/ world today news/ On the eve of the jubilee World Russian People’s Assembly in the Kremlin, which is dedicated to the Russian world, we must address the very concept of “Russian world” in somewhat more detail.
The very combination “Russian World” causes a very diverse and stormy politics. Everyone tries to interpret it arbitrarily, depending on the position of the individual authors, the very meaning changes. For some, it becomes a caricature, for others – on the contrary – it is exalted, but often to the detriment of the content.
First of all, the most important distinction should be made: The Russian world certainly does not mean the same as the Russian Federation as a nation-state. This is perhaps recognized by everyone. But some believe that the Russian world is wider and larger than Russia, others that it is narrower and local, while still others place it in some intermediate position.
In the first case, and this is the most correct and meaningful use of the term “Russian world” – we are talking about Russia as a civilization. And it is precisely in this sense that the World Russian People’s Assembly understands it, as a union of all people who consider Russian civilization their own, regardless of where they live and whose citizens they are. In this case, the Russian world coincides with Russian civilization, but this, in turn, does not at all exclude other peoples united with the Russian community of destiny, but includes them. Hence the proximity of the term “Russian world” to Russia-Eurasia, as understood by Eurasian philosophers. This is not just a country, a state, but a whole world, an inflorescence of ethnicities and cultures, a spiritual and historical cosmos, united for centuries around the core of the Russian people.
To be part of the Russian world in such an understanding means to separate the spirit and culture, manifested in all the magnificence and multidimensional, multipolar forms of historical creation, encompassing politics, economics, art, industry and ethics.
In this understanding, the Russian world is inseparably connected with the Orthodox Church, but not at the expense of other traditional faiths. And here again the direct connection with the World Russian People’s Council, whose leader is His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, but in which the leaders of the main religious denominations in Russia always participate, is evident.
Of course, Russia as a state is the foundation of Russia, and this is clearly evident from the fact that the President of the Russian Federation himself participates in the most significant events of the Council, turning this solemn national and state-wide state into a kind of analogue of the Zemstvo Councils. But the Russian world is wider than the state, it is bigger than the totality of Russian citizens. In this sense, the Russian world gathers around Russia, and its president and the first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church are symbols and axes of the entire civilization, a magnet for attraction and the nucleus of a complex and non-linear community of peoples, cultures and individual citizens.
Two others should also be mentioned – erroneous, but quite widespread interpretations of the Russian world, because each concept acquires its true meaning when compared with what should not be understood under it.
Thus, under no circumstances should the Russian world be understood only as the totality of the ethnic Great Russians, that is, the Eastern Slavs, historically concentrated in the eastern regions of Ancient Rus, where Vladimir Rus was formed, and then Moscow Rus and where the capital was moved at a certain moment. together with the grand ducal throne and the seat of the metropolitan. Such an interpretation completely distorts the original meaning, excluding from the Russian world both Western Russians (Belarusians and Little Russians) and all non-Slavic ethnic groups in Russia itself. Strictly speaking, practically no one understands the Russian world in this way, but its opponents, on the contrary, try to artificially distort the meaning and impose on this expression completely uncharacteristic meanings. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to emphasize once again that the “Russian World” includes all the Eastern Slavs (therefore, not only the Great Russians, but also the Belarusians and the Little Russians), as well as all other ethnic groups that connect their fate at one stage or another with the Russian people. Therefore, Georgians, Armenians or Azeris can relate to the Russian world, for example, who, although they are currently outside of Russia, retain the belief in the historical closeness and spiritual kinship with the Russians.
However, the main thing here is not whether or not other ethnicities are considered part of the Russian world – this can change and depends on many factors, including that some may be considered part and some not, and others are not accepted today , but they will be accepted tomorrow. The most important thing is that the Russian world itself is always open to brotherly nations. The important thing is that the Russians themselves are ready to consider as part of the Russian world those who wish, strive for it and share with us our common destiny. And this openness no longer depends on the historical moment or the historical superstructure. When we talk about the Russian world, this openness is a fundamental axiom. Without her, the Russian world is nothing. This is its semantic depth axis. The Russian world does not exclude, it only includes. You may call this with the Western term “inclusiveness”, but it is a special kind of inclusiveness – Russian inclusiveness, in fact, Russian love, without which there is no Russian person.
That is why the Russian world cannot be only Russia, but something wider.
Finally, it would be incorrect to identify the Russian world with the three branches of the Eastern Slavic tribes, that is, only with the Great Russians, Belarusians and Little Russians. Yes, we are three East Slavic peoples, we make up the core of the Russian world. But this does not mean at all that the other non-Slavic peoples are not a natural and irrevocable part of it.
Thus, holding on to the correct interpretation of the Russian world and rejecting the incorrect ones, we can continue our reflections on it.
