SPIRITUAL AND MORAL VALUES OF RUSSIA
In defense of common values. What does Putin's new decree mean?
Mikhail Metzel / RIA Novosti
On November 9, 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the preservation and strengthening of traditional spiritual and moral values." A lot has been said recently about the protection of traditional values, but not everyone understood what these values are. The document that appeared finally clarified this issue.
Aif.ru he talks about the essence of the new decree, and also tries to understand how it will change the life of the layman.
What are traditional values?
These are moral guidelines that form a worldview, passed down from generation to generation, which have found their unique manifestations in the development of the multinational people of Russia. At the very beginning of the decree, the President clarifies
that the preservation of traditional values is part of strategic planning and national security.
Next comes a specific list of values:
1. Life
2. Dignity.
3. Human rights and freedoms.
4. Patriotism.
5.Citizenship.
6. Service to the fatherland and responsibility for its fate.
7. High moral ideals.
8. Strong family.
9.Creative work.
10. The priority of the spiritual over the material.
11. Humanism.
12. Mercy.
13. Justice.
14. Collectivism.
15. Mutual assistance and mutual respect.
16. Historical memory and continuity of generations.
17. Unity of the peoples of Russia.
Separately, Putin officially assigned a "special role" in the formation of traditional values to Orthodoxy. Although the decree recognizes the contribution of all the main religions of the country: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and "other religions".
First of all, the state should look back at traditional values in education, youth work, culture, science, interethnic relations, the media and international cooperation.
What threatens traditional values?
The decree also lists threats to traditional values:
— terrorists;
— "separate" media;
— USA and other unfriendly countries;
— multinational corporations.
It is noted that all of the above threats are trying to promote other values that may begin to replace ours. Hence there is selfishness, a sense of permissiveness, propaganda of non-traditional relations and "denial of Russia's positive contribution to world history."
How will Russia defend its values?
At the very end, specific steps are listed, how Russia will protect values:
— All reforms of education, science or the media should be carried out taking into account the "preservation and strengthening of values."
— Strategic planning documents need to be corrected so that they (if this has not been done before) pay more attention to the protection of traditional values.
— First of all, the state will support those educational and cultural projects that promote traditional values.
— Improvement of scientific institutions to combat the rewriting of history.
— Law enforcement officers should actively stop the "destructive ideology".
Why was this decree adopted?
— It seems to me that this is the designation of the reference points that the president is forced to designate, — he says aif.ru historian and publicist Boris Yakemenko. — Earlier, if we take Soviet times, there was no need to carefully fix these points, because they were proclaimed and approved by the entire Soviet way of life. The whole Soviet culture. And it was obvious to everyone that, let's say, you need to love your father and mother. And it would be very strange if such a law came out in Soviet times, where it would be spelled out: "You need to love your father and mother."
However, today a huge number of people are in a situation of intellectual, informational chaos, when, unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that we have to explain elementary things. We have come to the need to say that it is light during the day and dark at night. If so, then let's do it.
Most likely, the presidential decree is a very important step towards the formation of the state ideology. We know that there is still no article on ideology in the Constitution. I hope that finally an understandable state ideology will be formulated at the state level. And this decree will be the first step.
— The decree says that the state should first of all look back at traditional values in education and work with young people. Can this lead to the creation of some new lessons of spiritual enlightenment?
— What is definitely impossible is to impose a system of religious views. We know what comes out of this from the history of pre-revolutionary Russia. Especially in the second half of the XIX century, when it was the theological seminary that became a hotbed of the most secular and most secular moods. It was from there that the most ardent revolutionaries came out. Such a soldier's barrack approach can only lead to this. Schools already have the foundations of spiritual culture and secular ethics, where the child has the right to choose what he wants. This system has already been established, and there is no need to invent anything further.
SPIRITUAL AND MORAL VALUES OF THE MAIN RELIGIONS
