That who can be Russian. Russian mentality: what does it mean to be a Russian person? Life "by connections"

Today we will discuss what it means to be Russian. I'll express my opinion. Other peoples - the French, the English - are cunning, insidious and always being clever. We Russians are very simple. We are no frills. When I think about Russians, I immediately imagine Ilya Repin’s painting “Cossacks”. He sits in his palace, in silks and gold, puffing himself up there, swaggering around, and we take him to such and such a mother. Just look at the open faces of the Cossacks, listen to their roaring laughter - these are our faces. Open Russian faces. The smell of sweat. The smell of male camaraderie: “Come on, smart guy, write!” It runs down your mustache, but also gets into your mouth. And Gogol also said that he loves the Russian people, this daring, brave, sharp word, once it’s sealed, it will never come off. And what about the grown-up Natasha Rostova with her poopy diapers? Who will admire such an evolution? Was an inch, became a hippopotamus. From Monetochka to Grechka. But for us this is the norm. Leo Tolstoy even came up with a special term - simplification. A foreigner will give us some malicious electronic crap, and we will say: “Wow, swing your arm, itch your shoulder!” And put her in the swing! For Russians, everything comes not from the head, but from the heart, from the womb. Russian means real.

All foreigners are aristocrats by nature, businessmen, or professors of some kind. And we are by nature peasants, community members, heroes, coachmen. A foreigner says to himself: “I am a gentleman, a chevalier, a business man,” and we Russians say this: “I am a man!” I’m a simple Russian woman!” For us, the highest thing is the people, ordinary people. In articles, texts, posts we write: “What about ordinary people? Who will think about ordinary people? God forbid they call you difficult in the yard. Then you will have such a nickname. And there is nothing worse than this. The British and French are all rich. This is their national trait. And Russian means poor, Russian means hard worker, peasant, Chingachgook. It was so under the tsar, and under communism, and now too.

Foreigners eat fin de cleres, camemberts, champignons, and consommé with profiteroles. And here we have it in a simple way, in our native style, in Russian. Cabbage soup and porridge are our food. Westerners have ribbons, lace, and bras. And we have trousers and a shirt. Foreigners have minuets and polkas, but we Russians have normal dances: round dance, lezginka. Foreigners have churches, skyscrapers, Versailles, the damned Bauhaus, but we have a Russian hut: stove, bed, nook, red corner. Behind the stove, the grandfather and woman are rustling, the young people are making love in the tents. It is the hut that sets the key coordinates of the spiritual space of Russian Eurasia.

These people have some kind of antics, grimaces, a shadow on the fence, but we have buckwheat with stew, the smell of pine trees, the smell of grass. Eh, Russian meadow, Russian bend! Here are some foreigners who say this: “Eh!”, “Wow!” Maybe American traders? French people in tights? No, they are all very quiet there, shu-shu along the wall. The gaze is shifty, the intonation is mannered. You won't understand what's inside. You’ve already poured out your whole soul to him, and he’s all about the weather.

Well, one last thing. Foreigners are terribly fond of everything foreign. They copulate with each other: the British with the Germans, the Germans with the French, the French with the Italians. “Wow, what a good Japanese car,” says the American, “and it costs less than a Cadillac.” I’d rather buy it!” “Or the Danes think: “Wow, how cool Italians are.” Let’s unite with them into the European Union.” And they do all sorts of mixes, collabs and other group formats. Interaction is their religion. And Russians love Russians. Mixed food is rejected. It's not ours.

Today we talk a lot about national construction, about the formation of Russian identity. They say there is no positive example. They say there is nothing in common. And some say it’s not necessary. They say the Ethiopians will steal our national idea and imitate the Russians. And I will say this: we have something in common. And this is something we have in common that we can be proud of. Simplicity, sincerity, poverty, belonging to the lower strata of society, passionate, feverish love for one’s own (it’s not for nothing that it is said “For one’s friends!”) - this is exactly what each of us strives for.

