In general, mentality is the prevailing schemes, stereotypes and patterns of thinking. Russians are not necessarily Russians. Individual person may be proud of being a “Cossack”, “Bashkir” or “Jew” within Russia, but outside its borders all Russians (past and present) are traditionally called (regardless of origin) Russians. There are reasons for this: as a rule, they all have similarities in their mentality and behavioral patterns.

Russians have something to be proud of, we have a huge and strong country, we have talented people and deep literature, while we ourselves know our own weak sides. If we want to become better, we must know them.

So, let's look at ourselves from the outside, namely from the outside strictly scientific research. What cultural researchers note as specific features Russian mentality?

1. Sobornost, the primacy of the general over the personal: “we are all our own,” we have everything in common and “what will people say.” Conciliarity results in the absence of the concept of privacy and the opportunity for any neighbor’s grandmother to intervene and tell you everything she thinks about your clothes, manners and the upbringing of your children.

From the same opera, the concepts of “public” and “collective”, which are absent in the West. “The opinion of the collective”, “don’t separate from the team”, “what will people say?” - conciliarity in its purest form. On the other hand, they will tell you if your tag is sticking out, your shoelace is untied, your pants are stained, or your grocery bag is torn. And also - they flash their headlights on the road to warn about the traffic police and save you from a fine.

2. The desire to live in truth. The term "pravda", often found in ancient Russian sources, means legal norms, on the basis of which the trial was carried out (hence the expressions “to judge the right” or “to judge in truth”, that is, objectively, fairly). Sources of codification are norms of customary law, princely judicial practice, as well as borrowed norms from authoritative sources - primarily the Holy Scriptures.

Outside Russian culture more often they talk about law-abidingness, rules of decency, or following religious commandments. In the Eastern mentality, Truth is not talked about; in China, it is important to live according to the precepts left by Confucius.

3. When choosing between reason and feeling, Russians choose feeling: sincerity and sincerity. In the Russian mentality, “expediency” is practically synonymous with selfish, selfish behavior and is not held in high esteem, like something “American.” It is difficult for the average Russian citizen to imagine that one can act intelligently and consciously not only for oneself, but also for the sake of someone, therefore selfless actions are identified with actions “from the heart,” based on feelings, without the head.

Russian - dislike of discipline and methodicality, life according to one's soul and mood, change of mood from peacefulness, forgiveness and humility to merciless rebellion to complete destruction - and vice versa. The Russian mentality lives rather according to the female model: feeling, gentleness, forgiveness, reacting with crying and rage to the consequences of such a life strategy.

4. A certain negativism: most Russians more often see flaws in themselves rather than virtues. Abroad, if a person accidentally touches another person on the street, the standard reaction of almost everyone is: “Sorry,” an apology and a smile. That's how they were raised. It’s sad that in Russia such patterns are more negative, here you can hear “Well, where are you looking?”, and something more harsh. Russians understand well what melancholy is, despite the fact that this word is untranslatable to others European languages. On the streets, it is not customary for us to smile, look into the faces of others, make indecent acquaintances, or simply start talking.

5. A smile in Russian communication is not mandatory attribute politeness. In the West, the more a person smiles, the more polite he is. In traditional Russian communication, priority is given to the requirement of sincerity. A smile among Russians demonstrates a personal affection for another person, which, naturally, does not apply to everyone. Therefore, if a person smiles not from the heart, it causes rejection.

You can ask for help - most likely they will help. It's normal to beg for both a cigarette and money. Man with constantly good mood arouses suspicion - either sick or insincere. Anyone who usually smiles affably at others is, if not a foreigner, then, of course, a sycophant. Of course, insincere. He says “Yes”, agrees - a hypocrite. Because sincere Russian man will definitely disagree and object. And in general, the truest sincerity is when you swear! Then you trust the person!

6. Love of controversy. Disputes traditionally occupy a large place in Russian communication. Russian people love to argue on a variety of issues, both private and general. Love for global debates, philosophical issues- a striking feature of Russian communicative behavior.

Russian people are often interested in argument not as a means of finding the truth, but as a mental exercise, as a form of emotional, sincere communication with each other. This is why in Russian communicative culture those arguing so often lose the thread of the argument and easily deviate from the original topic.

