Features of Russian history and mentality briefly. National features of the Russian mentality

About the mysterious Russian mentality many words are spoken, both flattering and not very. There are also pleasant features of the mysterious Russian soul, but there are also dark, unkind ones. On closer examination, a rather ambiguous picture emerges, but looking at it is still interesting and very informative, at least in terms of understanding yourself and the environment in which you grew up.

One of the main traits of the Russian character consider the primacy of society over the individual. A Russian person feels himself a part of society, and does not think of himself outside of it. He is just a grain of sand, a drop in the endless ocean of his fellows. The concept of society goes far beyond a few neighboring houses, it traditionally embraces the entire village. A Russian person is primarily "Lukoshkinsky", "Tulupkinsky", "Medvezhansky", and only after that he is Vasily Stepanovich, Ignat Petrovich and so on.

Positive moment in this approach, it manifests itself in the ability to very quickly cooperate against a common one, to act as a united front against the enemy. The negative is the overwriting of one's own personality, the constant desire to transfer one's own responsibility to the collective, to "opism".

Russian world rather polar, in the mind of a Russian person there is "truth", and there is "falsehood", and there are no halftones between them. Even the processes of modern globalization still cannot level this line, smooth it out by mixing cultures, our people still try to see the world like a chessboard: there are black ones, there are white ones, and all fields are clear and square.

Of course, each worthy member of society seeks to live "in truth", a term that is reflected even in legal documents. One of the first legal documents of Kievan Rus is called "Russian Truth", it regulated trade relations, inheritance rules, norms of criminal and procedural legislation. Explained how to live by the truth.

While with Germans traditionally associate pedantry, strict adherence to rules, discipline, all this is deeply alien to the Russian person. He is rather prone to the absence of any discipline, he is more attracted to freemen, sincerity, he prefers a deep feeling to reason. This also sometimes leads to turmoil, disorder of life and life in general, but in other cases it can become a truly strong point. And certainly life with emotions gives a Russian person much more happiness than blindly following the instructions written by someone for him.

Generally written by other people instructions by Russian people greatly despised. Traditionally, such a feature of mentality has developed as the opposition of oneself and society to the state and governing bodies. The state is perceived as a necessary evil, as a kind of apparatus of oppression. And a person, society, survives and adapts in the conditions of the state. That is why the Russian is not so offended by the one who inflicted a direct insult on him, as by the one who entered into soldering with the state. Such at all times were called various equivalents to the modern word "snitch" and were considered notorious bastards, traitors to the people, Christ-sellers.

Good, I'm sure Russian man, reachable, it exists. Somewhere out there, far away, but it is there, and one day it will definitely come. Maybe not in this life, but someday it will happen, it will appear, a good life will come. Belief in this warms the Russian people in the darkest times, in war, in famine, in times of revolutions and uprisings. Good is sure to come. And the Russian himself always strives to be a kind person.

On the negative side faith into some higher good that will come one day on its own - personal irresponsibility. The Russian person himself does not consider himself strong enough to bring closer this moment of the condescension of good from the heights of heaven, so there is nothing to try for. Russian not only does not take an active part in approaching the hour of the victory of good, but does not even think about how to do it.

Love for controversy- another characteristic touch to the portrait of a person. In this, the Russian character echoes the Roman one, in whose culture a sincere popular love for discussions was also laid. And in both cultures, the argument is perceived rather not as a way to show oneself or to convince the interlocutor that one is right, but as an intellectual exercise, exercise for the mind and a form of table entertainment. Contrary to popular belief, it is not at all accepted to switch from words to fists, on the contrary, a Russian person is usually quite tolerant of someone else's opinion if he does not see direct aggression against him in it.

Attitude towards own health a Russian person clearly does not give a damn. To be treated or take care of the state of one's body, to engage in physical culture, is seen by the Russian mentality as a kind of some kind of pampering, pampered.

Well, not to mention extraordinary loyalty of the Russian people to theft and bribery. As already mentioned, opposing oneself to the state, treating it as an enemy, develops a similar attitude towards bribes with theft. From historical data, we can conclude that this has been the case at all times.

It is no secret, however, that time even the mentality of peoples may be substantially changed. After all, it comes not only from the geographical location of the places of residence of the people, but also from many other factors that determine its consciousness. All this gives hope for a brighter future, for the eradication or mitigation of the shortcomings of our mentality and the multiple strengthening of its merits.

We are different. What one needs
Doesn't fit the other one at all.
You can't force yourself on someone
Who is not inclined to this by nature.
Lev Zazersky

How and why are we different from other nations?