I was recently in Berlin. In the evening I went to a bar. I'm sitting, drinking coffee. And at the counter there are three young and very drunk Germans. One kept screaming something loudly and got pretty boring for me.
I finished my coffee and stood up. When I passed by the counter, the young loudmouth stopped me a little and patted me on the shoulder, as if inviting me to join in their fun.
I chuckled and shook my head. The guy asked: “Deutsch?” ("German?"). I replied: “Nine. Rusish"

And I am Russian to the very depths. Exemplary Russian. Scratch me - you will find a Tatar, this is on my father's side, on my mother's side there are Ukrainians - where would we be without them? - and somewhere the mysterious Lithuanian great-grandmother was hiding. In short, correct Russian DNA. Thick and rich like borscht.

And my entire set of chromosomes, and in addition to it a set of Vyatka meadow herbs, salted saffron milk caps, birch brooms, mother’s lullabies, three volumes of Chekhov
in a green cover, Chukchi red caviar, Aunt Zina's mother from the village of Brykino, crumpled letters from her father, December stars from her snowy childhood, Gaidai's comedies, sheets on ropes in a Lublin courtyard, the squeals of Piggy, Tchaikovsky's sad violins, voices from the kitchen radio, the smell of carbolic acid in train "Moscow-Lipetsk", transparent liqueurs of Ivan Petrovich - this whole set created from me a person of such breadth and such depth that it was scary to look into a monastery well...

And there is no originality in me, I am the most typical Russian. Mysterious, brooding and dangerous. Contemplator. Dostoevsky in “The Brothers Karamazov” wrote about such a typical contemplator that “maybe, suddenly, having accumulated impressions over many years, he will leave everything and go to Jerusalem to wander and save himself, or maybe he will suddenly burn down his native village, or maybe something else will happen.” and other things together."

To be Russian is to be torn to pieces. Unchristened. Open. One foot in Karelia, the other in Kamchatka. With one hand, take everything that is in bad shape, with the other, immediately give it to the first swindler you meet. Marvel at the icon with one eye, and at the news of Channel One with the other.

And a Russian cannot calmly dig in his garden or sit in the kitchen in his native khrushchev - no, he doesn’t just sit and dig, he looks around half the planet at the same time, he’s so used to it. He thinks in colossal spaces, every Russian is a geopolitician. Give the Russian free rein, he will make a garlic bed from Perm to Paris.

Some red-faced farmer in Alabama doesn't know exactly where New York is, but a Russian even knows how long it will take our rocket to reach New York. Why send a rocket there? Well, this is the second question, unimportant, we don’t waste our time on trifles.

Now Syria worries us. Maybe my bathroom faucet is leaking, but first I’ll find out what’s there in Syria, and then, if there’s time left, I’ll take care of the faucet. Syria is more important to me than my native tap.

Academician Pavlov, our great physiologist, gave a lecture “On the Russian Mind” in 1918. The verdict was this: the Russian mind is superficial, our people are not used to dwelling on something for a long time, it is not interesting to him. However, Pavlov himself or his contemporary Mendeleev seemed to refute this accusation with his own experience, but in general it was captured correctly.

A Russian needs to have time to think about so much around him that life is not enough. That’s why we drink a lot: every glass seems to make the world clearer. World processes are accelerating. He waved his glass - Chamberlain was no longer there. He waved another - Reagan flew past. Let’s overthrow the third one and deal with Merkel. Without snacking.

About twenty years ago I had two Italian girlfriends. We came from the University of Milan to write our diplomas in Moscow - something about our great culture. They began to comprehend it quickly - through vodka. They come, say, to visit me and immediately take a bottle out of their bag: “We know how it is with you.” Well, as a Russian boy, I didn’t lose face. He poured it full, tossed it back: “I’ll show you what we can do!” The Italian women squealed: “Belissimo!” - and looked at me with the admiring eyes of Raphael’s Madonnas.
God, how much I drank with them! And he held on and never fell. Because he understood: Russia is behind us, there is nowhere to retreat. Then I helped one of them write her diploma. We Russians are jacks of all trades, especially with a hangover.

