The Russian Civilization: a Case for System Diagnostics

Abstract

Vladimir Leksin — Head of Department, Institute of System Analysis, Russian Academy of Sciences. Address: 9, Prospect 60-Letiya Octyabrya, Moscow, 117312, Russian Federation. E-mail: leksinvn@yandex.ru

This article is an ambitious attempt to defend the thesis about the existence of a particular Russian civilization, which is bound by the territory of the post-Soviet Russia; however, this is not identical to the ‘civilization conglomerate’ occupying this territory. This thesis is discussed against the background of numerous theories about the civilizational division of the contemporary world system.

The representatives of the Russian civilization are not limited to ethnical Russians only, but also include people of primarily Russian culture, Russian language, Russian values, mentality, religion, and relation to labor, power, etc. To analyze the phenomenon of Russian civilization, the author, first of all, deals with the question, whether ‘civilizations’ can actually be considered as a real subject of scientific analysis. Or, are they just simulacra to ease the task of describing human societies, peoples and countries, as well as certain stages of their development? Different approaches to determining and classifying civilizations are discussed. The author briefly describes the possibilities of qualitative and quantitative comparisons between different civilizations, as well as traces their change in time by means of civilization axiology. The case of Jewish civilization is used to demonstrate the realistic claim about civilizations.

In further discussions, the author deals with Russian civilization and argues that it is methodologically unacceptable to define Russian civilization without distinguishing the prevailing and essentially Russian component. Moreover, it is still quite relevant to talk of the Russian civilization, as long as its peculiarity and particularity are recognized by other peoples and civilizations. The often-mentioned references to the so-called ‘Russian mentality’ (notwithstanding how it is defined), as well as the fact that the majority of religious people in Russia are orthodox, are rarely disputed. However, the rigorous transformations of the last decades have put all of this into question, threatening not only the existence of Russian civilization, but Russia as well.