What do the Russian people believe? Old Faith of Russia - Orthodoxy

How to relate to Putin ordinary Russian people? For example, US Vice President Biden told representatives of the Russian opposition on Thursday that if he were Putin, he would never have gone to the 2012 elections, because it is bad for the country and for himself. Such advice from an overseas uncle is very important for our liberals. But the rest need to choose their position in relation to the authorities themselves. Understand what is good and what is bad.

Although it will soon be a quarter of a century since our country entered the era of crisis, nothing is eternal - the period of trials will end sooner or later. Everyone wants to quickly, most want Russia to come out of it as a strong and self-confident power. But at the same time, the processes taking place in our country do not suit anyone - everyone is dissatisfied with both the direction of development and the methods of governing the country. AT recent times this dissatisfaction grows ever more tangibly and rages.

But everyone is dissatisfied with different ...

Most noticeable is the discontent of a small but vocal group - the liberals. This is a large part of the elite and high society, as well as the intelligentsia public that has joined them. They do not like the fact that the supreme power is in the hands of Putin and his associates (“bloody gebni”), and the fact that the ruling bureaucracy steals a lot, stifles the free development of civil society and private business, does little to globalize all aspects of life in Russia . In general, the fact that Russia is very slowly moving towards the “European standard” they love so much (despite the fact that the “golden billion” itself is in the deepest crisis, both internal (loss of the will to live) and external, due to the upcoming world order change). No less than the authorities, society does not like the people - over the years of reforms, as soon as it did not call them names. In short, they are slavish, lazy and xenophobic people.

Patriots - and this is a smaller part of the so-called. the intelligentsia and the middle class, and at the same time the ordinary people who have joined them, express their dissatisfaction much more quietly. But not because they have fewer complaints - they just have much worse access to the media, and they are not so active in blogging. Patriots are dissatisfied with the fact that a social structure alien to the Russian spirit is being built in the country (wealth, like poverty, is inherited), the country is becoming less and less fair, and young people are growing less and less national. The fact that we are increasingly being integrated into globalist structures, the fact that the government steals, is surrounded by Jews and favors Caucasians. But even more people are dissatisfied with the so-called. "society" - because it calls the people cattle and tries to teach the "correct" attitude towards life, family, work, history, Motherland.

For simplicity, let's call these two aspects "good society" and "common people."

The authorities are also dissatisfied - both with themselves (this is expressed), and with society (this is poorly hidden), and with the people (this is only breaking through). It is difficult to clearly formulate the preferences of the authorities - it is painfully motley. Consisting for the most part of representatives of a “good society”, it belongs to it in spirit (thieving and unprincipled) - but nevertheless, by virtue of its very function, it tries to restore order in the country and ensure its development.

But the problem is that the country has neither the goal of this development, nor the principles that unite all - and without this nothing can be done. Why, then, does the authorities not take up the formulation of the "creed" and the "ten commandments"? Because at the top there is neither a team of like-minded people, nor a single will to break through. Everyone is busy with current problems: at best state, at worst - personal. The maximum that fantasy is enough is to assure that Skolkovo will allow us to break into the world leaders.

But what about the real future? Does Putin seriously think that the current way of economy and society is capable of not only ensuring the real development of the empire (in the form of which only Russia can live), but even the preservation of the current squeezed Russian Federation? With such an “elite” that the people consider to be thieves (they stole state property in the 90s or are dragging it out of the budget now), with such a lack of ideals in the most idealistic country in the world, with such a crisis of justice and trust?

Of course, Putin also has a globalist load - an overt and covert geopolitical game. The desire to provide Russia with safe external conditions for internal development, not to be fooled by the ongoing reshaping of the world order - all this takes a lot of strength. It is on the backstage game that Putin has focused his main attention in recent years. But this does not justify him in the least - the rejection of personnel and ideological work can cost Russia much more than any benefit from the Blue Streams and Masonic oaths.

It is impossible in Russia, after a thousand years of striving for justice, after the Orthodox kingdom, the empire, the Soviet Union, to offer everyone to live by quiet family values, engage in their own personal business, and at the same time equip an “effective state”. Even without other aggravating circumstances (the collapse of the 90s, the bastard elite, a “society” cut off from the people), this would not have worked.

We need to search for a new economic structure that takes into account all the achievements of the Soviet experience, national ideals of labor and economy. A fair non-capitalist system with strong local self-government and a strong supreme power is what the Russian people will accept. Without games of presidential or parliamentary republics, without all this party frills, without oligarchs, without the cult of profit and consumption, without kowtowing and monkeying with the West. Three centuries of imitation of the West are coming to an end - as, by the way, is the West itself.

So what must happen for the authorities to formulate the Russian future? Maybe a civil protest is just what will be able to move her to change? Or should it be removed altogether? Doesn't she have faith?

And what does a Russian person believe in today?

What and who can be a guide for a normal Russian person living in 2011? Which star to check the path, who to look up to? Or, in the absence of common guidelines, is everyone free to choose for themselves?

Putin? Human rights? Bulk? West? Faith? Stalin? Justice? Money? Russian people? Legality? Consumption? Pleasure? Career? Order? Globalization? Self management? Autocracy? Will?

What unites the people - Stalin, justice, faith, the Russian people, order, will, Putin - infuriates society.

What unites society, what it worships - human rights, the West, consumption, globalization, money, career, pleasure - makes the Russian people sick.

And no one believes the authorities' spells about legality and modernization - because the people just want a hard restoration of order, and society wants control over the authorities, or rather, the authorities themselves.

This is where the temptation for a normal Russian person begins - how to defend national values, if the authorities, by their inaction, lead to the fact that they will be scolded and replaced with globalist dummies? So you need to demand a change of this power?

And since liberals demand Putin's resignation louder than anyone else, is it not a sin to unite with them on this point? Let us have different goals, but if we remove the corrupt regime, and then we will deal with the liberals, since their cat has wept, and no West will help them. And behind us - all the people and the truth of their ancestors. Is it logical?

No - because there will be no "later". Putin really hangs Russia - what it is now. Removing it, we get the second series of chaos, civil unrest and the collapse of the country.

And without removing it - decay and the gradual destruction of the people and Russia?

No - because Putin must change and change the elite. Make a revolution from above. He cannot fail to do so.

Because the continuation of the current course will lead to an explosion of social and national contradictions and revolution. Or to a liberal revenge, an intra-elite coup, the acceleration of the globalization of Russia - with the same subsequent revolt of the indignant people. So if you don't change, you won't be saved. Neither Putin nor Russia.

Paganism is the oldest religion on Earth. It absorbed thousands of years of wisdom, knowledge, history and culture. In our time, pagans are called those who profess the old faith that existed before the rise of Christianity.
And, for example, among the ancient Jews pagan religions all beliefs that did not recognize Yahweh, or refused to follow his law, were considered. Ancient Roman legions conquered the peoples of the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. At the same time, these were also victories over local beliefs.

These religions of other peoples, "languages" were called pagan. They were given the right to exist in accordance with the interests of the Roman state. But with the advent of Christianity, religion itself ancient rome with the cult of Jupiter was recognized as pagan ...