Most of all, Russians value the state of drowsy, well-fed peace. So that jellied meat is on the table, salary is on time, Urgant is on the screen. If something goes wrong, the Russian gets angry. But not for long. A Russian always knows: tomorrow could be worse.

Only our people could have composed a proverb about money and prison. My mother spent her whole life storing cans of stew in the kitchen cupboard - “for a rainy day.” That day never came, but I find myself stopping near the shelves with stewed meat at the nearest Pyaterochka. I look at the banks thoughtfully. As if I want to ask them something, like crazy. But for now I’m silent. I'm not buying yet.

At the first opportunity, a Russian flees abroad. Away from the “lead abominations.” The same Pushkin was eager all his life - they didn’t let him in. And Gogol rejoiced like a child, crossing the Russian border. He adored Italy. So he wrote from there to Zhukovsky: “She’s mine! No one in the world will take it away from me! I was born here. Russia, St. Petersburg, snow, scoundrels, department, department, theater - I dreamed of all this. I woke up again in my homeland...” And then, when the Russian gets drunk on wine, looks at the Baroque and listens to the organ, buys junk and cheese, longing awakens in him...

We are fed up with foreigners with their deceitful smiles, it’s time to be sad. Vague, unclear longing... But not for snow and scoundrels. What are you yearning for? Neither Gogol, nor Nabokov, nor Tarkovsky will give the answer... Russian melancholy is inexplicable and alarming, like the ringing of a bell rushing over the hills, like the song of a girl on a random train, like the sound of a drill from a neighbor... At home it’s sickening, abroad it’s dreary .

To be Russian is to live between heaven and a whirlpool, between a hammer and a sickle.

Every Russian scolds his country to the best of his ability. Thieves and scoundrels are in power, they have stolen everything they can, there is no one to trust, the roads are terrible, there is no law, there is no future, all damned days, dead souls, just throw yourself off a cliff into the Volga! I curse myself, I don’t regret my words...
But as soon as a foreigner or, worse, a compatriot who has not lived here for a long time, starts talking bad things about my country, then I become wild like a drunken Yesenin. Here I am ready to hit you right in the face. In a big way.

This is my country, and all its sins are mine. If she is bad, then I am not a gift either. But we will suffer together. Without suffering - what the hell am I Russian? Where to leave here and why? The whole world is foreign to me. I'll die here. And let them put a couple of cans of stew in my coffin. For a rainy day. Because, perhaps, “there” it will be even worse.

1. Why do you consider yourself Russian? By purity of blood, by language, something else?

Our liberals, as soon as the question arises about who the Russians are, immediately begin to count leukocytes and impurities in the blood with such skill and dexterity that in Germany in 1938 they would have been taken to the commission on racial hygiene, even without prior interviews.

Moreover, for leadership positions. It is curious that when determining Jewish, Tatar or Swedish nationality, liberals take their interlocutor’s word for it, without stooping to find out who he is, a Mischlingen or a Quateronese? So take my word for it, unless you are Nazis, of course. I am Russian.

2. Do you enjoy being Russian?

No, I don't. Awareness is a constant and cannot cause emotions.

3. What's good about Russians? What are the positive and unique features of national character?

Take a globe or geographical map. Look at the location and size of Russia and get answers to all your questions.

4. What does the Russian landscape look like? Will you kiss the Kamchatka sand in patriotic delight? What about the wet Taimyr tundra? Where are the boundaries of the native? Kunashir, Shikotan – native land?

I, with a torn meniscus and with great delight, walked through the Taimyr tundra for about a hundred kilometers - I just walked and couldn’t stop. This place was called Middendorf Bay, who was undoubtedly a Russian man, since the Russian lands were named after him and in honor of him.

Moreover, for this honor - to expand the borders of the Russian world, the great traveler gave his life. Moreover, in terrible torment, stretched out over many months. Maybe Middendorf didn’t want to be Russian - in those years, people serving Russia were rarely asked such stupid questions.

But the Russian world is contagious with its centripetalism. You can be a Georgian prince all your life and remain a great Russian commander for centuries. This paradox infuriates representatives of self-contained ethnic groups and nations who are unfriendly to Russia.

