of the following ideologemes:

• People are more valuable than the economy;
• Lives are more valuable than profits;
• Children are more valuable than pleasure.

JUSTICE FOR ALL

Our nation has a keen sense of justice. This is reflected in both Russian classical culture and traditional folklore. The cult of justice is our main difference from the West with its cult of selfishness and external "rules" that are constantly changing for the sake of profit.

Universal justice is the most important element of the Russian dream. There is nothing more valuable for us in the world order. The unfair order of things, embodied in the "oligarch's yacht" and "Courchevel dances", is despised by the people.

The focus of injustice in Russia is economic and cultural neoliberalism. The yoke imposed for defeat in the Cold War. It slows down all development, feeds foreign power centres and the comprador elite, always ready to betray in a difficult hour. Only by throwing off this yoke can justice be achieved and the people mobilised for great work.

Justice is expressed not in unjustified egalitarianism, but in a proportional reward for the socially useful contribution that each person makes. This reward should manifest itself in both material rewards and social status. Today, the following principle should once again become relevant: from everyone - according to their abilities, to everyone - according to their work.

At the same time, justice is the availability of equal starting opportunities. The solution to this issue should be the right of every citizen to receive their share from the development of mineral resources and the extraction of natural resources.

Justice in its socio-economic dimension is a fair distribution of natural income from the use of Russia's national wealth. Every citizen should have guaranteed starting opportunities for getting an education, building their own home, starting a family and raising children.

Our ideologues:

• A cult of justice instead of a cult of egoism;
• Restore justice – throw off the yoke of neoliberalism;
• Justice doesn't mean unjustified egalitarianism;
• The main principle: from everyone - according to their abilities, to everyone - according to their work;
• Justice is equal starting opportunities for everyone;
• The basis of justice is the distribution of natural income among citizens.

SOCIAL REACTOR. NATIONAL SUPER-TASK: TURNING RUSSIA INTO AN ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERPOWER

To start the engines of development, it’s necessary to envelope them in the form of a Common Cause. It is time to offer the country long-awaited work, load the nation with a super-task that would warm up the "social reactor" in Russia, give people a meaning of life.

Until recently, we were offered the goal of becoming an "energy superpower". However, being just an energy supplier is too little for a great country. This is not our scale.

We have confirmed and continue to confirm our status as a military superpower, and we have preserved and enhanced the Soviet legacy in this area. This is of great importance for the defence of Russia, for the defence of the Motherland. However, we need to go further.

The real national super-task should be to transform Russia into an economic and technological superpower.

Russia is a country of highly educated people, thinkers, scientists, and engineers.

Our human capital is undervalued, and we do not fully understand our capabilities. We do not realise what our people are capable of, what technologies they can create if there are moral and material incentives and prospects for their successful implementation.

Russia is the "storehouse of humanity". Our country has deposits of all the most important strategic resources. Today, only specialists fully understand the significance of these resources. However, these resources will be crucial for the economy of the future.

Thanks to climate processes, the area of Russian territories suitable for comfortable living, creating transport infrastructure, and conducting highly productive agriculture is already increasing. The value of Russia's national wealth is increasing.

The availability of resources for our industry, our agriculture, and our transport should be converted into competitive advantages for our products. In the ability to saturate the domestic market with them and ensure expansion into external markets.

Russia is a country with a unique geographical location. In the last 30 years, we have been active in only one market – the Western one. Today, we are increasing the development of huge new markets in the East and South.

New technological solutions should be aimed at enabling the people of Russia, first of all, new generations and young people, to take advantage of our resource advantages.

In fact, we are talking about a new way of life, new transport, new energy, new formats of recreation, as well as an inventory of scientific and technical achievements of the Soviet period, including closing technologies.

The task of the historical moment is to integrate these programs and achieve their synergistic effect, which can provide a breakthrough in technology and economic development.

The next natural step is in outer space. Setting and implementing bold space tasks will lead to the return of one of the national meanings of being that can justify the most ambitious costs.

The countries that will be the first to start the economic development of space bodies will receive huge profits, which will produce a new global revolution in the alignment of economic forces. Not to mention the military-strategic advantages.

The return of Russia's leadership in space is the most important attribute of the status of a technological superpower.

Our tasks:

• The goal is to launch the reactor of development
• National super-task: an economic and technological superpower
• Synergy of human capital and resource potential
• A new way of life. New transport. New energy industry.
• The return of Russia's leadership in space is an essential attribute of its superpower status.

THE NEW ELITE. ADMISSION TO THE ELITE - A HEROIC DEED

Nurturing the elite is the alpha and omega of our rebirth. Too often, the treacherous "establishment" has been responsible for destroying the foundations of our statehood. So it was in the Time of Troubles, so it was in the days of the destruction of the USSR. But the country was always raised from the ruins by the true elite of Russia, imbued with the idea of serving the Motherland.

Nurturing the elite requires a special set of social technologies. One of them is the designation of heroes and enemies.