As for the ancient Russian polytheism, the attitude towards it after the adoption of Christianity was militant. New religion was opposed to the former as true - untrue, as useful - harmful. Such an attitude ruled out tolerance and assumed the eradication of pre-Christian traditions, customs, and rituals. Christians did not want their descendants to be left with signs of "delusion", which they had hitherto indulged in. Everything that was somehow connected with Russian beliefs was persecuted: "demonic games", " devilry", sorcery. There was even an image of an ascetic, a "discordant", who devoted his life not to feats of arms on the battlefield, but to persecution and destruction " dark forces". Such zeal was characteristic of new Christians in all countries. But if in Greece or Italy time saved at least a small number of ancient marble sculptures, then Ancient Russia stood in the middle of the woods. And the king-fire, raging, did not spare anything: neither human dwellings, nor temples, nor wooden images of the gods, nor information about them, written in Slavic cuts on wooden planks.

And only quiet echoes have reached our days from the depths of the pagan world. And he is beautiful, this world! Among the amazing deities worshiped by our ancestors, there are no repulsive, ugly, disgusting ones. There are evil, terrible, incomprehensible, but much more beautiful, mysterious, kind. Slavic gods were formidable, but fair, kind. Perun struck the villains with lightning. Lada patronized lovers. Chur guarded the borders of possessions. Veles was the personification of the master's wisdom, and was also the patron of hunting prey.

The religion of the ancient Slavs was the deification of the forces of nature. The pantheon of gods was associated with the performance of economic functions by the clan: agriculture, cattle breeding, beekeeping, crafts, trade, hunting, etc.
And it should not be considered that paganism is just the worship of idols. After all, even Muslims continue to bow to the black stone of the Kaaba - the shrine of Islam. Christians in this capacity are countless crosses, icons and relics of saints. And who considered how much blood was shed and lives were given for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher in the Crusades? Here is a real Christian idol, along with bloody sacrifices. And to burn incense, to light a candle - this is the same sacrifice, only it has taken on a fine appearance.

The conventional wisdom about the extremely low level of cultural development of the "barbarians" is not supported by historical facts. Products of ancient Russian stone and wood carvers, tools, jewelry, epics and songs could only appear on the basis of a highly developed cultural tradition. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs were not a "delusion" of our ancestors, reflecting the "primitivism" of their thinking. polytheism is religious beliefs not only the Slavs, but also most peoples. It was typical for ancient egypt, Greece, Rome, whose culture cannot be called barbaric. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs differed little from the beliefs of other peoples, and these differences were determined by the specifics of the way of life and economic activity.

In the late 80s of the last century, the Soviet government, living its last days, decided to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia. How many shouts of welcome were heard: “1000th anniversary of Russian writing!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian culture!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian statehood!” But the Russian state existed even before the adoption of Christianity! No wonder the Scandinavian name of Russia sounds like Gardarika - the country of cities. Arab historians also write about the same, numbering hundreds of Russian cities. At the same time, he claims that in Byzantium itself there are only five cities, while the rest are “fortified fortresses”. And the Arabic chronicles called the Russian princes Khakans, “Khakan-Rus”. Khakan is an imperial title! “Ar-Rus is the name of a state, not a people or a city,” writes an Arabic author. Western chroniclers called the Russian princes "kings of the Ros people." Only arrogant Byzantium did not recognize the royal dignity of the rulers of Russia, but it did not recognize it for the Orthodox kings of Bulgaria, and for the Christian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation Otto, and for the emir of Muslim Egypt. The inhabitants of Eastern Rome knew only one king - their emperor. But even on the gates of Constantinople, Russian squads nailed a shield. And, by the way, Persian and Arabic chronicles testify that the Rus make "excellent swords" and import them into the lands of the caliphs.
That is, the Rus sold not only furs, honey, wax, but also the products of their artisans. And they found demand even in the land of damask blades. Chain mail was another item of export. They were called "beautiful" and "excellent". Technologies, therefore, in pagan Russia were not lower than the world level. Some blades of that era have survived to this day. They bear the names of Russian blacksmiths - "Lyudota" and "Slavimir". And this is worth paying attention to. So, the pagan blacksmiths were literate! This is the level of culture.

Next moment. The calculation of the formula of world circulation (Kolo) allowed the pagans to build ring-shaped metal sanctuaries, where they created the oldest astronomical calendars. The Slavs determined the length of the year as 365, 242, 197 days. Accuracy is unique! And in the commentary to the Vedas, the location of the constellations is mentioned, attributed by modern astronomy to 10,000 years BC. According to biblical chronology, even Adam was not created at this time. The cosmic knowledge of the pagans has stepped quite far. Evidence of this is the myth of the cosmic vortex Stribog. And this is consistent with the theory of the origin of life on Earth - the hypothesis of panspermia. Its essence boils down to the fact that life did not originate on Earth by itself, but was brought in by a purposeful stream with spores, from which the diversity of the living world later developed.

It is these facts that are the indicators by which one should judge the level of culture and education of the pagan Slavs. And no matter what the adherents of Orthodoxy claim, Christianity is an alien, foreign religion that made its way in Russia with fire and sword. A lot has been written about the violent nature of the baptism of Russia, and not by militant atheists, but by church historians.
And do not assume that the population of the Russian lands meekly accepted the command of Vladimir the apostate. People refused to come to the river bank, left the cities, raised uprisings. And the pagans were by no means hiding in remote forests - a century after the baptism, the Magi showed up in large cities. And the population did not feel any hostility towards them, and either listened to them with interest (Kyiv), or even willingly followed them (Novgorod and the Upper Volga region).

So Christianity could not completely eradicate paganism. People did not accept an alien faith and performed pagan rites. They made sacrifices to the waterman - they drowned a horse, or a beehive, or a black rooster; to the goblin - they left a horse in the forest, or at least an oiled pancake or an egg; to the brownie - they put a bowl of milk, swept the corners with a broom soaked in rooster's blood. And they believed that if the sign of the cross or prayer does not help from the annoying evil spirits, then the swearing coming from pagan spells will help. By the way, two birch bark letters were found in Novgorod. They contain, at the very least, a single obscene verb and an “affectionate” definition addressed to a certain Novgorod woman who owed money to the compiler of the letter, and was designated for this by female nature.

No doubt - for ten centuries, Orthodoxy has had a huge impact on the history, culture, art of Russia, on the very existence Russian state. But Vladimir the Baptist would have accepted the Catholic faith or Islam, and the current apostles of the “Russian primordial faith” would have shouted about “the revival of Russian Catholicism ...”, or “... Russia is the stronghold of world Islam! ..” It’s good that they didn’t send ambassadors to the priests voodoo cult.
And the old faith of the ancient Russians will still remain the Russian faith.

Today in Russia a situation has arisen in which the Russian religious idea is gaining more and more space in the political life of our country.

The “pussy-riot” case, which in any European country could have passed unnoticed, has acquired in Russia scales unimaginable for a modern European, which can only be compared with the reaction of Muslim countries to attempts by “gentiles” to violate the inviolability of the Koran or the Prophet. The reaction of the state and believers to what happened in the XXC exposed a hidden, but latently growing confrontation, touched the central painful nerve of Russian society. A conflict was exposed between the very violent, militant assertion that "God exists" and the no less militant assertion that "There is no God." These two extremes in Russia have always been and still are in heated confrontation. AT modern world such intensity can be observed exclusively in Muslim society. We will not see anything similar in other Christian countries, even in Orthodox ones - Greece or Bulgaria.

