The changes in the spiritual and political life of Soviet society that began after Stalin's death were called the "thaw". The appearance of this term is associated with the publication in 1954 of the story I. G. Ehrenburg "Thaw"in response to the call of the critic V. M. Pomerantsev to put man at the center of attention of literature, to "raise the true theme of life, to introduce into novels the conflicts that occupy people in everyday life." The spiritual life of society during the period of Khrushchev's "thaw" was of a contradictory nature. On the one hand On the other hand, de-Stalinization and the opening of the “Iron Curtain” caused a revival of society, the development of culture, science and education. At the same time, the desire of the party and state bodies to put culture at the service of official ideology remained.

development of science and education

In the middle of the twentieth century. science has become a leading factor in the development of social production. The main directions of science in the world were complex automation of production, management and control based on the widespread use of computers; creation and introduction into production of new types of structural materials; discovery and use of new types of energy.

The Soviet Union succeeded in 1953-1964. achieve major scientific achievements in nuclear energy, rocket science, and space exploration. June 27 1954 The first in the world began to operate in Obninsk, Kaluga region industrial nuclear power plant. The scientific supervisor of the work on its creation was I.V. Kurchatov, the chief designer of the reactor was N.A. Dollezhal, and the scientific supervisor of the project was D.I. Blokhintsev.

Nuclear power plant of the USSR Academy of Sciences. in Obninsk, Kaluga region.

October 4 1957 the world's first was launched in the USSR artificial earth satellite. A group of scientists led by S. P. Korolev and consisting of: M. V. Keldysh, M. K. Tikhonravov, N. S. Lidorenko, G. Yu. Maksimova, V. I. Lapko, B. S. worked on its creation Chekunova, A. V. Bukhtiyarov.

Postage stamps of the USSR

Launched the same year nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"- the world's first surface vessel with a nuclear power plant. The chief designer was V.I. Neganov, the scientific supervisor of the work was Academician A.P. Aleksandrov; The nuclear plant was designed under the leadership of I. I. Afrikantov.

IN 1961 the first in history was carried out human space flight; it was a Soviet pilot-cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin. The ship "Vostok", on which Gagarin flew around the Earth, was created by the leading designer O. G. Ivanovsky under the leadership of the general designer of OKB-1 S. P. Koroleva. In 1963, the first flight of female cosmonaut V. I. Tereshkova took place.

Yu. A. Gagarin S. P. Korolev

IN 1955 serial production of the world's first turbojet passenger aircraft began at the Kharkov aircraft plant" TU-104". The design of new, ultra-high-speed aircraft was carried out by aircraft designers A. N. Tupolev and S. V. Ilyushin.

Airplane "TU-104"

The entry of the Soviet Union into the era of the scientific and technological revolution was marked by the expansion of the network of scientific research institutions. A. N. Nesmeyanov, a leading organic chemist, opened the Institute of Organoelement Compounds of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1954. In May 1957, in order to develop the productive forces of Siberia and the Far East, the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was organized. In March 1956 An international research center was created in Dubna - Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in order to study the fundamental properties of matter. Famous physicists A.P. Aleksandrov, D.I. Blokhintsev, I.V. Kurchatov took part in the formation of JINR. Suburban scientific centers appeared in Protvino, Obninsk and Troitsk. I. L. Knunyants, a famous Soviet organic chemist, founded the scientific school of organofluorines.

Synchrophasotron, built at JINR in Dubna in 1957.

Significant achievements were made in the development of radiophysics, electronics, theoretical and chemical physics, and chemistry. Were awarded Nobel Prize for his work in the field of quantum electronics A. M. Prokhorov And N. G. Basov- together with the American physicist C. Townes. A number of Soviet scientists ( L. D. Landau in 1962; P. A. Cherenkov, I. M. Frank And I. E. Tamm, all in 1958) received Nobel Prizes in physics, which indicated recognition of the contribution of Soviet science to the world. N. N. Semenov(together with the American researcher S. Hinshelwood) became the only Soviet Nobel laureate in chemistry in 1956.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the opportunity opened up to study closed documents, which contributed to the emergence of interesting publications on national history: “Essays on historical science in the USSR”, “History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945.” and the magazine "History of the USSR"

A characteristic feature of the “thaw” was heated scientific discussions. The agricultural crisis, disappointment in the economic councils, and the need to find balanced solutions to a large number of problems contributed to the revival of economic thought in the USSR. In the scientific discussions of economists, two directions have emerged. Leningrad scientists were at the head of the theoretical direction L. V. Kantorovich And V. V. Novozhilov who advocated widespread use mathematical methods in planning. The second direction - practices - demanded greater independence for enterprises, less rigid and mandatory planning, allowing the development of market relations. A group of scientists began to study the economy of the West. However, historians, philosophers, and economists could not completely free themselves from certain ideological attitudes.

L. V. Kantorovich

Official Soviet propaganda viewed the achievements of Soviet science not only as symbols of scientific and technological progress, but also as proof of the advantages of socialism. It was not possible to fully ensure the implementation of a radical restructuring of the technical foundations of material production in the USSR. What became the reason for the country’s technical lag in subsequent years in the most promising areas.

During the “thaw”, much attention was paid to secondary and higher education; fees in universities and technical schools were abolished. According to the All-Union Population Census of 1959, 43% of the population had higher, secondary and incomplete secondary education. New universities were opened in Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Nalchik and other cities.

The prestige of higher education, especially engineering, grew, while the attractiveness of working professions for school graduates began to decline. To change the situation, measures were taken to bring the school closer to production. In December 1958 d. universal compulsory 7-year education was replaced by compulsory 8-year education. Eight-year graduates could graduate from a vocational school (vocational school) or technical school to obtain a complete secondary education and a working specialty.

At a school car lesson

In senior secondary school, compulsory industrial practice was introduced. However, the choice of professions offered at the school (cook, seamstress, car mechanic, etc.) was narrow and did not allow one to obtain the training necessary for modern production. In addition, the lack of funds did not make it possible to equip schools with modern equipment, and enterprises could not fully bear the teaching load. In 1964, due to the ineffectiveness of school reform and overload of curriculum, they returned to ten-year school education.

literature

The focus of writers in the 1950s. turned out to be a man, his spiritual values, everyday life conflicts. Novels were devoted to scientific research, search, and the struggle between seekers, principled scientists and untalented people, careerists, and bureaucrats. D. A. Granina(“The Searchers”, “I’m Going into the Storm”). In the spotlight Yu. P. German(novel-trilogy “The Cause You Serve”, 1957, “My Dear Man”, 1961, “I am Responsible for Everything”, 1964) - the formation of a person of high ideology and civic activity.

Interesting works appeared about the life of the post-war village (essays by V.V. Ovechkin “District Everyday Life” and “Notes of an Agronomist” by G.N. Troepolsky). They wrote in the genre of village prose during the “thaw” years V. I. Belov, V. G. Rasputin, F. A. Abramov, early V. M. Shukshin, V. P. Astafiev, S. P. Zalygin. The works of young writers (Yu. V. Trifonov, V. V. Lipatov) about young contemporaries formed the “urban” prose.

V. Shukshin and V. Belov

"Lieutenant" prose continued to develop. Writers who went through the war ( Yu. V. Bondarev, K. D. Vorobyov, V. V. Bykov, B. L. Vasiliev, G. Ya. Baklanov, K. M. Simonov), who rethought their experience, reflected on the worldview of a person in war, on the price of victory.