135 years ago, the French psychologist and neuropsychiatrist Henri Vallon was born, who, relying on the works of the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, introduced the concept of mentality. It happened in 1928. Interestingly, social work prompted him to generalize groups of people with characteristic features. Wallon was a committed Marxist and believed that the main driving force behind progress was the communists.

Meanwhile, in the USSR, almost no one wrote about the mentality. Only at the end of the 80s of the last century they started talking about some kind of national self-identification. Immediately, as if from a cornucopia, numerous works devoted to this psychological category appeared.

"Russia is America in reverse..."

In general, many Russian psychologists believe that every nation has a mentality, and it is expressed in patterns of perception and behavior that affect the political and economic life of the country. Moreover, the national character is based on historical experience. For example, Russians and Americans can see the same event from a different angle, just because of their mentality. Each nation will have its own truth, and it will be very difficult to convince each other. This is because values ​​are transpersonal in nature. For example, the English-speaking literary critic Van Wyck Brooks, studying Russian literature, said: “America is just Russia in reverse ...”

Like everyone else

They also study the mentality of the nation in order to understand with whom they will have to deal, or even wage war. For example, the Germans have always been keenly interested in the Russian people. The first detailed description of Russia was made by the German ethnographer Johann Gottlieb Georgi back in 1776. The work was called “Description of all the peoples of the Russian state, their way of life, religion, customs, dwellings, clothing and other differences.”

“... There is no such state on earth as the Russian State, which contained such a great variety of different peoples,” wrote Johann Georgi. - These are the Russians, with their tribes, like the Lapps, the Semoyads, the Yukaghirs, the Chukchi, the Yakuts, (there is a list of nationalities on the whole page). ... And also immigrants, like Indians, Germans, Persians, Armenians, Georgians, ... and new Slavs - the estate of the Cossacks.

In general, the ethnographer Johann Georgi noted that it is not unusual for Russians to see strangers. All this, of course, affected the mentality of the Russians. Already today, psychiatrist Igor Vasilievich Reverchuk, exploring the significance of ethnic self-consciousness in the clinical dynamics of various borderline mental disorders, found that 96.2% of Slavs living in Russia regard their nation as “equal among others”, while 93% - demonstrate a friendly attitude towards other ethnic groups.

Children of their land

Doctor of Philosophical Sciences Valery Kirillovich Trofimov, who specializes in the Russian mentality, noted that in the past, “Russia is a country of risky agriculture, where every third or fifth year there were crop failures. A short agricultural cycle - 4-5 months - forced the farmer to constantly rush. Sowing and reaping turned into real suffering, a battle for the harvest. That is why our people tend to work urgently when it is critically important, and the rest of the time - to react to circumstances.

The Russian historian Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky at one time also singled out this characteristic feature of the Russians. “Nowhere in Europe will we find such an unaccustomed to even, moderate and measured, constant work, as in the same Great Russia,” he noted. According to Professor of Philosophy Arseny Vladimirovich Gulyga, “rushing from one extreme to another is a typical Russian trait: from rebellion to humility, from passivity to heroism, from prudence to extravagance.”

reverie

Most of our ancestors rarely left their native village. This is because Boris Godunov enslaved the peasants by law in 1592. The Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev was sure of this. All this injustice, multiplied by a poor life, led to collective fantasies and dreams of universal justice, goodness, beauty and goodness. “Russian people in general had a habit of living with dreams about the future,” Professor Vladimir Nikolaevich Dudenkov is convinced. - It seemed to them that the everyday, harsh and dull life of today is, in fact, a temporary delay in the onset of true life, but soon everything will change, a true, reasonable and happy life will open. The whole meaning of life is in this future, and today does not count for life.

The mentality of a Russian official

It is known that in 1727 state salaries were no longer paid to petty officials in exchange for accidents. Later, this rule was abolished, but the habit of the sovereign's servants to live off "feeding" remained, and was not actually pursued. As a result, in the first half of the 19th century, bribery became the norm. For example, “solving a case” in the Senate cost 50,000 rubles. For comparison, a far from poor county judge had a salary of 300 rubles. Theophile Gauthier, a well-known writer from France, who visited St. Petersburg in 1858, wrote: “It is believed that people of a certain level do not walk on foot, it does not fit. A Russian official without a carriage is like an Arab without a horse.