This irrational reaction of Russian society to the blasphemy of punk girls made me think that our civilization is in some way closer to Islamic than to Christian. And then I thought about what the Russian people know about God.

Remember the huge queues in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior - to the belt of the Virgin. Remember a separate entrance for VIPs, to which limousines drove up, and European-dressed officials, in the recent past, active communists, with a concentrated look, dived under a sacred relic, bypassing the general queue ... Personally, I see something very special in this ancient, - most likely, paganism, which has been preserved in Russian Orthodoxy and has not yet been outlived.

What is it expressed in?

After the adoption of Christianity, instead of pagan talismans and amulets, icons and crosses began to be made according to Byzantine patterns, which would protect against disasters and diseases. For the Russian Orthodox, any item related to faith, an artifact - a cross, an amulet, a belt - are sacred, they are, as it were, the materialization of God. This comes from paganism, because the god of the pagan is OUTSIDE HIS PERSON, he is a powerful neighbor - in the sky or in the water or in the forest. It was difficult for an ancient, archaic person to imagine a deity without its material embodiment, a totem.

This incarnation can be made of marble, wood or clay, but, most importantly, you can feel it, hang it around your neck, or even carve it! Leo Tolstoy, in his reflections on Russian religiosity, noted that the pagan belief in the spirituality of the subject passed into Russian Orthodoxy and was not eradicated.

Why was paganism never outlived in Russia? Probably because the Russian religious consciousness has historically been deprived of the process of mental comprehension of God - intellectualization religious consciousness, - through which other Christian denominations passed. That is why the comprehension of one's attitude to faith and to Christ, the search for God in one's soul, led Leo Tolstoy to very radical conclusions. In a letter to the Synod, he wrote like this: “If He (Christ) came now and saw what is being done in his name in the church, then he ... would probably throw away all these terrible ... crosses, and bowls, and candles, and icons , and all that by means of which they, conjuring, hide God and his teachings from people ... ". (L.N. Tolstoy "Answer to the Synod", 1901)

The phenomenon of thousands of queues to the belt of the Virgin, characteristic of today's Russia, is infinitely far from modernity, I would say, separated by centuries. And if such a pilgrimage can still be imagined in the peasant southern Italy, then in Northern Europe it is simply unthinkable. How to explain such a difference?

The fact is that since the advent of Christianity in Europe, theological disputes have never stopped. Free thought for thousands of years was not afraid to question any theses and rites of Christianity. Russian religious culture excluded this right and was based only on faith - religious thought did not exist in Russia until the middle of the 19th century. The Russian man, instead of the right to think about God, had the duty to faithfully believe.

Vasily Klyuchevsky wrote in 1898 that “…Together with the great benefits that Byzantine influence brought us, we took out one big drawback from it. The source of this drawback was one thing - the excess of the influence itself. and books taught us to believe, to believe in everything and to believe in everything. This was very good, because at the age that we lived through in those centuries, faith is the only force that could create a tolerable moral community. But it was not good that At the same time, we were forbidden to think, and this was not good, most of all, because we then had no desire for this occupation.We were pointed out to the temptations of thought before it we knew how to use it ... We were told: believe, but do not think. We began to fear thought as a sin, an inquisitive mind, Yes, we met with someone else's thought, we took it on faith. It turned out that scientific truths we turned into dogmas, scientific authorities became fetishes for us, the temple of sciences became for us the temple of scientific superstitions and prejudices. We were free-thinking in the Old Believer way, Voltairianism in the Habakkuk way. Just as the Old Believers broke with the church because of a church rite, so we, because of an incomprehensible scientific thesis, were ready to break with science. The content of thought changed, but the method of thinking remained the same. Under Byzantine influence we were serfs of a foreign faith, under Western European influence we became serfs of someone else's thought. (Thought without morality is thoughtlessness; morality without thought is fanaticism) (V.O. Klyuchevsky "Unpublished works. Belief and thinking", 1898)

Klyuchevsky's thought is the deepest insight into the essence of not only Russian thinking, but also the way of life of a Russian person. Russian culture was determined, of course, by many factors, but

the method of thinking was introduced by a special form of Orthodoxy, in which this religion came to Russia.

But, pointing to the positive and negative consequences of the adoption of Orthodoxy by Russia, Klyuchevsky did not answer the question of why the thinking of an Orthodox Russian person was deprived of the right to doubt. Let's try to find the answers ourselves.

The division of Christianity into two branches began somewhere in the IV-V century. It arose quite naturally, because the two great ancient civilizations - Greek and Latin - with all the cardinal differences continued to coexist. These two great cultures led to the emergence of two religious and political centers: the eastern one - Byzantium and the western one - Rome. But the method of thinking in both civilizations remained European. This is easily seen if one looks at the works of the patristic philosophers. The Holy Fathers of both the Eastern and Western churches were exceptionally educated, they spoke three languages ​​- Greek, Jewish and Latin. That is, they operated with common tools of logic and sophistry. The art of eloquence and polemic was a means of finding the truth and the cause of the development of European theology, including Byzantine. Theologians competed in eloquence and logic even in the Byzantine bazaars!

But, unfortunately, the philosopher Chaadaev was right - "the time of great motives, great accomplishments, great passions" did not touch Russia: "First, wild barbarism, then gross superstition, then foreign domination, cruel and humiliating ... "(P.Ya. Chaadaev "Philosophical Letters", 1836). When the Vikings came to Russia in the 8th-9th centuries, the East European plain was inhabited by scattered wild, barbarian tribes of Slavs and Finns. The tribes were at an extremely low civilizational level with deeply rooted paganism and a communal-tribal system. The Slavs had no idea about the market and trade. They did not have their own written language, not to mention the science of philosophy. The Vikings colonized these completely barbarian territories and lived in them as Christian communities in closed enclaves, without mixing with the natives. The enslaved pagans were called "smerds".

In 863 Cyril and Methodius translated the Gospel into Church Slavonic. First they brought their labor to Bulgaria, and then to Russia. The work of Cyril and Methodius led to an incredible democratization of Christian doctrine itself. And that's great. But, on the other hand, being translated into Old Slavonic, it interrupted the connection of the teaching itself with its philosophical justification, with the cultural roots of ancient European civilization. We received Orthodoxy as a guide to unquestioning adherence without the possibility of its logical analysis, since, deprived of the Greek and Latin languages, we did not have the opportunity to know ancient philosophy or sophistry. Our virgin pagan consciousness never knew what the culture of discussion is. As a result, we began to perceive any attempt at a critical understanding of religion with pagan awe, as a mortal sin.

Therefore, if in Western Europe the development of universities began in monasteries and religious centers; in Russia, monasteries became guard outposts of the only and infallible truth. It is not surprising that in Russia the university as an independent institution arose six centuries later, because the university is a dispute. It is also not surprising that he immediately became a hotbed of sedition and freedom and subsequently existed under the vigilant eye of the tsarist Okhrana and under the constant threat of closure.
It can be said that for almost nine hundred years a critical reflection on the Christian faith had no right to exist in Russia and was mercilessly punished.

At a time when the edifice of modern civilization was being erected in the West, Orthodox Russia was fighting against paganism. Studying the history of the baptism of Russia, I was surprised by the cruelty with which the eradication of paganism was carried out. It was a bloody process. And yet, paganism is still alive in our culture. So you can even now observe a kind of "dual faith".