At the same time, it is completely uncharacteristic to strive for compromise or to let the interlocutor save face. Uncompromisingness and conflict are manifested very clearly: our person is uncomfortable if he did not argue, could not prove that he was right. “How did you formulate this quality English teacher: “A Russian always bets to win.” And vice versa, the characteristic “conflict-free” rather has a disapproving connotation, like “spineless”, “unprincipled”.

7. Russian people live by faith in the good that will one day descend from heaven(or simply from above) to the long-suffering Russian land: “Good will definitely defeat evil, but then, someday.” At the same time, his personal position is irresponsible: “Someone will bring us the truth, but not me personally. I can’t do anything myself and I won’t do anything.” For several centuries now, the main enemy of the Russian people has been the state in the form of a serving-punitive class.

8. The “keep your head down” principle. The Russian mentality has a disdainful attitude towards politics and democracy as a form of political structure in which the people are the source and controller of the activities of power. Characteristic is the conviction that people don’t really decide anything anywhere and democracy is a lie and hypocrisy. At the same time, tolerance and habit of lies and hypocrisy of their authorities due to the conviction that it is impossible otherwise.

9. Habit of theft, bribery and deception. The conviction that everyone steals everywhere, but in an honest way It's impossible to make big money. The principle is “if you don’t steal, you don’t live.” Alexander I: “In Russia there is such theft that I’m afraid to go to the dentist - I’ll sit in a chair and they’ll steal my jaw...” Dahl: “Russian people are not afraid of the cross, but they’re afraid of the pestle.”

At the same time, Russians are characterized by a protest attitude towards punishment: punishing for minor violations is not good, somehow petty, it is necessary to “forgive!” will sigh for a long time until he gets angry and starts a pogrom.

10. A characteristic feature of the Russian mentality that follows from the previous paragraph is the love of freebies. Movies need to be downloaded via torrent, pay for licensed programs - it’s a waste, the dream is the joy of Leni Golubkov in the MMM pyramid. Our fairy tales depict heroes who lie on the stove and eventually receive a kingdom and a sexy queen. Ivan the Fool is strong not because of his hard work, but because of his intelligence, when Pike, Sivka-Burka, Little Humpbacked Horse and other wolves, fish and firebirds do everything for him.

11. Taking care of health is not a value, sports are strange, getting sick is normal, but it is categorically not allowed to abandon the poor, and it is also considered morally unacceptable to leave those who did not care about their health and, as a result, became essentially helpless and disabled. Women look for the rich and successful, but love the poor and sick. “How can he live without me?” - hence codependency as a norm of life.

12. In us, pity takes the place of humanism. If humanism welcomes care for people, placing them on the pedestal of the free, developed, strong man, then pity directs care to the unfortunate and sick. According to statistics from Mail.ru and VTsIOM, helping adults is in fifth place in popularity after helping children, the elderly, animals and environmental problems. People feel more sorry for dogs than for people, and among people, out of a sense of pity, it is more important to support non-viable children, rather than adults who could still live and work.

In the comments to the article, some agree with such a portrait, others accuse the author of Russophobia. No, the author loves Russia and believes in it, having been engaged in educational and educational activities for your country. There are no enemies here and there is no need to look for them here, our task is different: namely, to think about how we can raise our country and raise children - our new citizens.

mentality mentality Russian people

Characterizing Russian culture from the point of view of its place in the “East - West” dichotomy is a rather difficult task, since, firstly, it occupies a middle position in relation to the geopolitical factor (which is taken into account by representatives of the so-called “geographical” or “climatic” determinism) ; secondly, the study of Russian civilization is just beginning (it is generally possible in relation to the already established national-cultural integrity, and in Russia self-identity and national identity are formed quite late compared to European cultures); thirdly, Russian culture is initially super-multi-ethnic in its composition (Slavic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric took part in its formation with a noticeable participation of Germanic, Turkic, North Caucasian ethnic substrates).