During the process of de-Stalinization, the topic of repression was raised in the literature. The novel caused a great public outcry V. D. Dudintseva"Not by Bread Alone", 1956, story A. I. Solzhenitsyn"One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich", 1962.

On November 18, 1962, the New World magazine publishes the story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by A. I. Solzhenitsyn

The popularity of young poets grew: E. A. Evtushenko, A. A. Voznesensky, B. Sh. Okudzhava, B. A. Akhmadulina, R.I. Rozhdestvensky. In their work they turned to their contemporaries and modern themes. Greater attraction in the 1960s. had poetry evenings at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow. Poetry readings at the Luzhniki stadium in 1962 attracted 14 thousand people.

E. A. Evtushenko B.A. Akhmadulina A. A. Voznesensky

The revitalization of cultural life contributed to the emergence of new literary and artistic magazines: “Yunost”, “Neva”, “Our Contemporary”, “Foreign Literature”, “Moscow”. The magazine "New World" (editor-in-chief A. T. Tvardovsky) published works of democratically minded writers and poets. It was on its pages that Solzhenitsyn's works saw the light of day ("One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", 1962, "Matrenin's Dvor" and "An Incident at Krechetovka Station", 1963). The magazine became a refuge for anti-Stalinist forces in literature, a symbol of the “sixties,” and an organ of legal opposition to Soviet power.

Some cultural figures of the 1930s were rehabilitated: I. E. Babel, B. A. Pilnyak, the banned poems of S. A. Yesenin, A. A. Akhmatova, M. I. Tsvetaeva appeared in print.

However, the “thaw” in the cultural life of the country had certain limits established by the authorities. Any manifestations of dissent were destroyed by censorship. This is what happened with B.C. Grossman, the author of “Stalingrad Sketches” and the novel “For a Just Cause.” The manuscript of the novel “Life and Fate” about the tragedy of the people plunged into war in 1960 was seized from the author by state security agencies. This work was published in the USSR only during the years of perestroika.

From the document (From N. S. Khrushchev’s speeches to literary and artistic figures):

...It does not mean at all that now, after the condemnation of the cult of personality, the time has come for things to take their course, that the reins of government have been weakened, that the social ship is sailing at the will of the waves and everyone can be willful, behave as he pleases. No. The party has and will firmly pursue the Leninist course it developed, uncompromisingly opposing any ideological vacillation...

At the end of the 1950s. Literary samizdat arose - typewritten or handwritten publications of uncensored works of translated foreign and domestic authors, and tamizdat - works of Soviet authors printed abroad. B. L. Pasternak's novel "Doctor Zhivago" about the fate of the intelligentsia during the years of revolution and the Civil War was first distributed in samizdat lists. After the publication of the novel in the New World magazine was banned, the book was transferred abroad, where it was published in November 1957 in an Italian translation. In 1958, Pasternak received the Nobel Prize in Literature for the novel. In the USSR, not without the knowledge of N. S. Khrushchev, a campaign of persecution of the writer was organized. He was expelled from the USSR Writers' Union and demanded to leave the country. Pasternak refused to leave the USSR, but under pressure from the authorities he was forced to refuse the prize.

At the Pasternak dacha on the day the Nobel Prize was awarded: E. Ts. and K. I. Chukovsky, B. L. and Z. N. Pasternak. Peredelkino. October 24, 1958

The “Pasternak case” became a signal for a new tightening of censorship. In the early 1960s. There was a strengthening of ideological dictates in the field of literature, and even greater impatience with dissent appeared. In 1963, at an official meeting of the party leadership with the creative intelligentsia in the Kremlin, Khrushchev sharply criticized the poet A. Voznesensky and invited him to emigrate from the country.

Theater, music, cinema

In Moscow, new theaters began to operate: Sovremennik under the direction of O. N. Efremov (1957) and the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater under the direction of Yu. P. Lyubimov (1964), the performances of which were extremely popular with the audience. The theatrical productions of the young groups "Sovremennik" and "Taganka" reflected the mood of the era of the "sixties": a heightened sense of responsibility for the fate of the country, an active civic position.

Sovremennik Theater

Domestic cinematography has achieved great success. Films about the ordinary fate of a person in war were released: “The Cranes Are Flying” (dir. M.K. Kalatozov), “The Ballad of a Soldier” (G.I. Chukhrai). Kalatozov's "The Cranes Are Flying" became the only Soviet full-length film to receive the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958.

Still from the film "The Cranes Are Flying"

In the best films of the early 1960s. the topic of searching for a life path by the younger generation was raised: “I am walking around Moscow” (dir. G. N. Daneliya), “Ilyich’s Outpost” (dir. M. M. Khutsiev), “Nine Days of One Year” (dir. M. I . Romm). Many artists were able to travel abroad. In 1959, the Moscow Film Festival was resumed. After the Caribbean crisis, exposure of the “ideological vacillations” of literary and artistic figures intensified. Thus, M. M. Khutsiev’s feature film “Ilyich’s Outpost,” one of the symbols of the “Thaw” era about the youth of the sixties, received a disapproving assessment from party and state leaders.

From the document (S. N. Khrushchev. Trilogy about the father):

As happens with strong natures, the father himself seemed to sense the weakness of his position and from this became even harsher and more irreconcilable. I was once present during a conversation about the film "Ilyich's Outpost" directed by Marlen Khutsiev. The whole style and aggressiveness of this analysis made a painful impression on me, which I remember to this day. On the way home (the meeting took place at the Reception House on Vorobyovskoe Highway, we lived nearby, behind the fence), I objected to my father, it seemed to me that there was nothing anti-Soviet in the film, moreover, it was Soviet and at the same time high-quality. The father remained silent. The next day, the analysis of "Ilyich's Outpost" continued. Taking the floor, my father complained that the ideological struggle was taking place in difficult conditions and that even at home he did not always meet with understanding.

Yesterday, Sergei, my son, convinced me that we were wrong in our attitude towards this film,” said the father and, looking around the darkness of the hall, asked: “Right?”

I sat in the back rows. I had to get up.

So, it’s true, the film is good,” I said, stuttering with excitement. This was my first experience of participating in such a large meeting. However, my intercession only added fuel to the fire; one after another, speakers denounced the director for his ideological immaturity. The film had to be remade, the best parts cut out, it received a new name “We are twenty years old.”

Gradually, I became more and more convinced that my father was tragically mistaken and was losing his authority. However, doing anything was far from easy. It was necessary to choose a moment, carefully express my opinion to him, try to convince him of the harmfulness of such categorical judgments. In the end, he must realize that he is hitting his political allies, those who support his cause.

Since the late 1950s. Neo-folklorism developed in Soviet music. In 1958, the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted a resolution “On correcting errors in the evaluation of the operas “Great Friendship”, “Bogdan Khmelnitsky”, “From the Heart”. Ideological charges against composers S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, A. Khachaturian were dropped. In 1955–1956 The United States hosted tours of outstanding Soviet musicians: D. F. Oistrakh and M. L. Rostropovich.

