Spiritual and moral revival as sociocultural basis for modernization in Russia

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleДуховно-нравственное возрождение как социокультурная основа возрождения России
3. Language term Russian
4. lemma author Asliturk, Miriam
5. lemma category Ecumenism and dialogue > Westernism and anti-westernism - Ecumenism and dialogue > Education - Concepts of knowledge and modes of reasoning > Materialism/Idealism
6. Publication date 17-01-2017
7. lemma work Топольян, Артем Павлович [Author]. Топольян Артем Павлович [Author]. Духовно-нравственное возрождение как социокультурная снова возрождения России
8. lemma manifestations Современные исследования социальных проблем
9. Keywords modernity - Modernization - Youth - Russian Orthodox Church
10. Url Click Here
11. Citations
    1. Топольян, Артем Павлович (2012). Духовно-нравственное возрождение как социокультурная основа модернизации России. Современные исследования социальных проблем URL: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/duhovno-nravstvennoe-vozrozhdenie-kak-sotsiokulturnaya-osnova-modernizatsii-rossii (дата обращения: 18.01.2017). Научная библиотека КиберЛенинка: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/duhovno-nravstvennoe-vozrozhdenie-kak-sotsiokulturnaya-osnova-modernizatsii-rossii#ixzz4W8yHfnK6
12. Lemma body

    1. The author argues that Russia needs an ideology to achieve progress, although the existence of one dominant ideology is proscribed by the Russian constitution. According to the author, the ROC now has the potential to play a crucial role in the modernization of Russian society, as has been the case throughout its history. Russia adopted Christianity following the most advanced country of the time – the Byzantine Empire. The ROC was central in creating Russian identity, culture, literature, arts, mass public education, organization of military defense (even during WWII). The author posits that even the aggressive Soviet secularization of Russian society did not cut Russians off from the ROC completely.

       Currently the ROC, Topolyan argues, supports modernization of Russian society, science, and new management techniques. However, it does not support “western style modernization” that is destroying Russian identity and culture. The author cites many scholars who criticize the so-called liberal western modernization that prioritizes earthly interests over moral and religious values, state sovereignty, and patriotism. Such modernization propagates egoism as opposed to traditional collectivism, arrogance as opposed to humility, and claims that foreign culture and languages have more value than Russian ones.

       According to the author and the scholars he quotes (Levchuk D.G., Potapovskaya O.M. Obosnovanie aktualnosti problemy dukhovno-nravstvennogo vospitaniya detey i molodezhi Rossii.), the partisans of the Western liberal model of education target Russian youth, who currently are not being taken care of by the state and have no experience in resisting such influence. As a result one can witness destructive behavior among the young: they are depressed, do not understand how to build their future, and often become violent. Russian media serves the authorities and supports the aggressive idea that the very basis of ethics and morality is the security provided by private property. The dominant tone highlights the need to get rich by any possible means, while concurrently Russian society has stopped being socially oriented.

       Along with the authors he cites, the author concludes that the ROC can help solve the problem of destruction of identity and traditional values in Russian society in the context of modernization. He considers that modernization without Orthodox Christian tradition is not modernization but rather a loss of sovereignty; at the same time, he warns that seeking support only in Orthodox tradition is dangerous because Russia needs modernization to be competitive in the world.