It turns out that this part of our history can also be related to the mentality, however, of a certain group of Russian people. So, in the dictionary "Social Psychology" edited by M.Yu. Kondratiev, the term "mentality" was prescribed as "the specifics of the mental life of people (a group of people), determined by economic and political circumstances and having a supraconscious character."

Endurance and patience

American mentality experts are convinced that national character traits are influenced, among other things, by genetics, in which the behavior patterns of our ancestors are programmed. For example, if the family tree is represented by convinced monarchists, then the person will subconsciously feel sympathy for this form of government or its representatives. Perhaps this is the neutral, and even loyal attitude of the Russian people towards the political leaders who have ruled the country for many years.

This also has to do with such a mental trait of our people as patience. In particular, the historian N.I. Kostomarov noted that “the Russian people amazed foreigners with their patience, firmness, indifference to all deprivations of the comforts of life, which are difficult for a European ... From childhood, Russians were taught to endure hunger and cold. Children were weaned after two months and fed on roughage; the children ran in nothing but shirts without hats, barefoot in the snow in bitter cold.
Many Russian and foreign mentality experts believe that patience is our response to external and internal challenges, the basis of the Russian person.

Famous foreigners about Russians

Foreign politicians and journalists love to talk about the Russian mentality. Most often, our compatriots are called drunkards. Thus, the French journalist Benoit Raisky wrote that "rude Russians are known for their addiction to vodka." And on October 14, 2011, the englishrussia portal published the article “50 Facts About Russia In The Eyes Of Foreigners”, it gained a huge number of views. It says, in particular, “A non-drinking Russian is a fact out of the ordinary. Most likely, he has some kind of tragedy associated with alcohol.
However, there are other opinions about the Russians. For example, Otto von Bismarck considered Russians to be a cohesive nation. He argued: “Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the decomposition of the main force of Russia, which is based on millions of Russians ... These latter, even if they are dissected by international treatises, just as quickly reconnect with each other, like particles of a cut piece of mercury ... " . However, history teaches nothing even to pragmatic Germans. Franz Halder, chief of staff of the Wehrmacht (1938-1942) was forced to state in 1941: “The peculiarity of the country and the originality of the character of the Russians gives the campaign a special specificity. The first serious adversary.

Expert opinion

Modern social psychology does not confirm the thesis about the immutability of the mentality, - notes Vladimir Rimsky, head of the sociology department of the INDEM Foundation. - The conditions in which people live, social relations are changing - and with them the mentality is changing.

It should hardly be considered that people have not changed their mentality since the Middle Ages. This is exactly an illusion. For example, in the Middle Ages, the mass consciousness completely lacked the desire to become famous. Is this true in today's society? Therefore, I would be careful not to say that the features of the modern Russian mentality were formed in Peter the Great or pre-Petrine times.
In Russia, the attitude to the mentality as something unchanging often leads to one purely practical consequence: we do not really try to do something to become different. And this is wrong.

In my opinion, today the majority of Russians have no desire to participate in solving social problems. Let's say that the campaign with the passing of the exam has recently ended. Many fellow citizens expressed dissatisfaction with the unified exam, but at the same time, we did not have a broad civil movement in support of changing the exam system. This system, by the way, is changing - for example, instead of tests in the Russian language, an essay has returned. But such changes occur without the participation of society.

You can, of course, say that the problem is in the mentality. But the point is rather that the conditions for the implementation of civil initiatives are simply not created in Russian society.

Or let's take the problem of corruption - it is really widely represented in Russia. It is believed that this is also a feature of our mentality. But I think we need to give people the opportunity to change their social practices. And then, quite possibly, the mentality will also change.

I should note that on a historical scale, the mentality can change rather quickly - in two or three decades. This, in particular, is evidenced by the examples of South Korea or Singapore - states that have changed dramatically over the course of one generation.

Or take a purely Russian example. The reforms of Alexander II affected, in particular, the judiciary. As a result, quite a lot of lawyers working on jury trials have appeared in Russia. These jurors were ordinary citizens, I assure you, they perfectly understood what kind of decisions the authorities needed - but often they made the exact opposite verdicts. As a result, a completely different attitude towards the court appeared in the Russian Empire - as a fair institution in which one can really defend one's rights. Before Alexander II, there was no such attitude to the judiciary.

I think that people, of course, have national and ethnic characteristics. But still, it should not be denied that a lot is determined by social relations and the social environment in which we live. If we were ready to change the environment, the mentality would also change. I'll give you another example.

