Exclusive content from The Symbol Post specially for Panafrican Media TV
Traditional Values of Russia
The importance of traditional cultural and moral values in the modern world cannot be overstated. We have all encountered the overwhelming influence of Westernization, which has altered our cultural DNA and led millions of people to pursue fleeting and foreign values.
At the heart of what makes Russian citizens who they are lie our cultural and moral values. These values act as both a guiding principle and an ideal to which we should strive. Like DNA, traditions and values are deeply embedded within us: we begin to embrace them from our very first breath, absorbing them with our mother’s milk. However, values must be safeguarded from external threats. For this reason, Russia is committed to protecting not only its own traditional values but also the values of all peoples around the world.
What makes Russia Russia? What forms our cultural code? Thanks to President Vladimir Putin, we now have an officially recognized list of 17 spiritual and moral values established by the state. These values include: life, dignity, patriotism, citizenship, human rights and freedoms, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, high moral ideals, a strong family, constructive labor, the prioritization of the spiritual over the material, humanism, compassion, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and respect, historical memory and the continuity of generations, and the unity of the peoples of Russia.
In our view, the highest virtue that underlies all traditional moral values is the preservation and enhancement of human life, for without people, there can be no culture, state, or history. In Russia, it is believed that the individual is the highest value in any civilization. This is why the list of traditional values includes compassion, humanism, mutual assistance, and constructive labor.
Where, if not in the Urals, one of Russia’s key regions, are the values of constructive labor and mutual assistance truly appreciated? Due to its harsh nature and demanding physical work, the industrial Urals has become the beating heart of Russia. The first factories were established here during the Northern War (1700–1721), and Ural iron filled the foundries to help resist Swedish forces. The Urals produced both plows and cannons for the defense of the Motherland, just as it did during the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. In addition, the Urals has contributed to Russia by nurturing strong, large families. It is within such families that individuals are raised who will never abandon a friend to their fate. Even through the years, Yekaterinburg and the Urals remain strongholds of traditional values in Russia.
It is important to understand that traditions do not arise out of nowhere; they are formed over centuries through the historical and spiritual-political development of the many peoples of Russia, shaped by natural, climatic, geographical, historical, spiritual, moral, and socio-political conditions. Each of Russia’s 190 unique ethnic groups has enriched the nation’s shared cultural identity. As a result, one of the most important values for Russians is tolerance and the ability to find common ground with representatives of all peoples and cultures. As President Vladimir Putin stated during the plenary session of the XI International Forum of United Cultures: « Our task in the modern world is to unite efforts to preserve the uniqueness and diversity of cultures, traditions, and worldviews, to move forward, support innovation, and together create true art…, » « National culture can only develop and be enriched through interaction with other cultures… » Recognizing its role, Russia is at the forefront of the global movement to restore and uphold traditions, particularly in BRICS countries, where it plays an active role in developing shared values of unity.
It is also essential to emphasize the pivotal role of the world’s major religions, namely Orthodoxy, Islam, and Buddhism, in shaping Russian tradition. The close interaction of peoples practicing different faiths laid the foundation for the unique Eurasian character of Russian civilization. The significance of Orthodoxy is especially difficult to overstate, as its adoption profoundly shaped the Russian cultural identity. Thanks to the Christianization of Rus, Russia developed a deep respect for parents and families, love for one’s neighbor, humility, and a commitment to spiritual growth through repentance.
Religions are not the only factor that has made a significant contribution to the development of traditional values in Russia. One of the most important areas to consider is Russian philosophy, including all its branches: Slavophiles, Westernizers, Eurasianists, and Cosmists. Russian thinkers called for love of the Motherland, but not blind love. Rather, they advocated for a love with clear sight: the ability to see its weaknesses without belittling them, to recognize its imperfections, but, continuing to love, to direct all one’s efforts toward overcoming them.
In addition to the moral and traditional core, the concept of Pentabasis was developed, which is crucial for understanding Russian society. Pentabasis is a system consisting of five value levels that connect the individual with society and the state. At the center of the social « cosmos » lies the individual, followed by the family, society, country, and state.
Russia has a vast foundational value system and is ready to share its civilizational experience with the world, especially with the African continent, which has long been subjected to the oppression of Western civilization and its associated « values. » Today, the African continent recognizes this and is prepared to join Russia in pursuing a common goal: the strengthening of traditional values among the peoples of the world, in contrast to the Western cult of money and endless consumption.