Songs written for the VI World Festival of Youth and Students were popular among Soviet people: “Moscow Evenings” (V. Solovyov-Sedoy, M. Matusovsky) performed by V. Troshin and E. Piekha, “If only the boys of the whole Earth...” ( V. Solovyov-Sedoy, E. Dolmatovsky), “Dawns of Moscow...” (A. Ostrovsky, M. Lisyansky), “The guitar is ringing over the river...” (L. Oshanin, A. Novikov), etc. During this period, creative activities of composers E. Denisov, A. Petrov, A. Schnittke, R. Shedrin, A. Eshpai. The works of G. Sviridov and the songs of A. Pakhmutova based on the poems of N. Dobronravov were extremely popular.

In the formation of the spiritual atmosphere at the turn of the 1950s-60s. Author's songwriting played an important role. The audience of B. Sh. Okudzhava, N. N. Matveeva, Yu. I. Vizbor, Yu. Ch. Kim, A. A. Galich was the young generation of “physicists” and “lyricists” who argued about the problems of scientific and technological progress and humanistic values.

B. Okudzhava A. Galich

painting, architecture, sculpture

In the late 1950s - early 1960s. In the works of the sixties artists from the youth section of the Moscow branch of the Union of Artists, we reflected the workdays of our contemporaries, the so-called “severe style” arose. Paintings by representatives of the “severe style” V. E. Popkov, N. I. Andronov, T. T. Salakhov, P. P. Ossovsky, V. I. Ivanov and others sang the fate of their contemporaries, their energy and will, the “heroics of labor everyday life."

V. Popkov. Builders of Bratsk

On December 1, 1962, N. S. Khrushchev visited the anniversary exhibition of the Moscow organization of the Union of Artists in the Manege. He launched rude, incompetent attacks on the young avant-garde painters of E. M. Belyutin’s studio: T. Ter-Ghevondyan, A. Safokhin, L. Gribkov, V. Zubarev, V. Preobrazhenskaya. The next day, the Pravda newspaper published a devastating report, which served as the beginning of a campaign against formalism and abstractionism in the USSR.

From the document (From Khrushchev’s speech during a visit to the exhibition in Manege on December 1, 1962):

...Well, I don’t understand, comrades! So he says: “sculpture”. Here he is - the Unknown. Is this a sculpture? Excuse me!... At the age of 29, I was in a position where I felt responsible for the country, for our party. What about you? You are 29 years old! Do you still feel like you are walking around in short trousers? No, you're already wearing your pants! And therefore answer!…

If you don’t want to keep up with us, get a passport, leave... We won’t send you to prison! Please! Do you like the west? Please!...Let's imagine it. Does it evoke any feeling? I want to spit! These are the feelings it evokes.

...You will say: everyone plays, so to speak, their own musical instrument - this will be the orchestra? It's a cacophony! This... This will be a madhouse! This will be jazz! Jazz! Jazz! I don’t want to offend the blacks, but, uh, in my opinion, this is black music...Who will fly to this roast that you want to show? Who? Flies that rush to carrion! Here they are, you know, huge, fat... So they flew!.. Anyone who wants to please our enemies can take up this weapon...

Monumentalism flourishes in sculpture. In 1957, a sculptural group by E. V. Vuchetich “Let’s Beat Swords into Plowshares” appeared near the UN building in New York. Military themes were represented by sculptural portraits of commanders created in Soviet cities by E. V. Vuchetich, N. V. Tomsky, the best masters of this genre.

"Let's beat swords into ploughshares" Sculptor - Vuchetich E. V.

Soviet sculptors at this time depicted historical figures and cultural figures. S. M. Orlov, A. P. Antropov and N. L. Stamm are the authors of the monument to Yuri Dolgorukov in Moscow in front of the Moscow City Council building (1953-1954); A.P. Kibalnikov completes work on the monument to Chernyshevsky in Saratov (1953) and V. Mayakovsky in Moscow (1958). Sculptor M.K. Anikushin in a realistic manner executed the monument to A.S. Pushkin, installed on Arts Square in Leningrad, near the building of the Russian Museum.

Monument to Pushkin. Sculptor M. K. Anikushin

During the Thaw period, the work of the sculptor E. Neizvestny went beyond the framework of socialist realism: “Suicide” (1958), “Adam” (1962-1963), “Effort” (1962), “Mechanical Man” (1961-1962), “Two-Headed giant with an egg" (1963. In 1962, at the exhibition in Manege, Neizvestny was Khrushchev's guide. After the destruction of the exhibition, he was not exhibited for several years; his disgrace ended only with Khrushchev's resignation.

E. Neizvestny Tombstone monument to N. S. Khrushchev by E. Neizvestny

After Stalin's death, a new stage in the development of Soviet architecture begins. In 1955, a resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the elimination of excesses in design and construction”, “contrary to the democratic spirit of life and culture of our society.” The Stalinist Empire style was replaced by functional standard Soviet architecture, which, with certain changes, was preserved until the collapse of the USSR. According to this principle, the districts of Khimki-Khovrino (architect K. Alabyan) and the quarters of the South-West of Moscow (architects Y. Belopolsky, E. Stamo, etc.), the Dachnoe district of Leningrad (architect V. Kamensky, A. . Zhuk, A. Macheret), microdistricts and neighborhoods in Vladivostok, Minsk, Kyiv, Vilnius, Ashgabat. During the years of mass construction of five-story panel buildings, standard designs and cheap building materials “without architectural frills” were used.

State Kremlin Palace

In 1961, the Yunost Hotel was built in Moscow (architects Yu. Arndt, T. Bausheva, V. Burovin, T. Vladimirova; engineers N. Dykhovichnaya, B. Zarkhi, I. Mishchenko) using the same large panels , which were used in housing construction, the "Russia" ("Pushkinsky") cinema with its extended visor. One of the best public buildings of this time was the State Kremlin Palace, 1959-1961 (architect M. Posokhin), during the construction of which the problem of combining a modern building with historical architectural ensembles was rationally solved. In 1963, the construction of the Palace of Pioneers in Moscow was completed, which is a complex of several buildings of different heights, united by a spatial composition.

EXPANDING CULTURAL RELATIONS

The liberalization of socio-political life was accompanied by the expansion of international cultural ties. In 1955, the first issue of the journal "Foreign Literature" was published. It became the only opportunity for Soviet readers to get acquainted with the work of many major Western writers, whose books were not published in the USSR for censorship reasons.

In October 1956 in Moscow at the Museum. Pushkin I. Ehrenburg organized an exhibition of paintings by P. Picasso. For the first time in the USSR, paintings by one of the most famous artists of the 20th century were shown. In December of the same year, Picasso's works were sent to Leningrad, to the Hermitage, where the exhibition provoked a student rally in the city center. Students publicly shared their impressions.

Poster of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students

In July 1957, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow, the symbol of which was the Dove of Peace invented by P. Picasso. The forum became in every sense a significant event for Soviet boys and girls; for the first time they became acquainted with the youth culture of the West.

In 1958, the first International Competition named after. P.I. Tchaikovsky. The victory was won by the young American pianist H. Van Cliburn, a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with R. Levina, a Russian pianist who left Russia in 1907. In America, they wrote about his victory like this: “he became unexpectedly famous, winning the Tchaikovsky Prize in Moscow in 1958, became the first American to triumph in Russia, where he became the first favorite; upon his return to New York he was greeted as the hero of a mass demonstration."