Russian culture began to stand out as a special type within the framework of Christian civilization in the 9th-11th centuries after the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs and their introduction to Orthodoxy. From the very beginning, Russian culture has been formed on the basis of such cultural characteristics as:

• · Autocratic form of state power (“patrimonial state”);
• · Collective mentality;
• · Subordination of society to the state;
• · Little amount of economic freedom.

One of the most significant factors in the formation of Russian culture was Orthodoxy as a religious and moral guideline for spiritual culture. Old Russian state was a confederation of independent states. Orthodoxy set a common normative and value order for Rus', the only symbolic form of expression of which was Old Russian language. It “captured” all layers of society, but not the whole person. The result of this is a very superficial (formal-ritual) level of Christianization of the “silent majority”, their ignorance of religious issues and a naive social-utilitarian interpretation of the fundamentals of dogma. Therefore, we can talk about a special type of Russian mass Orthodoxy - formal, closely “fused” with pagan mysticism and practice, which allowed N.A. Berdyaev to call it “Orthodoxy without Christianity.”

Middleness in relation to the Western and eastern types cultures is perhaps one of the leading characteristics of Russian culture, since “Western” and “Eastern” features in the Russian mentality do not strictly contradict each other, but rather are combined and complementary. So, for example, Christian values ​​are borrowed by Russia as a value system of the culture of the West, but in the “eastern” version they are inherited from Byzantium, and the Russian church has been dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople since the 15th century. Also in the types of socio-political structure: Rus' “tried on” both the Eastern and Western models, and the centers of the Ancient

If we try to formulate which features of the Russian mentality can be characterized as clearly Western, and which as Eastern, then we can present them as follows:

Western features:

• · Christian values;
• · the urban nature of culture, which determines the entire society;
• · military-democratic genesis of state power;
• · absence of the syndrome of total slavery in relations of the “individual-state” type.

Eastern features:

• · absence private property in the European sense;
• · the dominance of the principle under which power gives rise to property;
• · autonomy of communities in relation to the state;
• · evolutionary nature of development.

As for the so-called “paths” of Russian culture, its cultural history has a completely unique specificity. Our history is not so “eternally lasting”, aimed rather at stagnation, any maintenance of stability, balance and, if possible, immutability, as in the East, facing eternity, and, at the same time, not as gradually progressive as in the West, moving along the path of qualitative and extensive development. It’s as if we are playing, shuffling Eastern and Western types of structuring historical time in our history. Russian culture then falls into a kind of hibernation, in which it even “misses” the most important points European history spirit (so we did not survive Antiquity, which gave European and Eastern cultures such a powerful cultural innovation (which K. Jaspers called the “axis” of world history) as a transition from a mythological type of thinking to a rational exploration of the world, to the emergence of philosophy - we began to form our own ethnocultural “self” immediately in the Middle Ages; the Renaissance type of personality never developed in Russian culture, since we also “stepped over” the Renaissance, stepping straight into a good and strong Enlightenment), then it concentrates and, drawing strength from nowhere, is included in some kind of some kind of “explosion”, no matter whether it is an external war, an internal revolution or something like “perestroika” or other reforms. This is another specific feature of the Russian mentality - polarity. Therefore, life in everyday language is a zebra, therefore “it’s either pan or gone”, “who is not with us is against us”, “from rags to riches”... That is, the Russian person does not tolerate intermediate states, he loves to “walk along the blade of a knife and cut your bare soul into blood.” Therefore, he feels great and adapts in crisis, milestone, turning point situations at the collective and even state level. This affects our way of fighting wars and our ability to resist external enemies. Likewise, at the individual level, no one, probably, like a Russian person knows how to come to terms with life’s circumstances, with fate (or even destiny), and if fate itself does not present any twists and tests, then the Russian person “helps” it, provokes it. It is no coincidence that all over the world the game with death, when a person himself “pulls its mustache,” is called “Russian roulette.” This is one of the heterostereotypes of the Russian person in many foreign cultures.

One can also note the accentuated binary as characteristic feature Russian culture, where such oppositions as “collectivism - personality” “coexist” in a completely unique and paradoxical way; “activity - passivity”; “borrowing is originality”; “development - stability”; “deconstruction - construction”; “Uniqueness - universalism.