Therefore, the “borders of the native” depend only on a specific historical period. It is no coincidence that just the other day, Japan decided to reformat its self-defense police forces into a full-fledged army. What is it for?

5. What is our historical tragedy?

We have already experienced our historical tragedy - this is the rejection of national identity in favor of false and crafty truths brought from outside. The story is old, with a logical ending - the Russians will remake everything for themselves, in the way that suits them. One can recall Byzantine Christianity. vk.com/anti_maydan The same thing awaits Western liberalism, as a non-national, godless aggressive concept that protects individualism and vices. He will stay in our hut, but you won’t recognize him.

6. When was our Golden Age?

Russia never had a golden age. The Golden Age is an ethnos in a phase of obscuration, after which decay, death, and dissolution sets in. Russia is still far from retirement.

7. Who is our main character? Oslyabya? Pozharsky? Suvorov? Zhukov?

Our main character is the Unknown Soldier, who lies near the Kremlin wall. Avatar or symbol of everyone who gave their lives for our country.

8. Who is our main prophet?

Tyutchev: “You can’t understand Russia with your mind.” Moreover, the Slavophile Tyutchev meant the rational Western mind, which does not work in our civilization.

9. What is our national lullaby?

- “Tired toys sleep,” and try to prove that this is not so.

10. What is our national dance? The Irish dance the jig, the Caucasians dance the lezginka, the Jews dance the freylekhs, but what about us?

And we don’t need to assert ourselves with the help of a certain set of rhythmic body movements. We dance what we want. We don’t worry about this at all. We, you see, already have a slightly different, not archaic, system of values.

Not a tribal community with complexes of rituals. We have a Church for rituals and ceremonies, but dancing is prohibited there, and those who did not understand this were explained clearly.

11. What is our national game?

Hide and seek, “Cossack robbers”, “war game”. Here we are in the lead in the adult competition. Chess, checkers, dominoes. Recently, backgammon has become another national game.

12. What is our national dress? How would you dress for a Russian-style party?

A quilted jacket, a St. George ribbon in the buttonhole, kirzachi and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

13. What is our national dish?

What is one national dish for a country that lies on one-sixth of the continent's landmass? And Russians live everywhere. Specify the time zone, region, climate zone.

14. What kind of death is considered worthy?

For my friends, for the land, for my faith.

15. Which nations are our brothers?

Those humanoid races of our solar system who are ready to accept our love and take on brotherly obligations in return. Russians easily accept new brothers, but very harshly write them back. This is what we are seeing now in the ruins of the once fraternal republic.

“...And break the oppression,.. how I broke the oppression
More than once rebel army...
To be born Russian - too few:
They need to be, they need to become!

Igor Severyanin

Where does nationality originate in a person?

First of all, from the language he speaks, native and unique. The writer Andrei Bitov thinks in unison with these words, speaking about Russian people in the following words: “We have nothing more Russian than language.” But being a native speaker of Russian does not mean being completely Russian.

What else is needed to be, eat and remain a Russian person?

Much. It’s impossible to list everything, but it’s worth a try. A Russian person without spirituality, faith, religiosity is the same as a house without a family, land without a seed, or a child who grew up without maternal warmth, because this is the foundation on which his nature, soul and body are based.

A Russian person cannot live in peace, realizing that his Fatherland in one aspect or another of its existence is falling into the abyss and therefore, albeit not immediately, he returns again and again to the understanding that his permissive attitude towards his soul can lead to the fall of the Fatherland. And there is a way to prevent this: start with yourself and try to cultivate useful fruits in your life, thereby helping your homeland not to fall out of the blue. Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) reported this, saying the following words about Russia: “From the history of Russia it is clear that there is a correspondence between the external fate of our Motherland and the internal state of the national spirit. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that just as sin led to disaster, so repentance can lead to the restoration of Russia.”

The Russian people, like all other peoples, are not without sin, but they are able to find the strength within themselves to admit their sins and, having repented of them, with all their might to abstain from a sinful life. And through this, become stronger in spirit and be ready to defend your Earth if necessary.