Winner of the competition. Tchaikovsky H. Van Cliburn

The first foreign tours of the Bolshoi and Kirov theater groups caused a great resonance in world musical life. M. M. Plisetskaya, E. S. Maksimova, V. V. Vasiliev, I. A. Kolpakova, N. I. Bessmertnova. In the late 1950s - early 1960s. ballet turned into a “calling card” of Soviet art abroad.

M. Plisetskaya

In general, the “thaw” period became a beneficial time for Russian culture. Spiritual uplift contributed to the development of creativity of literary and artistic figures of the new generation. The expansion of scientific and cultural contacts with foreign countries contributed to the humanization of Soviet society and the increase in its intellectual potential.

"Not by bread alone"

K. M. Simonov

"The Living and the Dead"

V. P. Aksenov

"Star Ticket", "It's time, my friend, it's time"

A. I. Solzhenitsyn

"One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich"

B. L. Pasternak

"Doctor Zhivago"

Cinema

Theater

Theater	Artistic director
Contemporary	O. N. Efremov
Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater	G. A. Tovstonogov
Taganka Theater	Yu. P. Lyubimov 1957 creation of the world's largest synchrophasotron. 1957 creation of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Genetics has been “rehabilitated”. Nobel Prize winners: 1956 N.N. Semenov for the theory of chemical chain reactions 1962 D.L. Landau for the theory of liquid helium 1964 N.G. Basov and A.M. Prokhorov for research in the field of quantum radiophysics. SPACE EXPLORATION 1957 The first artificial Earth satellite was launched into space. 1963 First flight of a female cosmonaut. She became Valentina Tereshkova.

The country's transition to a market economy and radical changes in political and social life took place in conditions of information openness. The ideological dictate of the state and with it censorship have disappeared. The market for information services was rapidly becoming saturated. Citizens received free access to the global communications network Internet. The number of its users in 2003 was about 11.5 million people.

In the early 1990s. Government spending on cultural development has sharply decreased. Clubs and creative centers, exhibition halls and cinemas, sports and tourist centers were closed. The circulation of literary and artistic magazines and newspapers, which once had huge audiences, has fallen.

In a market economy, only those cultural spheres that enjoyed commercial success due to popularity among mass audiences developed most dynamically. Numerous private publishing houses appeared. The market for books and periodicals was rapidly becoming saturated, primarily with entertainment publications.

Foreign mass culture products, sometimes not of the best artistic quality, poured onto the screens and into print in a wide stream. Such symbols of Western everyday life as the fast food restaurant McDonald's, the products of the famous brands Coca-Cola and Reebok, etc., have become popular with consumers.

In domestic youth culture, subcultural groups have emerged that are focused on styles of behavior and clothing borrowed from foreign everyday experience, and imitation of heroes of mass culture.

Thus, Tolkienists (fans of J.R. Tolkien’s novels) were looking forward to the appearance of new films with the adventures of their idols on the screen. Aikidokas promoted the lifestyle of martial arts fans. Punks were distinguished by special signs in their clothing and in communicating with each other. Metalheads, rockers and rappers defended their commitment to various directions in modern popular music. Their style of dressing copied the clothing habits of their musical idols.

Entertainment centers - clubs, discos, reproducing Western standards - have become popular forms of youth leisure. The trend of Westernization (borrowing Western models) of youth culture clearly reflected the processes that took place in mass culture in the conditions of its rapid spread.

In the second half of the 1990s. the supply of domestic mass cultural products has increased. The leisure sector was developing rapidly. Domestic television series and commercial films, video clips and commercials appeared. As a result, the consumer-oriented entertainment industry has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the national economy. Book publishing and television, production and replication of audiovisual products, show business, construction of new and refurbishment of old cultural facilities have become the focus of attention of domestic business. Continuing the traditions of Russian philanthropy, the largest companies and banks provided material support to musical and theatrical groups, publishing, educational and restoration projects.

A kind of response to the commercialization of mass forms of leisure was the growth of interest in the domestic cultural and spiritual heritage, in religious and secular traditions. Hundreds of Orthodox churches and many mosques were returned to believers. Attention to the culture and traditions of Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and other faiths increased. The sphere of religious education and upbringing developed - from Sunday schools to seminaries, theological academies and universities, as well as publishing.

In search of stable value guidelines, people turned to the historical and cultural heritage of the country. New forms of mastering the national heritage have emerged: historical and cultural dramatizations that recreate episodes of major historical events - the Battle of Kulikovo, the Battle of Borodino, etc., which enjoy constant success with the viewer.

Cultural tourism was becoming one of the promising areas of economic development of Russian territories around historical heritage monuments. In total, at the end of the last century, there were about 2,000 state museums in Russia, including 90 nature reserves.

The peculiarities of the country's spiritual life were largely determined by the dynamics of social and cultural changes that took place in Russian society in the post-Soviet period.

The variety of forms of creativity has increased. Different directions, styles, schools and artistic individuals had the opportunity to express their own views and realize their potential. Many of them not only entered into creative disputes and conflicts with each other, but also caused heated discussions in society. The process of spiritual rethinking of the past and the search for one’s place in a globalizing world continued. Cultural life opened up to influences and borrowings from other cultures and at the same time sought ways to renew its own traditions. The primary task became the accumulation of intellectual capital - the main resource for the development of the modern world, improving the quality and level of education. As social stratification deepened, television became the main source of satisfying the cultural needs of a significant part of the population (the average duration of watching television was about 3-3.5 hours a day). Some Russians who had a high level of income, on the contrary, focused on the elite leisure industry - pay TV channels, Internet access, expensive clubs and foreign tourism.

