From the French language, the concept of "liberalism" (liberalisme) was translated as "free-thinking", which was little understood by the simple and broad Russian soul, which for centuries was brought up in the spirit of reverence for the tsar-priest, cultural, historical and family traditions. In this regard, it is hard to believe that the majority of Russians will believe in beautiful and lofty liberal ideas. But are these ideas so beautiful and does this "foreign" concept of liberalism take root in our country at all?
The parameters of the Russian liberal project should be treated with a share of irony and national self-determination. For even the so-called Russian liberal project will be little understood by Western liberals.
What is a liberal project?
To understand what refers to the parameters of the Russian liberal project, let's deal with the conceptliberalism and answer the title question. If you answer the question above sincerely (for yourself, not for the public), you will understand that the restructuring of public consciousness without restructuring the mind of a particular citizen is simply impossible. The goal is not to be a representative of a society-people-nation, but to become a Citizen with a capital letter: with a new consciousness, attitude, thinking and mentality (if the word "mentality" is applicable to a specific individual of society), the so-called citizen of the world. This is what the project is aimed at: the creation of citizens without the history, culture, values of the country.
The main idea that liberalism carries in itself in general is: "Freedom, equality, fraternity." Appearing as part of the French Revolution, this term smoothly migrated into fashion, which began to be promoted and even imposed by the United States. The concept of liberalism acquired the features of the States, and now it was not the warrior hero who was a symbol, but the consumer who strives only for the best, strives for constant and increasing consumption and for a type of personality that has feminized features (unisex fashion, refusal to become parents, which leads to a reduction in the population, active adherence to the canons of modern fashion from a purely female point of view, comprehensive gender equality, etc.), which eventually began to gradually lead to the fact that they no longer considered moral, cultural, family and religious traditions. And this, apart from other features, belongs to the parameters of the Russian liberal project. So it is all over the world. Thus, individuals try to carry out the liberal modelpolitics in Russia.
The development of liberal ideas in Russia began with the coming to power of Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century. Peter I, having cut a window to Europe and opened cultural and other Western values for "impoverished and uncivilized Russia", at the same time opened the way for those who did not know and did not respect their country, its centuries-old traditions and history, who were devotedly and selflessly in love to the West, its values, or rather lack thereof.
Parameters of the Russian liberal project
- Oriented to Western ideas, values, lifestyle, economy.
- Evolutionary-progressive ways for society to achieve its present civil status.
- The basis of the foundations is the "free personality", and everything should be aimed at its formation.
- The guarantor of everything is the rule of law.
- A normal civilized state, for the sake of which they are ready to destroy the existing one.
- Focus on the material component of life.
- The capitalist model of economy and society.
What hinders the liberal project in Russia?
Russian society has always been and remains (and, I think, will remain) a society that honors its heroes, one way or another, religion, family life and culture of its country, therefore liberalism in the broad sense in Russia enters into symbiosis with all the features of the Russian mentality, or, more simply, it changes with the help of a broad Russian soul.
The situation incountry, as well as historical heritage, tell us that in our time the "Russian way" is being revived, unique, unlike anything, which can have the best features of other forms of development and self-determination of society. The Russian path of movement is the path of a country with a thousand-year history of the Slavic peoples and Russia, the revival of national and folk traditions, the heroism of an individual and the whole people as a whole, strong and wise power and statehood, faith in oneself, in one's neighbor, in God and the Fatherland.
Any form of social development carries common sense and negative tendencies. And, of course, liberal ideas and values also exist in Russia and are taking root well. However, Russia is one of the few countries that has a national flavor of the soul. And therefore, any innovation, any idea goes through the crucible of Russian spirituality and sincerity. That is why, most likely, none of the ideologies in Russian society has taken root for so long. Therefore, the breadth of the Russian soul also belongs to the parameters of the Russian liberal project. And this, in turn, is the factor that will never allow the liberal project to be realized in Russia.