It is customary for us to believe that in Russia from time immemorial they have not observed the laws, and there is nothing to be done about it. But I have talked more than once with Germans and Americans who came to Moscow to live and work. So, after a short stay in the Russian capital, almost all of them began to violate traffic rules when driving a car, and give bribes to traffic cops. One lady, an American, to my question why she does this, replied that in America it would never have occurred to her to give a bribe to a policeman, but in Moscow “it’s impossible to do it any other way.”

As you can see, the mentality in the head of a particular American changes elementarily - as soon as he adapts to the Russian environment. But this example tells a different story. In America and the same Germany, without exception, they began to “live according to the law” relatively recently - about a hundred years ago. We can go the same way, and much faster...

The historical development of Russia is also unique. It is due to the same factors that led to the folding of the features of Russian civilization. Features of Russian history are:

1. Frequent, mostly defensive wars (our ancestors fought for about 2/3 of their history). The absence of natural borders, openness, flat terrain constantly attracted conquerors. The need for defense dictated the need to centralize all powers in the hands of the head of state. Most of the national income went to the army and the production of weapons. Accordingly, there were few funds left for the development of the economy, culture and other things.

2. The basis for Russia was the mobilization path of social development. Unlike the countries of Western Europe, which developed evolutionarily, in Russia the state deliberately intervened in the mechanism of the existence of society in order to get out of a stagnant situation, crises or to wage war, i.e. systematically resorted to violence. It could not be otherwise, since only a strong Russian state could protect the peoples from conquest or destruction.

3. Constant expansion of the territory. Until 1991, with rare exceptions, the territory of our country was steadily increasing. The expansion was carried out in three ways:

Colonization - i.e. development of new vacant lands. Continuous colonization had a huge impact on the development of the state. The presence of a territory to which one can always escape from oppression resulted in a delay in the social development of the state. An extensive development path meant a low level of technology development and a raw-material orientation of the economy.

Voluntary accession to Russia (Ukraine, Georgia, etc.);

As a result of forced annexation (through wars, or the threat of war - for example, the Kazan, Astrakhan khanates).

4. Discontinuity, i.e. lack of succession. The development of Russia was often interrupted and started essentially anew (the most striking examples are 1917 and 1991). Very often, domestic rulers broke, and did not continue the path of their predecessors.

mentality - these are the features of the perception of the surrounding world, inherent in any national community and influencing the specifics of the behavior of people in this community. Since the main role in the formation of Russian civilization belonged to the Russian people, let us single out some features of their mentality.

Features of the Russian mentality:

1. Uneven manifestation of one's feelings, which is expressed in extraordinary passion, temperament and sharp fluctuations in national energy. Hence the uneven distribution of forces (“Russian harnesses for a long time, but drives fast”), the ability to give everything at a critical moment.

2. The desire for spiritual values, and not for material well-being. The goal of Russian life was not wealth, but spiritual perfection. Therefore, the Russians strove for the implementation of grandiose plans and ideal projects. The endless search for goodness, truth, justice led to the neglect of everyday conditions of life, material well-being. It is worth noting the special conscientiousness of Russians.

3. Love for freedom, above all, freedom of the spirit. It is difficult to limit the Russian character to some formal rules, to force him to follow certain laws. History has confirmed many times that Russians are one of the most recalcitrant peoples in the world.

4. Collectivism (priority of the interests of the team over personal interests). Hence the readiness for self-sacrifice, conciliarity.

5. National fortitude, i.e. patience and perseverance in enduring life's hardships and hardships.

6. Universal tolerance, i.e. universal responsiveness, the ability to understand representatives of other peoples, to interact with them, to sacrifice the latter in the name of humanity.

Questions and tasks for self-control

1. What factors determined the originality of Russian civilization, national history, the mentality of the Russian people?

2. What place does Russia occupy in the world?

3. What are the features of Russian civilization?

4. Describe the features of national history.

5. What is mentality?

additional literature

1. Kozhinov, V.V. Victories and troubles of Russia / V.V. Kozhinov. - M. : "Algorithm", 2000. - 448 p.

2. Milov, L.V. Natural and climatic factor and the mentality of the Russian peasantry / L.V. Milov // Social sciences and modernity. - 1995. - No. 1.

3. Russia as civilization and culture // Kozhinov, V.V. Russia as civilization and culture / V.V. Kozhinov. - M. : Institute of Russian Civilization, 2012. - S. 209–319.

4. Russia as a civilization // Kara-Murza, S.G. Crisis social science. Part one. Course of lectures / S.G. Kara-Murza. - M. : Scientific expert, 2011. - S. 290–326.