Major changes that took place in the East in XIX c., could not but affect the spiritual life and culture of Eastern society.
One of the main changes in the spiritual life of eastern countries at this time was the emergence of new ideas and values ​​that went beyond traditional ideas. This process began under the influence of the colonialists and was especially strengthened by the modernization of traditional society. The new model of development, which began to be established in the East, objectively required the emergence of a new person - an active personality, aware of his human dignity, free from inertia in thoughts and actions, valuing freedom.
The modernization movement of the national intelligentsia became a kind of “generator” of new ideas. In the colonies, it arose largely thanks to foreigners who, in an effort to expand their social base, began to create European-style schools and encouraged local youth to leave to study at European universities. A similar policy was also pursued in Japan after the Meiji Revolution, in the Ottoman Empire during the Tazimat years, and partly in China during the “self-strengthening” policy. Representatives of the modernization movement sought to overcome the backwardness of their countries by eliminating those negative phenomena of traditional society that hindered the movement of eastern countries along the path of progress. Modernizers considered one of their main tasks to be the dissemination in the minds of people of new ideals and principles of life, which were mainly borrowed from the West, but objectively met the needs of the forward movement of eastern countries.
The modernization movement was divided into two directions: religious and secular. The religious direction was represented by a reform movement, whose representatives sought to adapt religious doctrines to the new realities of eastern countries. Reformism affected mainly Hinduism and Islam. The beginning of the reform of Hinduism was laid by R. M. Roy and K. Sen, and in the second half XIX V. was developed in the works of Ramakrishna and S. Vivekananda. The largest reformers of Islam in XIX V. there were al-Afghani and M. Ik-bal. What the reformers had in common was the call to overcome outdated dogmas and traditions, condemnation of the obedience, inactivity and inequality of people. They emphasized the outstanding role of the human mind and human activity in transforming society, and put forward ideas of struggle for the dignity of the human person.
Enlightenment became the secular direction of the modernization movement. Its emergence is directly related to the cultural influence of the West, primarily with the ideas of the French enlighteners XVIII V. Initially, the central place in the activities of educators was occupied by the propaganda of the ideas of the human mind, the dignity of the individual, and his active participation in public life. In the second half XIX V. these ideas were supplemented by the propaganda of the values ​​of freedom, constitution, parliamentarism, and a call for the elimination of feudal relations and traditional political institutions. At the end XIX V. The ideas of the nation and fatherland came first in the enlightenment of the East, and a call was made for a decisive struggle against the colonialists and for national liberation.
This rise of the national idea was also characteristic of reformism. For example, al-Afghani actively promoted the ideas of pan-Islamism, calling for the unification of all Muslims in the struggle for the liberation of the Islamic world from the colonialists, and for the creation of a single Muslim state built on the principle of a constitutional monarchy. In India, S. Vi-vekananda also spoke out against colonial oppression and called for a decisive struggle to change the existing order.
The activities of the enlighteners influenced not only philosophical thought, but also cultural development in general. In the most developed eastern countries, educators established the publication of newspapers, translated the works of many Western authors into local languages, and contributed to the opening of new schools, for which they sometimes wrote textbooks themselves. An important role belongs to educators in the development of the national language and in the formation of new literature. For example, in India, educators abandoned the use of dead Sanskrit and switched to the use of living languages ​​(Bengali, Urdu, Hindi), in which they wrote a whole series of works that were new in form and content. In Arab countries, educators launched widespread propaganda of the Arabic language and history and laid the foundations of a new Arabic literature. It is no coincidence that the activities of the enlighteners coincided with the beginning of a cultural upsurge in the Arab world, called “Nahda” (renaissance).
In the second half XIX V. In all eastern countries, the question of the attitude towards Western achievements and Western culture as a whole has become one of the central places in cultural life. The emergence of this problem
consciousness, which gave rise to the desire to preserve the cultural identity of the East, to prevent the development in Eastern society of a number of negative phenomena inherent in the Western way of life (extreme selfishness and individualism, the cult of money, the priority of material values ​​over spiritual ones).
In relation to this issue, three approaches have emerged among the national intelligentsia:
1) “Westerners” were sharply critical of Eastern traditions and believed that only the complete adoption of the Western way of life and Western culture would ensure progress for the peoples of the East;
2) conservatives believed that it was necessary to isolate themselves from the West or, in extreme cases, to partially borrow those of its achievements that are vitally necessary for Eastern society;
3) supporters of the organic approach advocated the creative combination of the best achievements of two civilizations in the life and culture of eastern countries.
“Westernism” in the East prevailed in the first half XIX c., when foreign penetration was just beginning. Of the eastern countries, it was most widespread in India, where it was supported by the colonial administration. In China, on the contrary, for a long time the conservative movement, based on the support of the feudal state, prevailed. In addition, the emergence of “Westernism” was significantly restrained by the belief, developed over many centuries, that China is the leader of the entire world. It was only during the First World War that Western philosophy began to penetrate widely in China, and the “new culture” movement arose, within which an attempt was made to move away from traditional ideas and cultural norms.
In general, back to the beginning XX V. The “Westernizing” trend is relegating to second place in most eastern countries. This is clearly seen in the example of Japan, which after the Meiji Revolution took the path of extensive borrowing from Western movements. IN 70 - 90- e years XIX V. In Japanese society, a wide debate unfolded on the issue of attitudes towards Western culture. Ultimately, the victory was won by supporters of the preservation of cultural identity,
received the support of the state, which declared Shinto, the national Japanese religion, to be the state religion of Japan. Shinto has largely become a means of preserving the identity of Japanese society. It did not have a detailed doctrine, which made it possible to fill its ritual side with new content. Shinto introduced the ideas of the nation as a large family, the moral and ethical principles of Confucianism, the cult of ancestors, and the idea of ​​the national uniqueness of the Japanese. The state obliged the entire population of the country to study Shinto and closely monitored that the priests did not deviate from the dogma developed by the government. As a result, Japan has become a unique country that has managed to organically combine the technical achievements of the West and its experience in organizing economic life with the traditional moral values ​​and family and everyday principles existing in the country.
It should be borne in mind that all these new phenomena in the spiritual sphere, changes in consciousness affected the beginning XX V. only the educated part of Eastern society. The consciousness of the broad masses was still based on traditional values ​​and norms. This clearly showed the national liberation movement of the beginning XX V.