But not everyone knows that at a certain period in the Moscow land there was even a "tribelief"! Quite a "mixture" of Christian saints, pagan gods and Allah. The religion common to Muscovy and the Horde was a strange symbiosis of Islam and Arian Christianity (in which Jesus and Mahomet are equal!), and the division of faith happened in 1589, when Kazan adopted pure Islam.

The Russian philosopher G.P. Fedotov wrote: "There is one area medieval Russia, where the influence of the Tatars is felt more strongly - at first almost a point, then a blurring spot that covers the entire eastern Russia for two centuries. This is Moscow - the "collector" of the Russian land. Owing its rise primarily to the Tatarophile and treacherous policy of its first princes, Moscow, thanks to this policy, ensures the peace and security of its territory ... Tatar orders are introduced in Moscow land in administration, court, and collection of tribute. (In Muscovy then they wore Islamic clothes, women wore a veil and sat closed in towers, when they met Muscovites said to each other "Salom"). Not only from the outside, but from the inside, the Tatar element took possession of the soul of Russia, penetrated into the flesh and blood ... "(G.P. Fedotov" Russia and Freedom ", 1945)

In the Horde period, the Turkic language had a radical influence on the language of Russia. For example, Athanasius Nikitin’s “Journey Beyond the Three Seas”, known to all of you, begins with a Turkic-Arabic prayer from the Koran, written in Slavonic: “... By the grace of God, the three seas passed away. akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliksolom. Ollo akber ... "Can you imagine?!

Such an exotic symbiosis of several faiths, "three beliefs", could not but be reflected in the formation of Russian religious consciousness.

And at that time in Europe, in the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church, there was a rapid development of cities, the bourgeoisie grew stronger, civic consciousness arose, and the concept of Personality took shape.
What does "urban consciousness" mean? This is not a place of residence or work in the city. It is a complex of ideas and awareness of one's duties and rights. This is the consciousness of a person who earns money not using someone else's land, but with his knowledge, skill, specialty, and freely sells the fruits of his labor. When such a person has economic independence, he begins to demand political freedoms. As soon as a person demanded political freedoms for himself, he became a person, a citizen. The emergence of the bourgeoisie led in Europe to the evolution of religious consciousness.

In Russia, due to political and economic reasons, cities never arose, according to the Western model - political entities with independent self-government, with market relations, with a right legally fixed, which is called Magdeburg Law.

In Muscovy there was not a single, I emphasize - not a single (!) - city with Magdeburg rights. In Ukraine, about 60 cities used the Magdeburg Law, in Belarus - about 40, and in Russia - not a single one! True, Novgorod and Pskov had self-government, trade and crafts developed in them. But where did they end up? Muscovy destroyed them. All rulers tried to destroy them, starting with Alexander Nevsky.

Novgorod and Pskov resisted Moscow totalitarianism for three centuries, until Ivan the Terrible drowned everything in blood.

Therefore, in Russia, the peasant communal-tribal consciousness remained untouched, since the national bourgeoisie did not arise.

I cannot but digress from the topic and say a few words about Alexander Nevsky. The confrontation between this prince and the freedom-loving Novgorodians - let's say, is not very convenient for the apologist-historians of Alexander Nevsky. When the Novgorodians rebelled and drove out his son Vasily, Alexander rushed to the Horde and set the Tatars against the recalcitrant Republicans. For two decades, Novgorod and Pskov were subjected to the most severe terror of Alexander and the Horde, but they did not give up.

It seems to me that as long as the official history of our country remains distorted for ideological reasons, we will not be able to understand the causal relationships that explain why we are like this.

What happened to European religious thought in the 15th-16th centuries?

The emerging bourgeoisie wanted to consciously comprehend their relationship with God. When a person felt like a person, felt that his success depended on him personally, and not on the priest, as the vicar of God on earth, a protest movement arose against self-interest and lust for power catholic church, which has always tried to subdue secular power. In Protestantism there are no totems, in it the only sacred thing is the Bible. Read and live by it. And if someone wears a cross, then for him this cross is just a symbol of his belonging to a religion, and not a magical object that protects from evil, like a bear fang for a Tungus or feathers for an Indian. For a Catholic, and even more so for a Protestant, dependence on miraculous relics is gone. There was a realization that God is your constant and strict Judge, whose presence in your soul and consciousness just requires you to take personal responsibility. And not only before God, but before brothers, before children and parents.

This personal individual, and, most importantly, ANONYMOUS responsibility of a person before God is the basis modern society- conscientious work, paying taxes, a strong family, the absence of street children on the streets. Personal anonymous responsibility is the cornerstone of the modern state and society.

I am convinced that the archaic consciousness has survived in Russia to this day, and most of the population of our country still lives in a "pre-bourgeois" society. In this sense, our state has more in common with African states than with European ones. This explains the absence of civil society in Russia: there are no citizens, there is a population.
Peter the Great made a radical attempt to return Russia to Europe. Peter's reforms marked the beginning of a new type of Russians. It can be said that these reforms gave birth to another people - Russian Europeans, who, according to their convictions, have nothing in common with the huge mass of Russian people living in a semi-pagan state.

This small nation is a "small people", the Slavophil Khomyakov compared it with a European settlement abandoned in the country of savages ("big people"), and in two hundred years, developing and multiplying, it created the entire culture that Russia is proud of today. We say: "our ballet, our Tchaikovsky, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Pushkin." Everything that has been created in some two hundred years, everything that has influenced and enriched world culture, was created by a "small" nation of Russian Europeans.

If there were no Peter the Great in history, what would we know? What would we influence?

Russia, as a great cultural country, entered the world stage only after Peter the Great. But the existence of two peoples, directly opposite in their ideals and beliefs, could not but lead to disaster. And it happened: in 1918, the tsar - "the only European" (in the words of Pushkin) was shot in the Ipatiev House, and then the rest of the representatives of European Russia began to be driven through the streets, sent away on "philosophical ships" and simply shot. Lenin openly admitted: "We do not shoot for crimes, we shoot for belonging to a class." And this class was the class of "white" Russians. But by 1940 European Russia was over. Remained Russia, Muscovy. We live in it to this day!

I have been studying the relationship between the culture of a nation and its economic development for twenty years. I am interested in how much the "national characteristics" of the people influence the political system of their country. The Argentine sociologist Grondona and the American culturologist Harrison devoted their lives to precisely these questions. Both of them came to the conclusion that there are dynamic cultures, i.e. easily perceiving changes, and cultures "inert", which resist any changes and are hostile to attempts at modernization. Grondona came to the conclusion that the worldview of an Argentinean person is difficult to change, say, in contrast to the mentality of a Brazilian. He explained this by the fact that cultural codes, these unwritten laws that determine a person's daily behavior, his relationship with his family, his work ethic, his ability to organize his life, are formed under the influence of many factors - climate, geography, history, etc. d.

Harrison discovered that religion is an essential, culture-forming factor. And when he systematized countries by religion, he came to an irrefutable conclusion: countries with different dominant religions have different economic performance. (L. Harrison "Who prospers", 1993).