The results of modern ethnopsychological research document the clash in the minds of Russian people of contradictory attitudes and behavioral stereotypes. Thus, there are five main behavioral orientations:

• · collectivism (hospitality, mutual assistance, generosity, gullibility, etc.);
• · on spiritual values ​​(justice, conscientiousness, wisdom, talent, etc.);
• · on power (honoring rank, creating idols, controllability, etc.);
• · for a better future (hope for “maybe”, irresponsibility, carelessness, impracticality, lack of self-confidence, etc.);
• · for a quick solution life problems(habit of rush jobs, daring; heroism, high ability to work, etc.).

One of the central features of the Russian mentality is the ideal of obedience and repentance in Christianity (and not physical labor as a mandatory prerequisite for “smart work”, similar to the Western Christian commandment “pray and work”, which, according to M. Weber, was one of the essential prerequisites the formation of capitalism in Western Europe after the Reformation). Hence, Russians have such a heightened sense of guilt and conscience as the individual’s ability to exercise moral self-control. It is savored with a special masochistic taste in Russian literature and is also one of the most common stereotypes.

Russian culture is characterized by a special ethnocentrism and messianism, which are an important part Russian image thinking. This sensitively captures and expresses language, ironizing and hyperbolizing these properties of our mentality (“Russia is the homeland of elephants”; or in one of the modern commercials: “It was a long time ago, when everyone was still Jews, and only the Romans were Russian”). . We are also largely inclined towards traditionalism, which justifies attempts to attribute Russian culture to the East. This is an all-encompassing traditionalism of thinking - a force perceived by members of society, which consists not in the individual and his self-worth, as in Western culture, but in the crowd, the mass. Hence our desire for collective forms - conciliarity in Orthodoxy, “hey, come on, men”, “the whole world, all the people”, “Get up, huge country”, these are rush jobs, collective creativity in all spheres cultural life. Traditionalism is expressed in “decency and orderliness”, in the everyday and personal life of the Russian person, in the presence of strict canons in literature and art, as well as in a special attitude towards time - in an appeal to the past or the very distant future (A.P. Chekhov: “ Russian people love to remember, but not to live"). One of the sides of our traditionalism is monumentalism - a penchant for grandiose forms of self-expression and self-affirmation. Despite its openness to any intercultural contacts and borrowings, Russian culture is largely introverted. Open to external influences, it is not susceptible to them due to cultural immunity developed over centuries and a “suspicious” attitude towards other, alien cultures. This is well illustrated by our in a special way carry out reforms. For example, Peter’s “Westernization” in terms of goals and form became the deepest “anti-Westernization” in essence, and the “revolutionary” and Westernizer Peter I turned out to be a guardian and a traditionalist.

“Russia is a country with the friendliest people!” This is what they often say about you and me. But let's go outside and look around. Something doesn't look like it, right?

Russians are truly an unusual nation. It seems that only here can absolute indifference coexist with noble responsiveness, and generosity and hospitality with stone faces a la “what are you staring at?”

Psychologists all over the world have been wondering for decades why we Russians are so strange. They immediately remember feudal oppression, the autocratic royal power, hunger and other suffering, which, in their opinion, never existed in Europe. Well, you know, after all, everything there, by definition, has been good and beautiful from time immemorial. This is what we think, this is how Europeans themselves try to maintain their image.

American psychologist Nicholas Bright wrote: “The Russians have experienced a lot in the course of their history. But, thanks to the idea of ​​collective empathy, they were able not only to preserve the unity of the national spirit, but also to multiply it, to create an absolute egregor of sincerity, which often borders on the absurd.” Sounds good, although a little alarming, right? Let's remember the main features of the Russian mentality.

We can easily be called rude. Yes, that’s what it is. It costs us nothing to argue and argue with our superiors, without even thinking about the consequences. We will gladly send away the person who accidentally stepped on our foot. In our linguistic arsenal there will always be sarcastic rhymes for any word, and the floweriness and variety of non-literary Russian is simply amazing. It is normal for us to hear rudeness in response to the most innocent request. It’s not very common for us to look into each other’s eyes, just smile or say “hello/thank you” in the store.