The Russian people cannot imagine their life without difficulties. If they do not exist, then he will create them for himself in order to then resolve them. So he spurs himself on, checks and does not give the opportunity to lull his own consciousness. And all this happens, in the opinion of the great commander Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, in particular because easy victories do not flatter the heart of the Russian people. Perhaps this is why Russians never give up. It is easier for them to die by wounding their enemy, but without losing, than to die by surrendering to him.

Russian people are distinguished by their directness, honesty, and desire for truth. At the same time, they are able not only to tell the truth to other people, but also to tell themselves the real truth about themselves. Even if it's negative. Therefore, they are sometimes surprisingly self-critical. And this requires a considerable amount of courage, without which the Russian person would not be what he is. At the same time, the resourcefulness of the Russian people skillfully borders on cunning in this or that matter.

Russian people have a special understanding of love. It is unique, peculiar, different every time, without clear boundaries, understanding and definition even for the one who experiences it. Today he hits, and tomorrow he kisses his hands along with his feet to the top of his head. You never know what to expect from both a Russian woman and a Russian man who love each other. Love is as heterogeneous and sparkling as the character of a Russian person.

An interesting fact is that, according to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, it is nature that awakens in a person the need for a feeling of love. This means that here, too, on some unconscious level, the Russian land, its air and beauty helps the Russian person, guides him, protects him from loneliness and leads him to the idea of starting a family. And Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky believed that God can be found, discerned and known in human love. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Berdyaev generally believed that there is no other love except eternal love. Because without eternity there is nothing. That’s why Russian people, in addition to everything else, are so patient, and also in love.

The situation is similar with the Russian person’s sense of humor. This feeling overwhelms his soul even in moments when another would rather cry than laugh. This is probably why Russian people often laugh through tears. After all, nothing can erase the faith in the best among the Russian people. The more complex the situation, the trickier and more interesting the jokes and the larger the tears on your cheeks.

Thanks to their patience, Russians even know how to hate while loving, because even in a person they do not like, they try to find something dear to their hearts, that is, to discern in him the signs of humanity hidden in one or another of his positive qualities. Therefore, they do not know how to love or only hate. Russian people are emotional, so one feeling of love or hatred has a whole range of different “sub-feelings” and emotions.

It turns out that in an amazing way, nature and faith accompany the Russian person along the steps of the ladder from falling in love to love, which without his religiosity would be less moral and complete.

A Russian person thinks in a special way, measures by special standards, has special values, loves his Fatherland, but often does not believe in his state, does not believe in it, and through this he relies not on his own state, but on the Lord God, as well as his own strength.

He believes in the best to the last, but sometimes he does not know his future at all, so he often lives for today, and his thoughts often return to the past. Often it is good simply because we managed to survive all its difficulties.

Russian people are accustomed to being part of a community, and not living separately from it in the name of satisfying their own selfish motives, desires and aspirations. Perhaps all this comes from the fact that Russian people are representatives of Slavic peoples, their roots come from them. In addition, the Russian people, like no other, know and understand the word “conciliarity”, which hides the togetherness, the community of feelings and aspirations of people gathered into a single whole in prayer. The power of universal prayer has repeatedly saved the Russian people from enslavement and oppression.

In addition, the Russian people for a long time were part of the USSR, a common and indivisible union, and with their mother’s milk they absorbed this type of community with other peoples. Many people today dream of returning to those times. Therefore, it would not be superfluous to say that the desire for community in one form or another is in the genes of Russian people.

Despite all the fact that the Russian people sometimes deservedly demand, and do not ask, respect for themselves from other peoples, for some reason they often underestimate themselves, questioning their merits, lowering the bar for their significance, their value. Often he kills his aspirations and manifestations in the bud, because he is afraid of misunderstanding and disapproval from other people. But at the same time he often says that he does not care at all about public opinion. Which is confirmed by the following statement by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky: “It is deeply ingrained in the Russian consciousness that manifestation is a violation of something. To show oneself means to impose oneself, to be indelicate. So Russia remains a country of great, but not yet manifested, opportunities.”