According to the so-called UN Human Development Index, in which the most developed country ranks first, and the most backward - 162nd. Christian countries, according to the 2001 United Nations Human Development Index report, are ranked as follows:

Protestant countries - 9.2

Catholic - 58.3

Orthodox - 58.9

This fact struck me, and it seems to me that in Russia it is simply ignored! But it requires serious study and analysis in Russia with the participation of historians, sociologists, theosophists, culturologists and politicians. Look at the chaos in the most European Orthodox country - Greece. This is not Protestant Estonia, in which there is nothing at all except granite and herring, but there was and is order. And in Greece, not a single reform is taking place. Or Cyprus, where all the money that was pumped into the EU went into someone's pockets. This only confirms that in Orthodox countries the attitude towards the law is very free, because the ethical code itself is soft and vague. Especially in Russia.

If you ask a Russian person what kind of God he believes in, most likely he will answer that in a God who will forgive everything. Maybe that's why today, in addition to many simple and sincerely believing people, all the hoes and brothers go to church? The all-forgiving Russian God gives the notorious criminals an unsophisticated hope that a visit to the church and an icon in a jeep will provide him with atonement for all his mortal sins, and also protect him from death on the next "arrow". Only this can explain the universal churching of criminals.

I will now return to the name that I proposed: in what kind of god does the Russian person believe. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov made a note in 1897: “Between“ there is God ”and“ there is no God ”is a huge whole field that a true sage passes with great difficulty. A Russian person knows any one of these two extremes, but the middle between them is not interested him, and therefore he usually knows nothing, or very little."

I will give here an analysis of Chekhov's thoughts, made by the remarkable Slavist Alexander Chudakov. Here is his reasoning:

First. "There is a God" and "there is no God" - these two concepts, Anton Pavlovich believes, individually either do not mean anything, or mean very little. They take on meaning only when there is a field between them through which only the sage passes.

Second. Anyone who is not interested in this field is simply not accustomed to think. A Russian person is only interested in the assertion of either one or the other. He is not interested in the middle, the "field" - the intellectual, spiritual path, which only a sage can go through.

Third: Chekhov did not indicate the vector: from "God does not exist" to "God exists" or vice versa, it does not matter to him. The path is important. It is not for nothing that Chekhov very often says in his works: the point is not in God, but in the search for him. Real religion is in search of God.

And when Tolstoy wrote in the same letter to the Synod - "I believe in God, whom I understand as a spirit, as love, as the beginning of everything. I believe that he is in me and I am in him ..." - he meant exactly that he searched for God and found him! I found in my soul, that is, I passed with great difficulty that “field” that a wise man must pass. And now tell me, how many people in Russia go through this "field" and do this mental work? A negligible number! That's why Chekhov said that Russian people know nothing about God, or very little!

Why is a Russian person not interested in the middle? Because his archaic, "pre-bourgeois" culture did not teach him to think, and as a pagan, it is enough for him to touch the material embodiment of God - an icon, a cross, holy relics, in order to feel bodily closeness to the divine and get peace. There is no room for doubt in such a worldview! Hence it turns out that, as Aksakov said, a Russian person is either a saint or a beast. There is no middle.

This pagan "passionarity" of the Russian people was especially clearly manifested in October 1917. The "big" Russian people entered the historical stage and immediately demonstrated a return to barbarian civilization, destroying the incomprehensible and hostile world of the "other" European Russia. Actually, Bolshevism flourished as a revenge, as a revenge of the Russian "big" people - a pagan who escaped from the age-old oppression of Russian-Europeans and the institution of the church. How else can one explain that the majority of the Christian population huge country so willingly succumbed to atheistic, Marxist propaganda and began to mock itself at religious temples and shrines, destroy the clergy and, with blood-chilling inspiration, participate in the destruction of brethren...

Alexander Chudakov emphasizes Chekhov's conviction that a truly religious person is free to choose between one extreme and the other. European humanism as an idea appeared precisely when a person "between the saint and the beast" began to search for himself. It was then that "pre-bourgeois" society gave way to a new formation. Russia has yet to go through this difficult path of self-knowledge.
The phenomenon of Russia lies in the fact that with its gigantic territory, the most powerful human resource, an inexhaustible source of talent that supplies the whole world with scientists, musicians, athletes, dancers, with all this, Russian culture cannot and should not be self-sufficient, like Indian or Chinese, - no matter how we claim a "special path", pursuing our economic and political interests. It is time to put aside false shame and admit that, from a historical point of view, Russia arose on the periphery of the Christian world, in the deepest province of Europe. And the rudiments of European thinking, not having time to develop, were mangled by the Mongol-Tatar invasion. This incompleteness of the civilizational process, interrupted by another archaic civilization that came from the East, has made us today uncertain, not knowing which way to move, afraid to admit our backwardness and open ourselves to the cruel "winds" that blow in the modern world.

I ask myself: has the current leadership ruined Russia, or has Russia "ruined" it? After all, many people, including the opposition, have a firm conviction that the government has ruined Russia. But this is nothing more than an illusion, and a very Russian one at that - the need to find someone to blame, having relieved oneself of personal responsibility.

And if Peter created the army, navy, courts and ministries, a semblance of European statehood, then Peter failed to overcome the Russian method of thinking, about which Klyuchevsky wrote, and create a single European people. It is clear that modern leaders will not succeed either. Muscovy is a powerful mental block that they have not been able to move aside or even crush. I have no doubt that if at first they had hopes of being able to push society towards the development of private initiative on the ground under strict state control, then subsequent years showed that the local authorities instantly adopted the traditional feudal habits for Russia and merged with the criminal (read - feudal) consciousness of the most enterprising people. In a pre-bourgeois society, the only form of initiative can only be lawlessness.

I am convinced that the most important thing for us is to understand what and why is hindering us. And how it is possible to create in Russia the prerequisites for the withdrawal of the "big" Russian people from the "pre-bourgeois" state. To create conditions under which the Russian European will become the majority. Only then will we have a free religious thought, the ROC will open up for an open dialogue with other Christian denominations, and people who are not afraid to doubt will be able to build a modern state.

The question of what kind of people will be created in Russia - Asian or European - will become the main historical choice of the future government.

When we are told that Orthodoxy is the true faith of our ancestors, we agree and demonstrate our ignorance. We go to temples and pray to the all-good God, calling to substitute a friend

true faith our ancestors

Why suddenly the last who joined Christianity declare it their true faith? A complex, complex question, to which there is no answer... It is known that the Christian Church has already betrayed its flock once when it agreed with the Tatars. Prayers were sung in churches to the glory and health of the Tatar khans. Any resistance to the Tatars was condemned by the church. For this, the Tatars did not rob the monasteries. The first hundred years of Tatar rule account for the fastest growth in the wealth of monasteries in the entire history of the Christian church. Now here is the story with this anthem. As you know, his restoration was supported by the head of the current Russian church. The recent bloody past is forgotten, when, to the sound of this anthem, the Bolsheviks destroyed and plundered churches and shot priests. Alas, for the sake of conformism, memory, pain, and truth will be placed on the sacred altar.