5. Panarin, A.S. Orthodox civilization / A.S. Panarin. - M. : Institute of Russian Civilization, 2014. - 1248 p.

6. Trofimov, V.K. The mentality of the Russian nation: textbook. allowance / V.K. Trofimov. - Izhevsk: Publishing House of IzhGSHA, 2004. - 271 p.

7. Trofimov, V.K. Soul of Russia: origins, essence and socio-cultural significance of the Russian mentality: monograph / V.K. Trofimov. - Izhevsk: FGOU VPO Izhevsk State Agricultural Academy, 2010. - 408 p.

The Russian mentality was formed under the influence of the richness of natural landscapes and a sharply contrasting climate. Protracted cold and frost, lasting almost half a year, are replaced by the lush flowering of plants and sultry heat. Historian Valery Ilyin believes that in this powerful amplitude of fluctuations in weather conditions during one season - the secret of the pendulum of the Russian character: decline is replaced by an incredible rise, a long depression - a huge surge of optimism, apathy and lethargy - a surge of strength and inspiration.

There is also an anatomical feature that affected the Russian mentality: the Slavs have a more developed right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for emotions, and not for logic, therefore we are often not rational. This feature of the Russian mentality is clearly visible in planning - say, the family budget. If a German meticulously calculates all expenses, up to the purchase of napkins, for a month, six months and even a year, then a measured way is alien to a Russian person.

The Russian mentality is formed by sharp fluctuations in weather conditions.

We are unable to foresee everything that may happen in the near future. We may be carried away by some project; we can, without preparing in advance, suddenly make a fairly expensive acquisition; in the end, our relative, friend, or even almost a stranger may suddenly need help, and we will not hesitate to provide it. After all, considering the Russian mentality, it is impossible not to mention such a feature as sentimentality. Unlike people of other nationalities who know how to keep their distance, we are instantly imbued with the feelings of other people. It is not for nothing that only in Russian there are expressions “heart-to-heart conversation”, “heart-to-heart conversation”.

We acutely perceive someone else's misfortune and someone else's joy, and we ourselves are often ready to reveal our innermost feelings to someone almost on the first day of our acquaintance. An Italian will never tell an unfamiliar person about his family problems, an American will tactfully avoid personal topics - it's as if you came to visit, and you were only allowed into the corridor. Russians tend to open all the doors wide open.

Russians tend to be sentimental and compassionate

That is why almost any Russian emigrant who has left for Western Europe, the USA or Canada cannot get used to the fact that people around him are cold, dryish, “buttoned up”. There, it takes years to establish close relationships, but here contacts between people develop much faster and warmer.
Moreover, we are very compassionate to our smaller brothers. From time immemorial, the Slavs willingly have pets and perceive them as full members of the family. And residents of Russian villages who keep cows cannot calmly lead them to the slaughterhouse and often continue to care for them until their death.

Our sensitivity also has a downside. We are quickly fascinated by people, but soon we are often disappointed in them. These features of the Russian mentality manifested in a sharp change in attitudes- for example, fraternization after a fight and vice versa. And yet, if a quarrel has occurred, a Russian person quickly forgets about it. We have no tradition of "blood feud" because quickness is one of the features of the Russian mentality. We are able not only to forget a momentary conflict, but also to endure serious insults. Dostoevsky expressed it this way: "... and all the Russian people are ready to forget whole torments for one kind word."

Ease is one of the characteristic features of the Russian mentality

Another one feature of the Russian mentality – social conformity. We like everything to be “like people”, we care so that they don’t think badly of us. Satirist Mikhail Zadornov notes: “Only a Russian woman, leaving the hotel, cleans the room before the cleaning lady arrives. It would not occur to a Frenchwoman or a German woman - after all, a cleaning lady is paid for this job!

And the last. Despite creative thinking, according to the way of action we can be called conservatives. We perceive innovations with distrust and approach them for a long time, this way and that, before we accept them in our lives. Compare: in the UK, 55% of older people are able to work at a computer, in the USA - 67%, and in Russia - only 24%. And the point here is not only the lack of material opportunity to purchase equipment, but unwillingness to change habitual way of life.

Mentality (mentality) (from late Latin mentalis - mental), way of thinking, a set of mental skills and spiritual attitudes inherent in an individual or social group. Recently, it has become fashionable to explain a lot in the life of this or that people by its mentality. The Russian people have a spiritual temperament, are merciful, patriotic, intelligent and have their own culture.

