Russian culture

Author: Yao Hai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: The unique geographical conditions and history of Russia have led to the diversity of its cultural components. The gradual formation of this pluralistic culture is a process of contradiction and mutual penetration between the traditional national culture and foreign heterogeneous cultures. Especially since modern times, the conflicts, competitions, compromises, and integrations among cultures have been the fundamental characteristics and main content of the development of Russian culture. The Europeanization of Russia demonstrates the strong desire of a relatively backward country to shorten the gap with advanced nations and catch up with global trends, with the means being to learn from the West and introduce more advanced heterogeneous cultures. The large-scale entry of Western culture has led to widespread cultural divisions. In the modern cultural process of Russia, the dual nature of the Tsarist regime's policies should be noted. The Tsarist regime both advocated the Europeanization of Russia and made every effort to limit this process. Another feature of the development of Russian culture since modern times is that for a long time, new European cultures had a distinct upper-class color, while the traditional patriarchal culture influenced the majority of the population—primarily farmers. The process of Europeanization led to a cultural separation between the upper and lower classes, widening the gap between them. This cultural separation and opposition between the upper and lower classes added a dramatic element to Russia's progress. The broader background of the modern cultural process of Russia is that Russia's development on the path of Europeanization is a historic choice of Russia facing the West, catching up with global trends, and aspiring to become a strong nation in Europe and even the world. Despite numerous twists and even reversals, the Europeanization policy established by Peter the Great has dominated the modern historical process of Russia. Russia and the West—this has been the core issue of Russian thought since modern times. Russian history shows that as long as it lags behind the West, it needs to learn from the West and introduce things from the West that can help strengthen itself. Meanwhile, the divergence in the value judgments of Russian society toward Western and Russian cultures will not disappear and will inevitably be fully reflected in social thought and social movements.