At the same time, the West influenced not only social thought, but also the culture of eastern countries in general. This influence was especially evident in literature. Here, new themes, prompted by reality, gradually began to displace traditional religious and mythological subjects. Many writers from Eastern countries turned to historical themes, trying to better understand the present and look into the future through history. In the literature of the East, traditional forms began to be overcome. New literary genres appeared: short story, drama, new poetry and the European-style novel. Prominent writers - representatives of the new Eastern literature - were Lu Xun in China and R. Tagore in India - winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913).
European influence also affected the architecture of eastern countries, where in the architecture of large forms (mainly for public purposes), the European style increasingly replaced the local one. In a number of countries, attempts have been made to combine Western canons and national traditions. However, in most cases such attempts were unsuccessful.
A more fruitful synthesis of traditional norms and European rules occurred in painting, where Eastern techniques were gradually combined with European rules of perspective and volume. Realistic approaches appeared in the works of some Eastern artists, but in general, realism in the visual arts of the East did not become widespread during this period.
At the same time, the formation of a new national art in the East took place in XIX V. very slowly. Traditional canons generally retained a dominant position, especially in those types of art that were intended for the broad masses. In fact, the process of cultural renewal in the East was just beginning.
DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS
Rabindranath Thagor (1861 - 1941)
TO CIVILIZATION
Give us back the forest. Take your city, full of noise and smoky haze. Take your stone, iron, fallen trunks. Modern civilization! Soul Eater! Give us back shade and coolness in the sacred silence of the forest. These evening baths, the sunset light over the river, A herd of cows grazing, the quiet songs of the Vedas, Handfuls of grains, grass, clothes returned from the bark, A conversation about the great truths that we have always had in our souls, These days that we spent are immersed in thoughts. I don’t even need royal pleasures in your prison. I want freedom. I want to feel like I'm flying again. I want the strength to return to my heart again. I want to know that the shackles are broken, I want to break the chains. I want to feel the eternal trembling of the heart of the universe again.
(Rabindranath Tagore. Selected. M., 1987. P. 33).
HINDUSTAN
MOAN OF HINDUSTAN
I constantly hear, Since childhood, a quiet call has been drawing me to the West: There, the fate of India dances among funeral pyres...
The master and the slave agreed that
So that the country turns into a gambling house, -
Today it is from edge to edge -
One grave is solid. They put an end to the infamy and glory of past times. The legs of the former power were broken. To old dreams
and true to visions,
She lies in the shallow Jamuna, And her speech is barely audible: “New shadows have thickened, the sunset has faded, This is the last hour of a bygone century.”
(Rabindranath Tagore. Selected. M., 1987. P. 70 - 71).
SLOGANS OF THE “NEW CULTURE” MOVEMENT IN CHINA
(from an editorial article in the magazine “Xin Qingnian” (“New Youth”))
“In order to defend democracy, one cannot but fight against Confucianism, against its etiquette and rituals, against its concepts of honesty and chastity, against the old morality and old politics. In order to defend science, one cannot but fight against religion and old art. The struggle for democracy and science is impossible without a struggle against the old traditional school and against the old literature” (Qu Qiubo. Journalism of different years. M., 1979. P. 151).
ASSESSMENT OF THE MOVEMENT “FOR A NEW CULTURE” BY HISTORIANS
“The content of the movement “for a new culture” went far beyond the scope of the struggle in the field of culture. It was about the struggle for bourgeois-democratic transformations in the country, for bourgeois educational ideology, against the feudal ideology of Confucianism and medieval superstitions. Fierce debate took place around the main issues: political transformation and the democratic rights of the people; superstitions, prejudices, Confucianism and old dogmas; ideological emancipation of the people; personal freedom and individual development; reform of the Chinese language and creation of new literature; a new worldview and scientific method of thinking, etc. The ideological struggle was waged with representatives of the feudal-landlord ideology, with proteges of monarchical parties and militaristic cliques, representatives of the Buddhist and Taoist religions and Christian missionaries" (New History of China. M., 1972. P. 575).
FRAGMENT OF A PROSE POEM BY CHINESE WRITER LU XIN (1881 - 1936)
Such a fighter
“...Here he passes through the ranks of ethereal beings; everyone he meets nods to him... Above the heads of ethereal creatures flutter banners with loud titles embroidered on them: “philanthropist”, “scientist”, “writer”, “eldest in the family”, “young man”, “aesthete” ... Below are all kinds of robes with beautiful words embroidered on them: “learning”, “morality”, “purity of the national spirit”, “will of the people”, “logic”, “public duty”, “civilization of the East”...
But he raises his spear.
He smiles, throws his spear and hits him right in the heart.
All of them, wilted, fall to the ground. But it turns out that these are only robes, underneath them there is nothing. The ethereal creatures managed to escape and are celebrating victory, for now he has become a criminal who has stabbed the philanthropist and others like him to death.
But he raises his spear...
Finally, he grows old and dies among the ethereal beings. Now he is no longer a fighter, but ethereal beings are winners.
Now no one hears the cry of war: great peace...
But he raises the spear" (Lu Xun. Selected. M., 1989. P. 343 - 344).
QUESTIONS
1. Can the emergence of new ideas and values ​​be called a modernization of the spiritual life of the East?
2. What factors influenced changes in the spiritual life and culture of the countries of the East?
3. How natural was the emergence of religious reformation in the East?
4. Trace the evolution of the ideas of Eastern enlightenment. What explains it?
5. How have the approaches of the intelligentsia of Eastern countries changed to the question of their attitude towards Western culture?
6. What influence did the West have on the culture of the East?
7. What changes have occurred in XIX V. in the culture of eastern countries?

So what results should a person who strives to live a Christian life see in himself? How can he understand: is he growing spiritually, or are all the positive changes in him self-deception and vanity? And what should someone do who carries within himself a constant set of the same sins and cannot move from a dead point? On the week of St. John Climacus about cures for sin, spiritual enterprise and God's mercy– Archpriest Georgy Gulyaev, cleric of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in the city of Kherson.

– When we talk about spiritual life, it is important to understand all the limitations and conventions of our human language. Because man tries to express concepts that belong to the spiritual world in symbols and images related to the material world. Undoubtedly, both worlds have the same Creator, but our analogies and comparisons will still not be entirely correct; it is always necessary to make a reservation: “it looks like something,” “it kind of reminds,” etc.

If this is not understood, then attempts to literally apply the spatial categories “up”, “down”, “in depth”, “in width” in relation to the spiritual world can lead to sad consequences. Some, for example, try to find the geographical coordinates of the entrance to heaven or hell on earth, or to determine the place where Christ ascended... A material theodolite and caliper are applied to the spiritual world... The same is with spiritual life: up the escalator or down, deep into the soul or in breadth - it is important to understand that we say this with a certain degree of convention.

But the concept of spiritual growth, it would seem, is also a quantitative characteristic - where there is an initial and final state, the time during which an event occurs - presupposes certain dynamics and completely measurable parameters.

We balance goals and expectations

In the Gospel we find examples of such changes. In parables, our Lord Jesus Christ speaks about leaven into which a woman put three measures of flour - the whole dough was leavened, about a “mustard” seed growing into a large branchy tree, about the grains of the Word of God that the Sower sows, and about what changes ( quantitative) happen to them. And the parable about buried and multiplied talents is also about this.

And in order for a person to understand whether he is growing spiritually or not, it is necessary to first decide on the goal and expectations - what we, in fact, strive for. It is clear that in the highest spiritual categories we are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven - everything will immediately become clear there. Either you are in the Kingdom or outside of it... But the goal of Christian life - the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, this earthly matter - can and should be talked about now. On earth, the Spirit is present in specific people - in God's saints. Therefore, when it comes to spiritual heights, a person turns to the experience of the holy fathers, which is preserved by Tradition, it is described in books.

In general, it can be argued that the carriers of the Spirit are priests or more experienced Christians; for children, these can be their parents or godparents. A person who has experience in spiritual life and is familiar with the Holy Scriptures is able to give advice (in confession, in a spiritual conversation or sermon ), what is good, what is bad, righteous or unrighteous, one way or another is worth behaving.

— How and with what to compare? That is, it is a question of communications - when does a person compare himself with others by reading books or communicating directly? But there is also an internal state - how a person evaluates himself, what he sees in himself, what he is upset and happy about.

- In any case, I myself will compare myself with those models that are outside of me. Because for myself I cannot be the measure of some of my achievements. Here is a simple everyday example when they ask me: “Father, are you fasting?” And it depends on who you compare with. If we compare with the majority of the population, who do not pay any attention to the fact that fasting has come, then, of course, I fast - I limit myself in some ways, adhere to certain rules, etc. And if we compare with St. Seraphim of Sarov, for example, then I am a glutton who simply switched to a vegetarian diet, and my exploits are not exploits at all, and all this looks quite modest in the light of asceticism.

It is good when a person soberly assesses his spiritual state and listens to his conscience. He compares his actions and thoughts with the standard of Holy Scripture - is he acting in the Gospel or not? Because if I act according to the flesh, according to the passionate desires of my soul, I will soon feel sorry for myself - I will strive for more comfortable conditions. But according to the Gospel, I must encourage myself to follow the narrow path in the direction that the holy fathers walked. And in this sense, Orthodoxy has vast experience.

If everything in spiritual life came down to quantitative indicators, everything would be simple and understandable. How did the saints live? Did you fast, pray, or make bows? Then the more prayers and bows, the better for the soul! The less food you eat during fasting, the higher you will be in spiritual matters! But in reality it's not like that. The proverb “make a fool pray to God, he will bruise his forehead” is Christian in meaning, reflecting the spiritual state of a person.

— Not always a lot or quickly is good. Diligence and concentration on one aspect of spiritual work does not always lead to a positive result.