At the same time, Russians, as scientists say, live by the “principle of conciliarity.” Simply put, we are always together and stick with each other. It would seem that we don’t care at all about other people’s opinions. But at the same time, we celebrate all holidays, gathering 20 people, and for any reason, be it Plumber’s Day or Easter, we call all our relatives. We are always aware of the personal life of the neighbor from the fifth floor, the saleswoman from the store around the corner, the janitor and anyone else in general. Foreigners simply cannot understand our habit of having hours-long kitchen conversations or telling our story to a random fellow traveler on the bus.

What are we really like in this national dualism? Sincere. We simply do not hide any feelings and emotions. If we are having fun, then to the fullest, if we are angry, then so that the earth trembles and the whole neighborhood hears. We do not hesitate to be lazy and blame the state, God and magnetic storms for all problems. As children, we are not ready to take responsibility and decide something. Instead, we firmly believe that the kid next door has better toys. We are so sincere that we do not want to support advertising patriotism and believe social advertising. We have been talking for years about how bad it is to live in Russia, but we will stand up for our Motherland if even some foreigner speaks badly about it. By the way, about foreigners.

Thinking about the paradoxes of Russian goodwill, I wanted to directly ask residents of other countries how they see us - to look at Russia through the eyes of foreigners? Oddly enough, not as gloomy and harsh as it might seem. For example, a friend of mine, a forty-year-old English rocker, said that we are funny and know how to joke and have fun. But several Americans argued that Russians are very smart, much smarter than many other nations. Travelers, eager to learn about the peculiarities of the Russian mentality and to get to know the mysterious Russian soul, all say that you won’t be left alone in Russia: they will not only show you the way, but also guide you, chat, invite you to visit, gather a whole company and throw a feast in your honor.

Once I had the opportunity to meet a Frenchman who was hitchhiking all the way to Vladivostok, stopping briefly in major cities he really wanted to look at our country from the inside. To a banal question: “And how is it?”, he replied: “It turned out that everything that they write about you on the Internet is not true! It’s a pity, I really wanted to see bears and these hats. Seriously, when I arrived in another city, I didn’t have any plan or ready-made route, what to do and where to go. The people who were ready to shelter me and show me the place where they live were there on their own. Having visited a dozen cities, I realized that I didn’t understand anything. Now I know only one thing: Russia is a cool country!”

So, it turns out that we are not such beeches, right? Yes, we really don't smile too often. By the way, some foreigners also note this. Everything is correct, this happens again because we are too sincere: why, in fact, smile if you don’t want to? If I want to, I’ll definitely smile. At the same time, a European puts on his best smile in the morning and seems to be able to maintain a happy face, even if... the sky will fall comet. Since childhood, he has memorized phrases like “thank you/okay/sorry.” We do not wear the masks of decency, benevolent politeness and courtesy accepted in “civilized countries.” But does this mean that we are not responsive and friendly?

It is precisely thanks to the same principles of conciliarity and former socialism (which, in essence, has been characteristic of the Russian people from time immemorial) that we have exceptional attention to our neighbors. It does not manifest itself outwardly, because Russian people also have one more trait: we look for a catch in everything. We are so honest people that we immediately begin to suspect something is wrong if the person next to us behaves “untruthfully.” Too much help clearly expects something in return; constantly smiles, sucks up or wants to set him up; The hypocrite agrees on everything! It’s also the case with goodness that we show it only when we really want to, and we help either out of great desire or out of extreme inevitability. Otherwise, in our subconscious, the act of automatic goodness is associated with inanimate stereotypes. But if someone on the street suddenly becomes ill, he will not be left alone; there will certainly be those who will help.

When I was studying at primary school, then I constantly lost change for travel. My conscience (read “cowardice”) did not allow me to ride like a hare on buses, and I openly asked the drivers to give me a ride either for free or for the penny that I had left. And, you know, I never had to walk: in half the cases they agreed to my request, or some passenger was found willing to pay for me.