Today we pray to many gods, Russian boys and girls sing "Hare Krishna", other Russian boys and girls revere Buddha, others dance Indian dances, fourth seek wisdom in Tibet, fifth are in direct contact with Shambhala ... And who is Svarog, who Rod, who is Perun, Veles, Horse? Is it possible that almost all the Slavs who revered these gods have been reborn only in the last twenty years to such an extent that they are ready to accept anyone else into their hearts. There was a baptism of the Slavs, when they were burned, drowned, crucified, trampled by horses ... A state was created and the faith of God's servants, meek and obedient, was needed. True Slavs survived, although they went into the forests, secretly worshiping their gods there. But the invisible circle narrowed and narrowed to tighten around the neck of the faith of our ancestors with a painful noose. There was a period of building socialism and then communism, when everything that had to do with runes, Slavic gods, ancient knowledge, was burned, destroyed, and people were driven to the Gulag only on suspicion of involvement in ancient cults. And still, bits of magical knowledge were preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
The religion of the Slavs evolved over thousands of years. She was shaped environment, the world around the Slavs. The Slavs have gone through everything in their thousands of years of history. They experienced prosperity, defeat and rebirth. They lived in an ideal world where everything was, and lived in those places where the natural element acted as a mortal enemy. Iriy gave them everything and did not demand anything in return, but when the Slavs went to the West and to the East, they faced not only an alien people, they faced a different worldview, a different attitude to life. In the West they founded Semirechie, in the East - Asgard. In both countries, living conditions were incomparably more difficult. I had to not only get food, but also to protect my family, my family. The Slavs faced a disdainful attitude towards nature (which they could neither understand nor accept), they faced a disrespectful attitude towards animals and birds (which for the Slavs was tantamount to the destruction of their blood), they faced other gods, incomprehensible and evil. In such conditions, there was only one way to preserve the vital spirit and health - to fit correctly into everything that happens, into the laws in force in nature. Knowledge of these laws was not easy, bit by bit. They were protected and multiplied, they served as a guide to action, to the correct organization of everyone and everything. Under these conditions, a person was able to correctly understand his place in the world around him. He clearly knew that one must live in peace with nature, without humiliating or defeating it. Then a person correctly perceived both the unity of the whole world and the fact that this world is governed by the same laws for all without exception. The Slavs also understood that God, the creator of these laws, cannot be a person, God cannot be someone specifically, God is a substance that permeates everything and everyone, is contained in everything and manifests itself in everything. Our ancestors also felt themselves to be a part of all this and built their practical life on the basis of this.

The Slavs created a system of behavior that no one was allowed to violate. The laws of conduct took the form of cults. Thus, a culture was created that made society lifelike. And in this culture, everything was expedient. Religions and folk traditions have been followed for millennia and have preserved the Slavic community for millennia. Having lost their traditions, the people perish, disperse, lose their face, their identity, their spirit. Our ancestors believed in a single God Almighty, did not sacrifice to any idols, were highly moral, and knew who was responsible for what and to whom in each case it was necessary to turn. And so it has been for thousands of years. Even when the Slavs “left” Semirechie and Asgard and were forced to fight other peoples who imposed war on them, it was considered the greatest apostasy to accept another god and another faith. The Slavs burned their dead, they built a fire and put the body on top, believing that the soul would immediately go to the gods. When Iriy ceased to be associated with the ancestral home, the Slavs, burning the dead, believed that the soul returned to Iriy heavenly. Death was not considered something catastrophic for the Slavs, they were sad, seeing off the deceased on his last journey, they recalled his past deeds, but did not sob and did not tear their hair, they celebrated the beginning of a new life. And only when there was someone who lived according to wrong laws, who violated interaction with birds and animals, who accepted someone else's faith, he was buried in a coffin, buried in the ground. The soul of a deceased person, placed in a coffin and buried in the ground, will be tied to a decaying corpse for hundreds of years and will be restless. This terrible punishment for our distant ancestors was the most terrible thing that could await them beyond the line of death. But there were more and more traitors and more and more graves appeared in the border areas. The Slavs have always been freedom-loving and did not think of violence against their thoughts, their way of life, their right to live according to the laws of nature and Rule. The Slavs made their decisions concerning tribal and social affairs at a gathering, at a national assembly.

A thousand years ago, the princes decided to break folk traditions for the sake of strengthening their own power over their own people. The princes are tired of obeying the decisions of the veche and the best way was to call on the monarchical force from abroad. The most pronounced monarchical force in those days was the Christian Church, which had long since departed from the principles of election and voting. In the Christian church, the principle was in effect: not churchmen for the community, but the community for the churchmen. It was in the interests of those in power that the baptism of Russia was carried out, which resulted not only in the suffering of people, but also in the destruction of culture, history, and traditions.

All this self-destruction had to be justified somehow. Therefore, a myth appeared about wild Russia, to which the West brought its knowledge and culture. Russian Orthodox Church still considers his main merit to the Russian people - the creation of statehood in Russia. For some reason, everyone forgot that statehood (and far from the worst) was in Russia thousands of years before baptism.
The true faith of our ancestors
The princes trampled the religion of their people into the mud. The harmony of faith was broken and almost the entire last millennium passed under the sign of a struggle (spiritual and physical) with their own people. What the people believed in was spat upon and distorted. Good gods were portrayed as villains, good customs were portrayed as serving demons. All this could not but affect the spirit of the people. Violence filled Russia more and more, until it poured out on everyone, including the princes themselves, rulers, tsars, general secretaries of the CPSU, presidents and the church. Russia is in a constant period of struggle. We cannot create something stable, as soon as something is stabilized in our country, then a collapse, collapse must immediately follow ... Russians cannot live without upheavals. We need suffering, we need civil strife, we can no longer live in peace. Our gods look at us in bewilderment, our traditions have been sacrificed to the prince-rulers, our heroes are not needed by us.

The "Word of Igor's Campaign" says that all Russians are the grandchildren of Dazhbog. The pedigree of the Slavs was brought to the most important god. Chief god was considered a grandfather, ancestor, ancestor. He guarded the family, he was a giver, a giver of earthly blessings. He was one of a kind, the most ancient, the oldest, the wisest. Dazhbog did not know the word slave, the Slavs simply did not have it, and therefore the Slavs could never say: "I, the servant of God ...". God was everything to them, but he was one of them, he did not consider his descendants to be slaves. Belbog is the guardian and giver of goodness, good luck, justice, happiness and in general all blessings. Belbog was depicted with a piece of iron in right hand. Hence "right", "justice". Svetovid was the god of gifts and harvest. As a gift to the gods, sacrifices were made collected from the fields, gardens, and young animals were also sacrificed to them. But it was a smart sacrifice. The Slavs never made sacrifices thoughtlessly and aimlessly. Animals were not burned on the altar, but were simply eaten right there during the feast. The Slavs treated their gods as their ancestors, and if the gods could no longer eat with their descendants, then they could invisibly be present during the feast, rejoicing and enjoying the emotions of their descendants. And this is the main thing in pagan belief: GODS NEED HUMAN EMOTIONS. Emotions of happiness, joy, pleasure. The Slavs never sacrificed people, why should God experience suffering? The Slavs never burned animals on the altar, does God need the aimless destruction and suffering of animals? Our historians have agreed that, allegedly, during the burning of the dead at the stake, women were killed here and thrown into the fire, too. Do not confuse paganism with the Inquisition, churchmen burned people at the stake, but not our ancestors, not the grandchildren of Dazhbog. Only Niyana was sacrificed to the god of the underworld. And these people were criminals, murderers, outcasts. They were not normal people, they violated the laws of the Rule, but even they were initially offered to correct themselves, they were given one opportunity, a second, a third, and only then they were sent to Niyan. To live in harmony with nature means not to cause unreasonable suffering. And no other religions could be accepted by the Slavs. And that is why they were burned, drowned, driven into dense forests, "baptized". And even then nothing happened. And then came lies, deceit, forgery...