A person limits himself to food, but at the same time shows irritability, impatience and other passions. He reads a lot of prayers and spiritual literature, but at the same time does not do household chores and does not care for loved ones. He bows beautifully and at the same time condemns everyone. Sound familiar? Here are the Pharisees - they seemed to be fulfilling the law and doing good deeds, but for some reason Christ did not strongly support them in such deeds. And he pointed out the need for other relationships with both God and man.

Test by love

— To assess spiritual changes in a person, two conventional scales are applicable –external and internal? The external one allows you to focus on the criteria defined by the Gospel, while the internal one allows you to compare yourself in the past and present. What should a person see in himself? –what changes?

—If the goal of Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, then there must also be fruits of this acquisition. And the Apostle Paul tells us about this in the Epistle to the Galatians. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). ​​Actually, the apostle lists those Christian virtues that a person can discover in himself or, conversely, see their absence.

“And if as a person you don’t become kinder and more compassionate, then you’re moving in the wrong direction.”

“After all, in the fight against all our sins, the task is not just to reach some neutral level, where there is no despondency, no anger, no lust, no love of money. This is some kind of nirvana, “great Nothing”. A Christian is not a neutral and dispassionate sinner. A Christian is filled with the fruits of the Spirit - he loves passionately, sincerely rejoices, brings peace, shows patience, donates his time and energy, trusts God and people, meekly endures trials, and is self-controlled in his desires. A Christian is a person who strives to be worthy of his Christ-name.

— Or as Peter Mamonov says, “No love means no Christianity. At least surround yourself with candles.”

- Agree. Only this does not cancel out either candles or holy water - like the presence of special means to awaken in a person the desire for spiritual life. Someone, perhaps, remains for years at this level - “the main thing is to light the candles, and I don’t need anything else.” And it is precisely in this case that it is worth picking up the Gospel again and trying to understand how much you correspond to it.

“And very often a person comes to confession and constantly names the same sins - it seems to him that he has become one with these sins, and there is nothing more in him. You need to change your lifestyle so that you don’t return to the same puddle every time and fight the same diseases. This is what we priests talk about when we talk about human weaknesses.

— Father is stern in communication, because no one except the priest will tell a person that he has sin and spiritual weakness. Most often, mass culture indulges passions, and any dissatisfaction with one’s spiritual life is called complexes. The priest proceeds from the fact that he wants to help a person get out of the mud of sin.

And we, priests, also rarely praise our parishioners in ordinary communication, although they are great, they have a lot of good qualities. But we think that maybe others will praise them, so as not to over-praise and cause vanity in them.

We gotta get up and do something

- But what to do when there is a state of certain conservation in sins, an inability to get rid of them, but a person feels that he has become different in many ways? Can such feelings be trusted?

- Every second we are different - there is an update on the material level: we grow, age, perceive new information. And in spiritual terms, we are talking about a certain experience that a person collects within himself. Another thing is that the same basic passions that were described by Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov - they objectively exist, and they must be fought both in youth and in adulthood.

Young people have their problems, old people have theirs. There is an expression that virtue in old age is not always virtue. More often it is simply the inability to commit sin. Unfortunately, there are still sins that require treatment in old age. It is very important to notice them in your soul, so that later it doesn’t turn out that you spent your life and didn’t really gain anything.

However, all our reasoning about “up and down”, “more and less” most often leads to such a sin as vanity. “If I fast, I become vain, and if I don’t fast, I also become vain,” says St. John Climacus.

So my reasoning on this issue may not be entirely correct, because I really understand my spiritual level and my spiritual state. I also need to work on a lot. And in order not to fall into arrogance and some kind of teaching, I will simply repeat again and again that one must seek experience in the Gospel and from the Holy Fathers.

“The Lord leads a person through life, does not leave him, sends him revelations and signs. And the person still understands that he is somehow moving in the wrong direction, whether he is doing good or bad.

“The only thing is that we will have real peace only when we draw closer to Christ.” While I’m still alive, if I start saying “I have achieved something,” it will mean that such self-confidence can be dangerous for me. Here it would be appropriate to remember about the escalator. And while you are moving, you are living a spiritual life. Yes, there are falls, but you have to get up and do something.

— Well, running up a downward escalator requires a lot of speed and a lot of effort...

The Lord sets everyone’s own speed. And perhaps it will also neutralize the action of those who launch such an “escalator”. And this depends on the severity of our sins, and on passions, and on our general inclination to do this. When the flesh, as they say, pulls down. The Lord helps us with this, and at some point you understand that we generally need to act differently. It’s not easy to climb these steps with your feet... But such understanding comes with time.

A person must look for ways

- And yet, if a person constantly repents of the same sins, what should he think of himself?

— If a person sees that he is not changing, the main thing is not to become discouraged. After all, we are not saved individually, but we are saved in the Church. And the experience of those Christians who have already gone through something is important. You need to search and you will find. It's like with alcoholics - it is very difficult for the first person to admit that he is sick. And for some it is difficult to accept the first commandment of Christ, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

You need to trust God, entrust your life to Him. In each specific case, these issues require attention and effort. You can't just sit idly by.

I really like the Gospel parable about the steward, who, when he realized that he would be kicked out, began to cheat and write off the debts of all the owner’s debtors. And the owner praised him for this. At first glance, the parable seems very strange. “And the lord praised the unfaithful steward, because he acted wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light.” Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, 8 v.

“Unfortunately, the work of our salvation seems to some of little interest, and people do not use the same efforts for salvation that were used at one time to destroy the soul.

“That’s why Saint John the Long-Suffering of Kiev-Pechersk was buried in the ground?” He had a passion and this is how he fought with it - this is the way he chose and this is how he was saved...

But we, unfortunately, do not have such a desire to be saved, we do not have such a keen sense of feeling, such an understanding that without God we are nowhere. At times we are believers, at times we are not, sometimes we perform great feats, sometimes we act disgracefully. After all, the same fasts, restrictions and church rules have a very specific purpose - they are means for treating a certain spiritual illness. And not just a general place - in general: “you have to do it and that’s it.”

If the soul is sick, look for a cure, search as you would look for a cure for a suffering body. One thing doesn’t help, so you need to try to find another. True, prescriptions should be made by an experienced doctor, not a neighbor. And there is no sin that cannot be healed.

And then God's mercy comes

Can a person have criteria to evaluate whether he has become better or not?

Perhaps such awareness comes naturally. And the apostle writes that Christians should have a good reputation even from outsiders.

But there is such an opinion, and I agree with it, that the whole purpose of our spiritual exploits is to come to the understanding that we cannot do anything on our own. To entrust yourself into the hands of Christ and say: “Lord, I am all yours and do with me whatever you want.” Like the Apostle Peter drowning in a stormy sea, stretch out your hands to the Savior and exclaim: “Lord, save me!” And then God's mercy comes. And the Lord shows: I love you as you are. And he forgives not because the person did something great. Like I forgave the harlot and the robber - they did nothing at all, they simply didn’t have time, they didn’t have any virtues. It is His prerogative to forgive without demanding anything in return...