In addition, Russians, as before, underestimate not only themselves and their capabilities, but for some reason also the achievements of their nation in the person of famous people who contributed to them. But if someone from outside lowers the bar for the achievements of national heroes, then a barrage of evidence awaits him that he is wrong.

It turns out that without his mentality and his unique traits and characteristics, a Russian person will not be completely himself. Here is another feature of the Russian person, which the writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev once noticed; it is that the Russian person is afraid and easily becomes attached; but his respect is difficult to earn: it is not given quickly and not to everyone.

It’s not for nothing that they say that from the outside you always know better and therefore you can talk about a Russian person in the words of foreigners. Here are a number of adjectives that they bestowed on us at different times: courteous and friendly, religious and talented, merciful, patient and humane, generous and hospitable, impressionable, cheerful and energetic, freedom-loving and peace-loving. And also healthy, strong, beautiful, durable, hardworking and clean.

Along with positive qualities, Russian people also have negative ones, but there is no point in listing all but one: laziness. But Russian laziness is a special type of laziness. If a Russian person needs to complete some important task, but he knows that it can be postponed for a while, then he will stretch out this time for as long as possible. And in the last hours he will get down to business with indescribable zeal and dedication. To understand what we are talking about, any Russian person only needs to remember the sleepless nights during his student years during the session.

Many foreigners also note the presence of a mysterious and unique spirit in Russian people. Among them was Gabriel Monod, a French historian, who compares Russian people to volcanoes with different levels of activity: “Russians are volcanoes: either extinct, calm, or in a state of eruption. Beneath the surface of even the calmest and most foolish lies a vein of racial energy, leading to the inner fire and mystery of the human spirit.”

Is it possible, being a foreigner by birth, to become Russian in spirit? Vladimir Ivanovich Dal believed that this was possible. And I don’t want to argue with him at all. Here is his opinion on this issue: “...neither vocation, nor religion, nor the very blood of ancestors makes a person belong to one or another nationality. The spirit, the soul of a person - this is where one must look for his belonging to one or another people. How can one determine the identity of a spirit? Of course, by the manifestation of the spirit – by thought. Whoever thinks in what language belongs to that people. I think in Russian."

Without what else would a Russian person be so unique and special? Of course, without feeling your own land under your own feet. She, together with her people, has endured and continues to endure various hardships, hardships, and buries in herself the pain and suffering of those who are no longer alive: her sons and daughters, her people. And at the same moment, the Russian land bears fruit, gives birth and adorns a good half of the planet Earth, but it also carries its people and gives strength to live, to the Russian people, remaining themselves until the victorious end. It’s nice to realize that these thoughts are consonant with the thoughts about Russia of Boris Pasternak, who spoke about her in words with which I would like to conclude this article: “Russia is incomparable, sensational across the seas, famous parent, martyr, stubborn, extravagant, naughty, idolized, with eternally majestic and disastrous antics that can never be foreseen.”

So what does it mean to be Russian?

To be Russian means to be yourself, real, alive, active, kind-hearted, open, strong in spirit and body. This means being ready to come to the aid of your neighbor, even if he has stumbled, and not allowing him to completely plunge into the dark abyss of evil.

To be Russian means to respect and love, to believe in your people, your Motherland, to honor your ancestors, to know the history of your family and state. And at the same time treat other peoples with respect. It turns out that being Russian means being a patriot.

Obviously, becoming completely Russian on your birthday is just as unrealistic as becoming an adult right away. You need to grow both morally and physically in order to feel part of your people. In particular, relying on the heritage of great ancestors (writers, generals, doctors, scientists) and other famous personalities. At the same time, we must remember that a considerable part of celebrities were originally born into the families of poor, ordinary people. This may mean, at a minimum, that you should not carelessly look at an ordinary person. Because he may not achieve fame, but he can give his children such knowledge, instill such love for the Motherland, that tomorrow they will glorify their own family and the Fatherland to the whole world, amazing it with their boundless love for their land.