The Russian way of thinking appeared already in the Middle Ages. In the first literary monuments in Vladimir Monomakh's Teachings, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, in the Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land, there are ideas of our ancestors about space and time, about the attitude to the past, about the relationship between the People and the Power.
There was a Russian style in architecture, painting and stone construction. The passion of Russians for the construction and decoration of churches is known. This was not so much a manifestation of the piety of our ancestors, but a desire to materialize the beautiful. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, erected under Yaroslav the Wise, has distinctive features that gave it originality and beauty.

The question of thinking and intuition in the Russian worldview is a question of science and inspiration. After all, thinking is the highest stage of human cognition, the process of reflecting objective reality. Human thinking has a natural-historical nature and is inextricably linked with the practical activities of people.
In science, Russian national thinking gives rise to something that corresponds to the entire Russian way of life. Already in the XVII - XVIII centuries. the famous Russian desire for geographical discoveries, for the conquest of unknown spaces (Dezhnev, Khabarov, Atlasov, Krasheninnikov, Chelyuskin, the Laptev brothers) manifested itself. The Russian mind is a search for the path and meaning of life, widely represented both in Russian folklore and in Russian classical literature.

Patriotism is a feeling of love and devotion to one's people and one's homeland. If we talk about patriotism, then its origins date back to the times of Kievan Rus. (“The Lay of Igor's Campaign.”) The work fills the hearts of readers with burning grief when describing the defeat of the Russian army, the death of thousands of soldiers and the capture of princes, and sharp hatred for enemies when describing the devastation of the Russian land. But one cannot but be proud of the motherland and our glorious ancestors, reading the description of the strength, courage and courage of Russian soldiers. No less patriotism is shown by the unknown authors of The Lay on the Destruction of the Russian Land, The Life of Alexander Nevsky, and other works of ancient Russian literature.

And in modern times it is difficult to find at least one Russian writer who would not confess his boundless love and devotion to his homeland - Russia. When we pronounce "Soviet people", we mean by this "Russian people". But as soon as instead of the definition "Russian" you put another - say, "German", "Italian" or "American", then the phrase seems to lose all meaning. "French man" - does not sound. However, such phrases as "Ukrainian people", "Tajik people", "Kazakh people" or "Latvian people" do not sound either. We would rather say "Tajik", "Kazakh", "Latvian" or "Asian" and "Balt".
And the "Russian man" - they sound. And not only sound, but also have a very definite meaning.

Among the main features in the character of the Russian people is the boundless love for freedom. The highest manifestation of this freedom is the freedom of the spirit.
Classical examples of the search for personal freedom are given to us by the great Russian literature (the works of F. Dostoevsky).

The unfulfilled freedom of the spirit leads the Russian man to spiritual exile. In one of his letters in 1824, Pushkin wrote: “I am tired of submitting to the good or bad digestion of this or that boss; I am tired of seeing that in my homeland they treat me less respectfully than any English dunce who comes to show us his vulgarity, illegibility and his mumbling.

Obvious examples of the desire of a Russian person for freedom of spirit can be considered the widespread custom of going to sketes among Russian monasticism, as well as the emergence of the Cossacks. And it is not in vain that prominent theoreticians of anarchism appeared in Russia - Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tolstoy.
But Rus' came to replace Russia.

At present, there is no single mentality in society, since the society of the state is heterogeneous, so we can only talk about the mentality of individual groups and strata of the population.

An essential component of the public mentality of the Russian people is faith in God, Orthodox traditions, pagan customs, rituals, but on the other hand, atheism as a legacy of the 70-year communist regime also remains an essential component of the public mentality.

In the traditions of the Russian people there are many holidays and customs, both from paganism, Orthodox Christianity, and the era of post-revolutionary socialism.
Christmas, baptism, Easter, Trinity, Intercession, Paraskeva Friday, St. George's Day. Old New Year, Christmas time, Shrovetide, Apple Spas.
February 23, March 8, May 1. May 9 - Victory Day, Independence Day and all professional holidays.
Very often, any event, joyful or sad, is marked by the use of alcoholic beverages.

Unfortunately, time does not reverse. It is not in our power to reverse history in order to return to the true folk origins of life. Russia - our homeland has become a great and powerful country, which is known all over the world and which is reckoned with.

Tyutchev's four lines reveal more to us than some weighty volumes. F. Tyutchev in the famous quatrain admits:
Russia cannot be understood with the mind,
Do not measure with a common yardstick:
She has a special become -
One can only believe in Russia.