Prepared by Marina Bogdanova

Russia in the 18th century Kamensky Alexander Borisovich

9. Changes in culture, everyday life, spiritual life

The changes that took place in the time of Peter the Great in the everyday life of Russian people, their worldview, self-awareness, everyday behavior, as well as in culture, were determined both by the purposeful policy of Peter I and by the indirect influence of changes in the social sphere and political life. Of great importance, as already mentioned, was the very change at the very beginning of the reform period in the external appearance of the Russian man, who shaved his beard and put on European dress, which qualitatively changed his self-perception. The way of life has also changed radically. People involved in various events of Peter the Great's time were introduced to new, previously unknown activities; they had to move around the country a lot, solve new problems, deal with new types of documents in which it was necessary to express their thoughts in a new way. An important role was played by the linguistic reform undertaken by Peter, which began in 1708 with the introduction of the so-called civil font for printing books of secular content and led to the formation of a new literary language. At the same time, the development and perception of this language, its vocabulary, style, and methods of presenting thoughts had ideological significance, because it actually meant a positive reception of the entire complex of Peter’s transformations, since a person began to think in the same categories as the Tsar himself. The construction of St. Petersburg was also of fundamental importance, where there was not only a different, European-style organized urban space; but in the sphere of everyday life (layout of living quarters, interior, household utensils, diet and food culture) everything was different. Such changes contributed to the emergence of new everyday practices and new behavior among Russians. Essentially, Peter’s reforms seemed to create a new world with a different, radically different from the traditional Russian system of values, way of life, norms of behavior, and principles of relationships between people.

The self-awareness of a Russian person, primarily a nobleman, also changed due to the need to receive a secular education based on natural science. In Peter's time, the first secular educational institutions appeared in Russia; translated natural science and philosophical literature is actively published; the first pharmacies are established; the Kunstkamera is founded - the first Russian museum, also predominantly of a natural science nature; theatrical performances are organized; The first Russian newspaper Vedomosti begins to appear; European music is played in the royal palaces and gardens, sculptures brought from Europe are installed; fireworks and balls are held; The Academy of Sciences is founded. Tsar's decrees instruct the nobles to gather in assemblies and strictly define the rules of behavior at them. Serious changes also occurred in the position of the Russian woman, first of all, the noblewoman, who at this time became a full participant in the secular salon.

All this contributed to the fact that the time of Peter the Great, which began with the reform of the calendar, was perceived by contemporaries as truly the beginning of a new historical era. The changes in the life of the country were so rapid and radical that they gave rise to acute reflection on what was happening, expressed, in particular, in the appearance of the first Russian memoirs at that time, which also indicates the beginning of the process of realizing the intrinsic value of the human personality, the desire to record and preserve for posterity not only evidence of historical events, but also one’s own life experience.

At the same time, changes in the sphere of culture and everyday life affected, first of all, the nobility and the urban population, primarily residents of large cities. Among the masses of the common people and especially among the Old Believers, rumors spread about the replacement of the Tsar with a “German”; his behavior was perceived as “anti-behavior”, and the Tsar himself was perceived as the Antichrist. The lifestyle of the main masses of the population, their value system remained largely unchanged. But they also found themselves involved in new types of occupations, were subject to new types of duties, were involved in various events of Peter the Great’s time, came into contact with numerous foreigners in the Russian service, observing their way of life, manner of behavior, which was sharply different from their own, etc. .

In general, the era of Peter the Great became the time of the beginning of the formation of a new type of Russian person - rational, dynamic, open to the perception of everything new. This was the time of the establishment of secular culture in Russia, the formation of that cultural environment, which then persisted until the revolutionary upheavals of the beginning of the 20th century. But at the same time, Peter’s reforms led to a cultural split in Russian society, to the emergence of two types of Russian mentality opposing each other - traditional, focused primarily on the past, and Europeanized, focused on the values ​​of European culture. We can also talk about the emergence of two different cultural types of Russian people, for whom even historical time itself flowed at different speeds. Later, this tragic conflict became the basis for the formation of the Russian intelligentsia as a special socio-cultural phenomenon, a characteristic feature of which was a heightened perception of the cultural breakdown of Russian society and its social consequences.

It should, however, be borne in mind that even for that social layer that Peter’s reforms affected first and which then became the source of a new culture, this transformation was by no means painless and far from rapid. Almost throughout the entire 18th century, in the behavior, lifestyle, and psychology of not only ordinary Russian townspeople, but also European-educated nobles, one can detect a bizarre mixture of old Russian customs and habits with the latest European fashion and the most “advanced” views.

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From the book History of China author Meliksetov A.V.

3. Development of the spiritual life of Chinese society after the Xinhai Revolution The intensification of the political struggle and the renewal of the very style of political life after the Xinhai Revolution were accompanied by significant shifts in the spiritual life of Chinese society. They were

From the book History of Russia from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century author Froyanov Igor Yakovlevich

Changes in social and economic life By the middle of the 17th century. the devastation and devastation of the “time of troubles” were largely overcome. At the same time, “the entire history of the Moscow state in the 17th century developed in direct dependence on what happened in the troubled era”

author Team of authors

EVENTS AND CHANGES IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF EUROPE: RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION,

From the book World History: in 6 volumes. Volume 3: The World in Early Modern Times author Team of authors

EVENTS AND CHANGES IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF EUROPE: RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION, COUNTER-REFORMATION Burckhardt J. Culture of Italy during the Renaissance. Research experience. M., 1996 (1st German ed. 1860). History of culture in Western Europe during the Renaissance / ed. L.M. Bragina. M., 1999. Konrad N.I.

From the book History of the Soviet State. 1900–1991 by Vert Nicolas

From the book The Age of Constantine the Great author Burckhardt Jacob

Chapter 7 AGING IN THE LIFE AND CULTURE OF ANTIQUE If the crisis of antiquity manifests itself especially clearly somewhere, it is precisely in those twilight of paganism, which in the previous chapter we sought to present in their true colors. The question arises: Christianity could not breathe

From the book History of Modern Times. Crib author Alekseev Viktor Sergeevich

51. FEATURES OF THE SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF JAPAN The “closing” of Japan by the shoguns made connections with China predominant for Europeans. The Japanese borrowed a lot from Chinese culture and, in general, from the entire life of Chinese society. So, in Japan it was established

author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

1. Changes in the cultural life of the country 1.1. The beginning of the process of de-Stalinization in cultural policy. Chronologically, changes in the cultural sphere began earlier than in the political sphere. Already in 1953–1956. writers I. G. Erenburg, V. D. Dudintsev, critic V. Pomerantsev in their

From the book A Short Course in the History of Russia from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the 21st Century author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

4. Changes in culture and public consciousness 4.1. Literature and journalism. “Perestroika” caused the emergence of new trends in the cultural life of people and the spiritual state of society. The most important trend has been the revaluation of the historical past. A special role in this

From the book Khrushchev’s “thaw” and public sentiment in the USSR in 1953-1964. author Aksyutin Yuri Vasilievich

1.3.2. The first and short-lived “thaw” in spiritual life Changes at the top and changes in foreign and especially domestic policy could not but cause certain shifts in public sentiment. The previous paragraphs have already spoken about the reaction of the population to the death of Stalin,

From the book History of Slovakia author Avenarius Alexander

5.2. Changes in the culture of the nobility Changes in the spheres of power that occurred during the 15th century influenced not only the political structure of the country and the cultural level, but were also reflected in the field of material culture. The king is no longer the largest

From the book The Christian Church in the High Middle Ages author Simonova N.V.

Book One: Instructions useful for spiritual life Chapter I. On the imitation of Christ and on contempt for the world and its vanity1. Whoever follows Me, says Christ our Savior, will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. With these words Jesus calls us

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