The war in Ukraine showed where heroes come from. This is an Army that performs feats on the battlefield. These are political and public figures who defend Russia's interests under Western sanctions. This is a nationally oriented business. They are devotees in science and culture who shared the values and hardships of their people.

The contours of the anti-national pseudo-elite are also clear - "offshore" nouveau riches, show business dealers, a column of pseudo-pacifists.

It is time for personnel and economic decisions. We need to seriously engage in the formation of a new elite of the country. In this work, we should be inspired by the examples of two great elites of the past.

On the one hand, it is an example of the Russian elite of the second half of the 19th century, which made the industrial revolution, created a developed science and formed scientific schools, and ensured the rise of Russian classical culture.

On the other hand, there is an example of the post-war Soviet elite, which managed to restore the country in the shortest possible time, provide a technological breakthrough, and win the space race.

The main motivating factor in the first case was the idea of a great country, in the second case - the idea of a just society. At the same time, both great elites of the past were focused on social, cultural, and technical creativity. And both were able to do as much in a few decades as the others could not do in centuries.

We must adopt their experience, based on the fact that the 19th century is the century of the greatest achievements of Russian humanitarian and natural science thought, and the 20th century is the century of the triumph of our technologies and military power, which allowed us to win the Great Patriotic War and go into space.

Our criteria:

• Admission to the elite - a heroic deed
• The real elite is:
  • War heroes
  • Politicians and public figures defending the interests of the Motherland
  • Entrepreneurs who raise the economy
  • Devotees in science and culture

UNITY OF HISTORY

Eternal peace must be declared to Russian history. It is impossible to mobilise a nation whose history is called a "black hole", whose parts are still fighting against each other. Such a "hole" means that Russia, in all its millennial work, was moving in the wrong direction; that this time, too, no amount of mobilisation can save.

We need fully-fledged historical unity. We need to put an end to the war with our own past and proclaim the undivided connectedness of the Russian eras.

Russia is not 30 years old, but 1,000. We are the flesh of hundreds of past and future generations of a common nation.

Despite the external sharpness of the conflict between the pre-revolutionary-imperial and post-revolutionary-Soviet ideologies, the two eras have an obvious common denominator, growing out of the basic values of Russian civilisation.

This is a model of social organisation called "communal", "assembly", "council". It is significant that the very word "Council" was first used by Minin and Pozharsky during the National Liberation War of 1612. The collective body of the restored Russian state was named by them "The council of the Russian land".

This common denominator should undoubtedly be present in the ideology of the future of Russia, ensuring the continuity of our development. Russia is a common home for all its peoples. We live by the principle of "one for all and all for one".

Our postulates:

• Unity of history - the power of the future in the past
• Continuation instead of negation
• Core of epochs: community-council-solidarity
• The main principle: one for all and all for one

RUSSIAN VICTORY

The core of Russian life is Victory — over the enemy, hell, chaos.

Victory is priceless: it redeems the sacrifices, and none of them are in vain.

Defeat for Russians is worse than death.

Victory is healing: it cures fears, saturates the nation with heavenly energies, spills living water, and gives them the strength to live on.

Victory is metaphysical: for Russians, it is always the overcoming of Evil. By overcoming evil, we are fulfilling God's plan of living.

Victory is unhistorical. Every century, our people extract it anew, patching up the gaping wound of History with their blood. After 1945, 2022 is coming.

Our ideology:

• Russians do not retreat and do not give up!
• Russian Victory – the sacred dominant of being
• Russian Victory heals the wounds of the past
• Russian victory is inevitable.

RUSSIA NEEDS A SINGLE COMPREHENSIVE HUMANITARIAN POLICY

Ideological approaches based on Russian values are currently not systematically used in the implementation of relevant state policy bodies.

The effectiveness criteria are mostly quantitative in nature, contrary to the messages that are present in the highest-level strategic planning documents - the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, the Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy.

The time has come to put it bluntly: these criteria do not correspond to the realities of the current moment, the realities of the geopolitical, economic and cultural confrontation of the West, in fact, an undeclared war against our country.

Attempts to change the situation, in particular, to adopt the Fundamentals of State Policy in the sphere of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, are sabotaged and blocked by coordinated counteraction of the Western-oriented "creative class" and information resources controlled by them.

Urgent changes are needed.

The time has come to set common goals in educational, cultural, informational, and youth policies and effectively achieve them. It is necessary to ensure their patriotic semantic unity, to give the opportunity to realise themselves as patriotic artists, who today are pushed to second place by the ubiquitous art nomenclature.

It is time to return to the traditions of the great Russian pedagogical school, to return upbringing to the educational process.

It is time to rebuild education itself - from the first years of life to the student's desk; to create appropriate industry, similar to the one that was in Soviet times.

Our national priorities and values should permeate all spheres and levels of human activity and fill our entire life.

The implementation of these goals should be carried out at all levels of the power vertical and by the forces of civil society.

Elena Panina - Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute