Ruchkin B. A. Russian Society: A Patriotism for the 21st Century
This article was prepared as part of the project “The influence of historical falsifications and myths on the consciousness and social behavior of modern Russian youth.” The project has been sup-ported with a state grant on the basis of the competition held by the Institute of Social-Economic and Political Research Foundation in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation ¹ 11-RP of 17.01.2014.
Abstract ♦ The article looks at patriotism as Russia’s idea for the 21st century and a priority for the policies of the state. For over 20 years, Russia’s society and its social, political and legal institutes have been developing under uncertain historical principles, which influenced the decisions being then made and systemic reforms undertaken. The search for such new foundations has proved long, and the need for public consensus is becoming more and more evident. It was against this background that President Putin placed the idea of patriotism in the center of his ideological doctrine, which has allowed revitalizing the issue of the state-society unity.
We show the role of patriotism as the foundation of Russia’s future, specifying its meaning for contemporary society and outlining the multilevel structure of patriotic education. Also analyzed are the outcomes and achievements of three previous state-run programs of patriotic education (2001–2005, 2005–2010, 2010–2015). We can conclude that while civic conscience has grown recently, this rise has not become irreversible and the success achieved had almost no economic foundation. This has been corroborated by an opinion poll of a number of leading experts in patriotic education from 12 universities and research institutions (Moscow, Kazan, Oryol, Petrozavodsk, Saratov). In particular, experts do not rule out a “crisis of patriotism” and affirm a need for a program- and objective-based approach to patriotic education. They also call for establishing efficiency criteria for both federal and regional ministries and agencies, as well as for civil society bodies dealing with patriotic education. This will allow an objective assessment of their achievements.
Keywords: V.V. Putin, patriotism, patriotic education, system of patriotic education.
Ruchkin Boris Aleksandrovich, Doctor of History, Professor, Director, Center for History Studies, Institute of Fundamental and Applied Studies, Moscow University for the Humanities. Postal address: Bldg. 6, 5 Yunosti St., Moscow, Russian Federation, 111395. Tel.: +7 (499) 374-58-07. E-mail:
bruchkin@mosgu.ru
Citation: Ruchkin, B. A. (2015) Rossiiskoe obshchestvo: patriotizm XXI veka [Russian society: A patriotism for the 21st century]. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie, no. 1, pp. 52–70. DOI: 10.17805/zpu.2015.1.5 (In Russ.).
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