Christianity could not stifle paganism, but it was able to deceive people. So the holiday of Ivan Kupala appeared. On the day of the summer solstice, the Slavs celebrated Kupalo. On this day, the sun (Khors, Kolo) leaves its heavenly chamber in a chariot towards the moon. It was customary to guard the meeting of the month with the sun on the night of June 24th. We stayed up and watched the sun play. They watched it from the ritual hills or gathered in the clearings near the rivers. They jumped over the fire, testing not only dexterity, but also fate. Here they sang, danced round dances, streams. A high jump over the fire meant the fulfillment of the plan. At dawn, all the celebrants bathed. So they washed off evil infirmities and illnesses. The day of the summer solstice is the time of maximum development of the creative forces of nature, its potential. Naturally, in Kupala night various miracles happened. And it was a holiday KUPALO. The Christian Church came up with the feast of Ivan's Day for this day (meaning John the Baptist). Naturally, he did not take root. Naturally, the Slavs continued to celebrate Kupalo and did not understand the newcomer John the Baptist at all. But time passed. The Church was persistent, she destroyed the Magi, she killed those who revered the "old" faith. And now Ivan Kupala has appeared. It was no longer Kupala, although not John, but still Ivan Kupala. So Maslenitsa remained in Christian Russia. Previously, it was a symbol of the burning of winter and the meeting of spring on the day of the vernal equinox. It is at this time that the day conquers the night (after that it becomes longer than the night), and the heat conquers the cold. The Christian Church was not able to defeat the pagan holiday, but was able to deform it, transferring the very date of the holiday for many hundreds of years. When the pagans celebrated the equinox (March 24), it was understandable and the essence of the holiday was clear, but what are they celebrating now? The Slavs celebrated the Sun (not Jesus Christ, not the Mother of God) and baked an image of the sun (pancakes). At the same time, an idol was burned, which prevented the sun from giving heat. Few people know what they eat on a holiday not just a pancake, but the sun. People did not just arrange a carnival to have fun, but they celebrated a turning point in the development of a natural process. No mysticism, no sacrifices (except pancakes), no violence. Only joy at the arrival of spring, followed by summer and bountiful harvest. But when the church moved the date, the temporal logic was lost. There was only a party left, an occasion to have fun, to get drunk (another Christian innovation).
The Slavs have always celebrated snake holidays. March 25 is the time when snakes crawl out of the ground. The earth is warming, you can start agricultural work. The second festival of snakes is September 14th. At this time, the snakes leave, and the agricultural cycle ends. Either these are holidays of snakes, or holidays of the beginning and end of agricultural work. But all the holidays were associated with natural phenomena on which people's lives depended. Christians could not celebrate the feast of snakes, it is contrary to their faith, this cannot be. But they were forced to celebrate St. George's Day, otherwise people would have left the churchmen. And then the holiday began to shift for hundreds of years, moving away from its true meaning and moved right up to April 23rd. Surprisingly, work on the ground began to begin later and later. Almost a month was stolen from us, a warm, spring month. The gods followed the people, and if people decided to shift the day of worship of the gods, then nature changed its cycle, expanding the boundaries of winter. Today we have completely distorted the natural calendar, we have displaced everything we could. The gods are trying to fit in with their descendants, they still serve us. Our gods. They are trying to follow us, but nature has already rebelled. It does not keep up with unreasonable people and new religions, hence earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, floods... We ourselves, betraying the faith of our ancestors, violating the laws of nature, doomed ourselves to extinction. According to the prophecy of Alexis, we have entered the age that will destroy most of the people. All are condemned and magicians knew about it seven thousand years ago. But there is still a chance. Not for everyone, for the few, for those who know and follow.

According to the prophecy of Alexis, all peoples from the year 2000 should turn to their gods. To their true ones. It is not always easy and not always possible without blood and sacrifice. In Afghanistan they are shooting at the statues of Buddhas, Islam is gaining strength in its territory, there is a return to the religion of the ancestors. Exile slowly begins in China Christian religion from their land. It is forbidden to conduct services in temples, Orthodox churches they just close. In Germany and England, Sweden and Denmark, images of ancient gods are becoming more and more popular. Celtic talismans are worn by an increasing number of people, runic inscriptions are already decorating clothes. Tourists go to churches, the Pope asks for forgiveness from adherents of the "old" faith for persecution and destruction for many hundreds of years. You have seen, heard, read all this, but have you really not seen the system and have you not found a widespread return to the religion of your ancestors? Around the world. Except in Russia, where they still believe in alien gods who don't support, don't give, don't protect. Alexis said that they would not have time to restore the faith of their ancestors in Russia, they would not be able to and would not understand the need.
The true faith of our ancestors
Today Russia is decorated with the Byzantine coat of arms (foreign). Russia listens to the anthem of the country (the former), which lasted only seventy years. Russia believes in the resurrected Jew (at the same time, it does not like the Jews themselves very much). Russia does not have its own national heroes, and Russia has a deliberately distorted history. People modern Russia has a great desire to leave his own country. Marry a foreigner (your own men are parasites, alcoholics and drug addicts), work abroad (in your own country you don’t need smart, hard-working, talented, geniuses, and they don’t pay money). And just leave, run away, sail away... The people of Russia do not want to live in Russia. We have become spiteful, envious, lazy... And at the same time we are trying to talk about the revival of Russia in the Age of Aquarius. The revival of the country begins with an appeal to the spiritual sources (own), to the faith of the ancestors (even if just understanding), to the priori

The Savior once said of Christians: “If you were of this world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, because I took you out of the world, the world hates you.” The same words can also be applied to the Russian people, into whose flesh and blood Christianity has been absorbed most of all.

Today we often encounter open Russophobia and hatred from other states. But this is not a reason to panic, it did not start today and will not end tomorrow - it will always be so.

The world hates us, but does not suspect how much he himself needs the Russian people. If the Russian people disappear, then from the world take out the soul and he will lose the very meaning of his existence!

That is why the Lord keeps us and the Russians exist, despite all the tragedies and trials: Napoleon, Batu and Hitler, the revolution, perestroika and the Time of Troubles, drugs, the decline of morals and the crisis of responsibility...

We will live and develop as long as we ourselves remain relevant, as long as the Russian person retains the character traits inherent in our people.

Caring “friends” often remind us of those features inherent in us that can be classified as bad, trying to make us hate ourselves and self-destruct ... We will consider the positive features of the Russian soul in order to remember what gifts the Lord has generously endowed us with and what we should always stay.

So, TOP 10 best qualities of a Russian person:

1. Strong faith

The Russian people at a deep level believe in God, have a strong inner sense of conscience, the concept of good and evil, worthy and unworthy, proper and not proper. Even the communists believed in their "Code of Morality".

It is a Russian person who considers his whole life from the position son of God – Father will like it, or upset. To act according to the law or conscience (according to the commandments of God) is a purely Russian problem.

A Russian person also believes in people, constantly doing them good and even beyond that. sacrificing personal for the good of others. A Russian person sees in another person first of all Image of God, sees equal recognizes the dignity of another person. This is precisely the secret of the victorious power of Russian civilization, our gigantic spaces and multinational unity.

The Russian person believes in himself as a bearer of the Truth. Hence the strength of our actions and the legendary Russian survival rate. Not a single conqueror in the world could destroy us. Only we ourselves can kill the Russian people, if we believe in the negative image of the Russian people that is being imposed on us.