But when I was 17 years old, I got stuck late one evening in the city center. Public transport is no longer running, there are 30 rubles in your pocket, and according to the law of the genre, your phone is dead. It’s far and scary to walk on foot, there are no friends nearby, there’s nothing to ride or anything to ride on, you’re afraid to catch rides, what to do? Not agreeing with the prospect of spending the night on the street, I began to approach people with an innocent question: “Could you lend me a phone to call?” In three out of three cases I was refused. And then I realized: well, of course, they think that I want to rob them! You can’t approach our people with such a question; we even steal sincerely, looking honestly in the eyes. Then I chose a middle-aged woman and honestly explained the situation to her, adding pleading drama. It worked the first time, she helped me call a taxi. She also waited for the car with me to make sure everything was okay.

Why am I saying this? Moreover, we will never leave a person in trouble. But we strive to live in truth, and therefore we must be sure that help is really needed. This is the mentality of the Russian people. We won’t just give out change to everyone who asks left and right, but if we are convinced that the charitable ruble will go to its intended purpose, then please at least two. We can be very polite, courteous and cultured. If the mood is good. And it’s not for us to simply waste time on the rules of decency; the Russian person is too lively and real for that.

Remember the words American psychologist? Our sincerity does at times border on absurdity. But even though we are always dissatisfied with everything and everyone, we know how to live: swear, break dishes, start fights in queues and buses, celebrate birthdays a month earlier and celebrate a wedding with the whole yard. We know how to laugh and rejoice, help and do good. Russian people are short-sighted: they don’t like to plan anything, save money, look after their health, “invest in the future”; we live in the moment here and now. And while we are so different from the rest of the world with its culture of behavior, while we behave abroad “like barbarians” and persistently defend the rights of a carpet on the wall and a wardrobe that covers the entire wall, our national spirit, that same unique Russian soul, is preserved and multiplies. Is it worth measuring it by smiles and courtesy?

Features of the Russian soul and Russian mentality was last modified: June 11th, 2017 by Jasna

135 years ago, French psychologist and neuropsychiatrist Henri Vallon was born, who, based on the works of the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, introduced the concept of mentality.

"Russia is America in reverse..."

In general, many Russian psychologists believe that every nation has a mentality, and it is expressed in patterns of perception and behavior that influence the political and economic life of the country. Moreover, it is based national character based on historical experience. For example, Russians and Americans can see the same event under different angles, just because of his mentality. Each nation will have its own truth, and it will be very difficult to convince each other. This is because values ​​are transpersonal in nature. For example, the English-speaking literary critic Van Wyck Brooks, studying Russian literature, said: “America is just Russia in reverse...”

Just like everyone else

They study the mentality of a nation in order to understand who they will have to deal with, or even wage war. For example, the Germans have always been keenly interested in the Russian people. The first detailed description of Russia was made by the German ethnographer Johann Gottlieb Georgi back in 1776. The work was called “Description of all nations Russian state, their way of life, religion, customs, homes, clothing and other differences.”

“...There is no such state on earth as the Russian State, which accommodated such a great multitude various peoples, wrote Johann Georgi. - These are the Russians, with their tribes, like the Lapps, the Samoyeds, the Yukaghirs, the Chukchi, the Yakuts (then there is a list of nationalities on the whole page). ...And also settlers, such as Indians, Germans, Persians, Armenians, Georgians... and new Slavs - the Cossack class.”

In general, ethnographer Johann Georgi noted that it is not unusual for Russians to see strangers. All this, of course, affected the Russian mentality. Already today, psychiatrist Igor Vasilyevich Reverchuk, exploring the significance of ethnic identity in the clinical dynamics of various borderline mental disorders, found that 96.2% of Slavs living in Russia regard their nation as “equal among others,” while 93% demonstrate friendly attitude to other ethnic groups.

Children of their land

Doctor philosophical sciences Valery Kirillovich Trofimov, who specializes in Russian mentality, noted that in the past, “Russia is a country of risky agriculture, where every third to fifth year there were crop failures. The short agricultural cycle - 4-5 months - forced the farmer to constantly rush. Sowing and harvesting turned into a real suffering, a battle for the harvest.” That is why our people tend to work urgently when it is critically important, and the rest of the time they react to circumstances.
The Russian historian Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky also highlighted this characteristic feature of Russians in his time. “Nowhere in Europe will we find such a lack of habit of even, moderate and measured, constant work as in Great Russia,” he noted. According to professor of philosophy Arseny Vladimirovich Gulyga, “rushing from one extreme to another is a typically Russian trait: from rebellion to humility, from passivity to heroism, from prudence to wastefulness.”