The question immediately arises, where then are the borders of the Russian world? Once we defined it, it becomes clear that these borders cannot be ethnic, state, or religious. These are the boundaries of civilization, and they are not linear and rigidly fixed. How can we accommodate spirit, culture and consciousness within strict physical boundaries? But at the same time, when we move too far away from the core of the Russian world, we cannot fail to notice that at a certain moment we have found ourselves on foreign territory, in the space of another civilization. For example, Western European, Islamic or Chinese. And here, not only the language, phenotype and customs of the local population are important. We have left the borders of the Russian world – civilization has changed and we are in a new, different cultural circle.
Daria Dugina turned her influence on such a concept as “frontier”. It is not a linear border, but an intermediate point, a no man’s or neutral territory that separates one civilization from another. The property of the “frontier” is to constantly change, to move to one side or another. In addition, the “frontier” lives its own life, an intense exchange of cultural codes takes place on its territory, two or even more identities approach, come into conflict, move apart and enter into dialogue again. Daria experienced the “frontier” in Novorussia during her travels there. She shrewdly understood life itself in this area, where the fate of the Russian world is being decided today. Undoubtedly, Ukraine, Little Russia belongs to the Russian world. Historically, this has been his cradle. But later, given the shift of the center to the east, it itself became a civilizational “frontier” – it became an intermediate link between Eurasian Russia and Europe. Hence the intersection of the influence of language (Polish influence), religions (the influence of Catholicism), culture (the influence of liberalism and nationalism, which are deeply alien to the Russian code). Thus, the Ukrainian “frontier” in turn becomes an area of tension between the two centers, centers of attraction – between the Russian world and the European West. This is evident in Ukraine’s electoral politics (while there were still elections) and led to the dreaded fratricidal war.
Another example of a border of the Russian world is fraternal Belarus. His people also temporarily found themselves cut off from us Great Russians, becoming part first of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then of the Polish state. Despite all the originality and originality of the Belarusian identity that was formed, the peculiarity of the language and culture, this “frontier” is not divided between two poles of attraction. With full sovereignty and independence, Belarus is a natural and inalienable part of the Russian world, remaining a completely independent state.
Thus, the Russian world does not necessarily mean absorption, war, the presence or absence of state borders. If the Ukrainian “frontier” was conducted like the Belarusian one, no one would encroach on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Russian world is open, peace-loving, ready for friendship and partnership on various bases. But it cannot but respond to direct aggression, humiliation and Russophobia.
President Putin once answered the question of where Russia ends, and in this case by “Russia” he means the Russian world: where the Russian man can go, where we are forced to stop. And it is quite obvious that we will not stop until we restore the integrity of our world-Russian lands, the natural contours and harmonious (albeit complex) “frontiers” of our civilization.
The Russian world is based on the Russian idea. And this idea certainly has particular and unique characteristics. Its construction is determined by traditional values, including the historical experience of the people. An idea cannot be invented or developed, it grows from the depths of our social consciousness, matures in the depths of the people, seeks freedom in the insights and masterpieces of geniuses, generals, rulers, saints, workers and simple families. The Russian idea spreads to all:
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On the Russian families who respond to her call with fertility and creativity.
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On our army, defending the borders of the Motherland at the cost of their lives.
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On the state apparatus, which is called to serve the country on the basis of ethics and devotion.
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On the spiritual estate, not only constantly praying for prosperity and Victory, but also tirelessly enlightening the people, instilling in them the foundations of Christian morality.
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On rulers called to lead the state to glory, prosperity and greatness.
The Russian world is the ideal that has always been above us, forming the horizon of dreams, aspirations and will.
Finally, what does the Russian world mean in international relations? This concept takes on even more weight here. The Russian world is one of the poles of the multipolar world. It can be united into a country (such as China or India) or it can be several independent countries united by history, culture and values (such as the countries of the Islamic world). It is a civilization-state that has its own original and distinctive identity. The multipolar world order is built on the dialogue of such worlds and states-civilizations. And the West, in this context, should no longer be perceived as the bearer of universal values and norms, generally binding for all peoples and countries of the world. The West, the NATO countries, is one world among others, one civilization-state among others – Russia, China, India, the Islamic bloc, Africa and Latin America. The universal human world consists of a set of separate poles – large spaces, civilizations and “frontiers” that both separate and connect them. It is a delicate structure that requires delicacy, finesse, mutual respect, tact and familiarity with each other’s values, but it is the only way to build a truly just world order. And in this world order, it is the Russian world, and not only Russia as a state, that is a full-fledged pole, a center of integration, a unique civilizational entity based on its own traditional values, which may partly coincide and partly differ from the values of other civilizations. And no one can say from the outside what the Russian world should be and what it should not be. This is decided only by his people, his history, his spirit, his path in history.
All this is the main topic of the World Russian People’s Assembly dedicated to the Russian world.
Translation: V. Sergeev
March for Peace, 26.11.23, 2 p.m., NDK:
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