2. Heightened sense of justice

We cannot live in comfort while falsehood is rampant in the world. "Let's put together a strong coffin with the rabble of mankind!" from the song "Holy War" - it's about us.

We for a long time we fought with the Turks for the freedom of the Slavic brothers, we saved the poor of Central Asia from the beys and their exactions, we stopped the genocide of the Chinese by the Japanese army and saved the Jews from the Holocaust.

As soon as a Russian person believes that a threat to all mankind is coming from somewhere, Napoleon, Hitler, Mamai or anyone else immediately disappear from the historical canvas.

The same rule applies in the inner life - our riots and revolutions are just attempts to build a just society, punish the presumptuous and alleviate the lot of the poor (of course, if we consider the motivation of ordinary workers and peasants, and not the cynical leaders of the revolution).

You can rely on us - after all, we keep our word and do not betray our allies. The concept of honor, unlike the Anglo-Saxons, is not only familiar to the Russian person, but also deeply inherent.

3. Love for the motherland

All nations love their homeland. Even Americans, a people of emigrants, treat their national symbols and traditions with reverence.

But a Russian person loves his Motherland more than others! White emigrants fled the country under the threat of death. It would seem that they should have hated Russia and quickly assimilated where they came. But what really happened?

They were so ill with nostalgia that they taught their sons and grandsons the Russian language, they yearned for the Motherland so much that they created thousands of little Russias around them - they founded Russian institutes and seminaries, built Orthodox churches, taught Russian culture and language to thousands of Brazilians, Moroccans, Americans, French, Germans, Chinese...

They did not die of old age, but of longing for their Fatherland and wept when the Soviet authorities allowed them to return. They infected others with their love, and today Spaniards and Danes, Syrians and Greeks, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Africans are going to live in Russia.

4. Unique generosity

The Russian person is generous and generous in everything: both for material gifts and for wonderful ideas and for the manifestation of feelings.

The word "generosity" in ancient times meant mercy, mercy. This quality is deeply rooted in the Russian character.

It is completely unnatural for a Russian person to spend 5% or 2% of their salary on charity. If a friend is in trouble, then the Russian will not bargain and gain something for himself, he will give his friend all the cash, and if it is not enough, he will let his hat go around in a circle or take off and sell his last shirt for him.

Half of the inventions in the world were made by Russian "Kulibins", and cunning foreigners patented them. But the Russians are not offended by this, since their ideas are also generosity, a gift of our people to humanity.

The Russian soul does not accept half measures, does not know prejudice. If in Russia someone was once called a friend, then they will die for him, if an enemy, then he will certainly be destroyed. At the same time, it does not matter at all who our counterpart is, what race, nation, religion, age or gender he is - the attitude towards him will depend only on his personal qualities.

5. Incredible work ethic

“The Russians are a lazy people,” Goebbels propagandists broadcast and continue to repeat their current followers. But it's not.

We are often compared to bears and this comparison is very apt - we have similar biological rhythms: summer in Russia is short and you have to work hard to have time to harvest, and winter is long and relatively idle - chop wood, fire the stove, remove snow, and collect crafts . In fact, we work a lot, just unevenly.

Russian people have always worked diligently and conscientiously. In our fairy tales and proverbs, the positive image of the hero is inextricably linked with skill, diligence and ingenuity: “The sun paints the earth, but labor does man.”

Since ancient times, labor has been glorious and revered among peasants and artisans, scribes and merchants, warriors and monks, and has always been deeply linked to the cause of protecting the Fatherland and increasing its glory.

6. The ability to see and appreciate the beautiful

The Russian people live in extremely picturesque places. In our country you can find large rivers and steppes, mountains and seas, tropical forests and tundra, taiga and deserts. Therefore, the sense of beauty is heightened in the Russian soul.

Russian culture has been formed for more than a thousand years, absorbing particles of the cultures of many Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes, as well as accepting and creatively reworking the heritage of Byzantium and the Golden Horde and hundreds of small peoples. Therefore, in terms of the richness of content, it cannot be compared with it. no other culture in the world.

The consciousness of the immensity of their own wealth, material and spiritual, made the Russian man benevolent and understanding in relation to other peoples of the Earth.

A Russian person, like no one else, is able to highlight the beauty in the culture of another people, admire it and recognize the greatness of achievements. For him, there are no backward or underdeveloped peoples, he does not need to treat anyone with disdain from the consciousness of his own inferiority. Even among the Papuans and Indians, a Russian will always find something to learn.

7. Hospitality

This national character trait is associated with our vast expanses, where one could rarely meet a person on the way. Hence the joy from such meetings - stormy and sincere.

If a guest comes to a Russian person, a laid table, the best dishes, festive food and a warm bed are always waiting for him. And all this is done free of charge, since it is not customary for us to see in a person only a “purse with ears” and treat him as a consumer.

Our man knows that a guest in the house should not be bored. Therefore, a foreigner who came to us, leaving, can hardly put together memories of how he was sung, danced, rolled, fed to satiety and watered to amazement ...

8. Patience

The Russian people are surprisingly patient. But this patience is not reduced to banal passivity or “servility”, it is intertwined with the victim. Russian people are by no means stupid and always endure in the name of something, for a meaningful purpose.

If he realizes that he is being deceived, a rebellion begins - that same merciless rebellion, in the flames of which all usurers and negligent stewards perish.

But when a Russian person knows in the name of what goal he endures difficulties and works hard, then national patience gives incredible positive results. For us to cut down a whole fleet in five years, to win world war or to industrialize in the order of things.

Russian patience is also a kind of strategy of non-aggressive interaction with the world, decisions life problems not due to violence against nature and the consumption of its resources, but mainly due to internal, spiritual efforts. We do not plunder the property given to us by God, but slightly moderate our appetites.

9. Sincerity

Another of the main features of the Russian character is sincerity in the manifestation of feelings.

A Russian person is not good at forcing a smile, he does not like pretense and ritual politeness, he gets annoyed at the insincere “thanks for the purchase, come again” and does not shake hands with a person whom he considers a bastard, even if this could bring benefits.

If a person does not evoke emotions in you, then you don’t need to express anything - go through without stopping. Acting in Russia is not held in high esteem (if it is not a profession) and those who speak and act the way they think and feel are respected the most. God put on my soul.

10. Collectivism, catholicity

Russian people are not alone. He loves and knows how to live in society, which is reflected in the sayings: “in the world and death is red”, “one in the field is not a warrior”.

Since ancient times, nature itself, with its severity, has encouraged Russians to unite in collectives - communities, artels, partnerships, squads and brotherhoods.

Hence the “imperial nature” of Russians, that is, their indifference to the fate of a relative, neighbor, friend, and, ultimately, of the entire Fatherland. It was precisely because of the catholicity that there were no homeless children in Russia for a long time - orphans were always sorted into families and brought up by the whole village.

Russian catholicity, according to the definition of the Slavophil Khomyakov, this is “a holistic combination of freedom and unity of many people based on their common love for the same absolute values”, Christian values.

The West failed to create such a powerful state as Russia, united on a spiritual basis, because it did not achieve catholicity, and to unite peoples it was forced to use, above all, violence.

Russia has always been united on the basis of mutual respect and mutual consideration of interests. The unity of the people in peace, love and mutual assistance has always been one of the basic values ​​of the Russian people.

Andrey Segeda

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