Daydreaming

Most of our ancestors rarely left their native village. All because Boris Godunov enslaved the peasants by law in 1592. The Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev was sure of this. All this injustice, multiplied by poor life, led to collective fantasies and dreams of universal justice, goodness, beauty and goodness. “Russian people generally had the habit of living with dreams of the future,” Professor Vladimir Nikolaevich Dudenkov is convinced. - It seemed to them that the everyday, harsh and dull life of today was, in fact, a temporary delay in the onset true life, but soon everything will change, the true, reasonable and happy life. The whole meaning of life is in this future, and today’s life does not count.”

The mentality of a Russian official

It is known that in 1727, petty officials were no longer paid government salaries in exchange for accidents. Later, this rule was abolished, but the habit of the sovereign's servants to live off “feeding” remained and was not actually persecuted. As a result, bribery became the norm in the first half of the 19th century. For example, “resolving a case” in the Senate cost 50 thousand rubles. For comparison, a far from poor district judge had a salary of 300 rubles. Théophile Gautier, who visited St. Petersburg in 1858, famous writer from France wrote: “It is believed that for people of a certain level, walking is unbecoming and inappropriate. A Russian official without a carriage is like an Arab without a horse.”

It turns out that this part of our history may also be related to the mentality, albeit, of a certain group of Russian people. Thus, in the dictionary “Social Psychology” edited by M.Yu. Kondratiev defined the term “mentality” as “the specifics of the mental life of people (groups of people), determined by economic and political circumstances and having a supraconscious nature.”

Endurance and patience

American mentality experts are convinced that national character traits are influenced, among other things, by genetics, in which the behavior patterns of our ancestors are programmed. For example, if family tree presented by convinced monarchists, then a person will subconsciously feel sympathy for this form of government or for its representatives. Perhaps this lies in the neutral and even loyal attitude of the Russian people towards political leaders who long years rule the country.

This also applies to mental trait our people like patience. In particular, historian N.I. Kostomarov noted that “the Russian people amazed foreigners with their patience, firmness, and indifference to all kinds of deprivations of the comforts of life, difficult for a European... From childhood, Russians were accustomed to endure hunger and cold. Children were weaned after two months and fed roughage; the children ran around in their shirts without hats, barefoot in the snow in the bitter cold.”

Many Russian and foreign mentality experts believe that patience is our response to external and internal challenges, the basis of the Russian person.

Famous foreigners about Russians

Foreign politicians and journalists like to speculate about the Russian mentality. Most often, our compatriots are called drunkards. Thus, the French journalist Benoit Raisky wrote that “rude Russians are known for their passion for vodka.” And on the englishrussia portal on October 14, 2011, the article “50 Facts About Russia In The Eyes Of Foreigners” was published, it gained great amount views. It says, in particular, “A Russian who doesn’t drink is an extraordinary fact. Most likely, he has some kind of tragedy associated with alcohol.”

However, there are other opinions about Russians. For example, Otto von Bismarck considered the Russians to be a united nation. He argued: “even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the disintegration of the main strength of Russia, which is based on millions of Russians... These latter, even if they are dismembered by international treatises, are just as quickly reconnected with each other, like particles of a cut piece of mercury...” . However, history teaches nothing even to pragmatic Germans. Franz Halder, Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht (1938-1942) was forced to state in 1941: “The uniqueness of the country and the unique character of the Russians gives the campaign a special specificity. The first serious opponent."

Expert opinion

Modern social Psychology does not confirm the thesis about the immutability of mentality,” notes Vladimir Rimsky, head of the sociology department of the INDEM Foundation. - The conditions in which people live, social relationships are changing - and the mentality is changing along with them. - It can hardly be assumed that people have not changed their mentality since the Middle Ages. This is definitely an illusion. For example, in the Middle Ages mass consciousness There was absolutely no desire to become famous. Is this really true in today's society? Therefore, I would be careful not to assert that the features of the modern Russian mentality developed in Peter’s or pre-Petrine times.

In Russia, treating mentality as something unchangeable often leads to one purely practical consequence: we are not trying to actually do anything to become different. And this is wrong.

You can, of course, say that the problem is in mentality. But the point is rather that Russian society conditions have simply not been created for the implementation of civil initiatives.

Or take the problem of corruption - it is really widespread in Russia. It is believed that this is also a feature of our mentality. But I think we need to give people the opportunity to change their social practices. And then, quite possibly, the mentality will also change.

I should note that on a historical scale, mentality can change quite quickly - in two or three decades. This is, in particular, illustrated by examples South Korea or Singapore - states that have changed dramatically over the course of a single generation.

Or take a purely Russian example. The reforms of Alexander II affected, in particular, the judiciary. As a result, quite a lot of lawyers have appeared in Russia, working in jury trials. These jurors were ordinary citizens; I assure you, they perfectly understood what decisions the authorities needed - but often made the exact opposite verdicts. As a result, in Russian Empire A completely different attitude towards the court appeared - as a fair institution in which you can really defend your rights. Before Alexander II, such an attitude towards the judiciary was not even close.

I think people, of course, have national and ethnic characteristics. But still, one should not deny that a lot is determined by social relations and social environment, in which we live. If we were ready to change the environment, the mentality would change. Let me give you another example.

It is generally accepted among us that in Russia, from time immemorial, laws have not been observed, and nothing can be done about it. But I have talked more than once with Germans and Americans who came to Moscow to live and work. So, after a short stay in Russian capital, almost all of them began to violate traffic rules when driving a car, and give bribes to traffic cops. One lady, an American, when I asked why she did this, replied that in America it would never have occurred to her to bribe a policeman, but in Moscow “there is no other way.”

As you can see, the mentality in the head of a particular American changes quite simply - as soon as he adapts to the Russian environment. But this example tells a different story. In America and Germany, for example, everyone began to “live according to the law” relatively recently - about a hundred years ago. We can go the same way, and much faster...

Nadezhda Suvorova

Unhealthy Lifestyle

As sad as it may be, the inhabitants of the country... Favorite phrase of Russians: “It will go away on its own!” It is not customary for us to trust doctors, but rather to use prescriptions traditional medicine. Some even treat cancer with herbs and magic devices.

This happens because for such a long period of the country’s existence, we have not focused on health. We are not educated in this area and misunderstand the meaning of the saying: “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” Love for an idle lifestyle leads Russian people to.

Fortunately, today the younger generation is beginning to take an interest in their health, is interested in sports, and goes to Gym to gain a beautiful figure. But this is only the beginning of a long journey after the realization that Russia was sliding down.

Life "by connections"

Another established distinguishing feature of the Russian people is bribery. 200 years ago in Russia it was customary to give officials a fee for services, but even when this right was abolished, the habit remained.

The officials had settled into such comfortable conditions that they never wanted to lose financial contributions from the people. Therefore, issues are still being resolved not according to the law, but “through pull.”

Eradicate this trait at this point historical stage Russia is impossible, since there are others global problems, but the struggle has already begun and is bringing success.

Endurance

Historical events such as uprisings, wars, blockades and constant changes of rulers led to troubles for the Russian people. This made it possible to cultivate endurance, patience and the ability to withstand adversity in people.

Russian people are only recently getting used to comfort. Previously, we spent a lot of time in the fields to feed our family; there were often lean years, so we had to work without sleep or rest.

Weather conditions also influenced the formation of the Russian mentality. Foreigners are terribly afraid of the cold. For them, 0 degrees is already a reason to wear a sheepskin coat. The Russian people are accustomed to such temperatures and tolerate them well. One has only to remember the tradition of diving into an ice hole at Christmas. Some Russians actually practice winter swimming all winter.

Today Russia is emerging from the crisis, and the people are facing new challenges. Therefore, the mentality is gradually changing, acquiring new features. But some of them will forever remain in Russian souls and will help them remain invincible and undaunted in the face of dangerous enemies.

February 26, 2014