Be Russian– this is honorable and significant for many representatives of the Russian people. It is very important not to lose this original “Russianness”, which continues to surprise many foreigners today. It’s not enough not to lose it, it’s no less important to pass on the special features of the Russian people to other generations!

They talk about Russian culture Anastasia Nikolaevna Koshechko, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Literature of Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Associate Professor of the Department of Humanitarian Education of TOIPKRO, and Maxim Valerievich Stepanenko, head of the Missionary Department of the Tomsk Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church.

***

A.N. Kitty: Here it is necessary to stipulate the fundamental difference between national identity and citizenship. You can be a citizen of Russia, but not be Russian by nationality. You can be a US citizen and be Russian. This is where such phenomena as “Russian French” or “Russian Americans” are born.

I have repeatedly asked the question in different audiences: “What culture do you consider yourself to be?”

Most of the audience answered: “We are Russians.”

I keep asking: “What does it mean to be Russian?” The answer, as a rule, is always the same: “This means speaking Russian and living in Russia.”

I object that you can speak the purest Russian language, live in Russia and not be Russian. By what features do you distinguish a Russian person from a non-Russian person? They say to me: “Well, well... it’s obvious that he’s Russian.”

Let me give you an example. Let's say that in front of you is a student from Poland and a student from Russia. Both are the same age, prefer the same style of clothing, and may have similar behavior patterns. By what signs will you see which of the two young men is Russian?

Pause.

A.N. Kitty: The concept of “being born into a culture” presupposes upbringing in traditional cultural values, self-identification in culture, knowledge and respect for the history of one’s culture, one’s country and one’s family. This, of course, is not everything, but it is the most important.

Therefore, you can be Russian if you were born in Japan, if your parents recognize themselves as bearers of Russian culture and are ready to raise their child in its traditions.

A.N. Kitty: For example, according to Shintoism, the national Japanese religion, the Japanese as a people descended from the gods and only the Japanese can be Shintoists.<…>So... what are the unique features of Russian culture?

A.N. Kitty: the heart's knowledge of Christ and the true idea of him fully exist. It is passed down from generation to generation and has merged with the hearts of people. Perhaps the only love of the Russian people is Christ, and they love His image in their own way, that is, to the point of suffering. He is most proud of the title of Orthodox, that is, one who professes Christ most truly."

A.N. Kitty: A true Russian person never betrays his neighbors: “Make new friends, but don’t lose old ones!”

A.N. Kitty: We can add that an important rule of community is gratitude. First of all to God, then to your neighbors: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

I ask one more question. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - Russian or non-Russian? This situation turns out to be more understandable, so many confidently answer: “Pushkin is a great Russian poet!” Amazing! Moreover, he is a “blackamoor” (as they used to say in the poet’s time) in the third generation... A Russian proverb says: “It is good for those who remember to do good.” It is ingratitude (to God, father, mother, teacher who helps our neighbors) that underlies the fall into sin, madness and betrayal, retreat into sin: “But how, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, and were not grateful, but They became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; calling themselves wise, they became fools...” (Rom. 1:21-22). For ingratitude, God departs from people, and they plunge into lust, impurity, shameful passions and the aforementioned madness - all this is discussed in the first chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans.

A.N. Kitty: Another feature of Russian culture is its amazing openness, “worldwide responsiveness.” Thanks to this, Russian culture coexisted harmoniously with other national cultures without suppressing them.

I ask one more question. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - Russian or non-Russian? This situation turns out to be more understandable, so many confidently answer: “Pushkin is a great Russian poet!” Amazing! Moreover, he is a “blackamoor” (as they used to say in the poet’s time) in the third generation... For many, love now is a feeling of attraction between a man and a woman, but not like: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and certainly not what the Apostle Paul writes: “Love is patient and kind.” , love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not act outrageously, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ..." (1 Cor. 13:4-8).

A.N. Kitty: For a modern person living in an era of competition, it is very difficult to put the interests of another person above your own, to treat others as your neighbor.

What is love based on? On the fact that every person is the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27).

If I see in another person not an opponent, not a competitor, not a rival or an enemy, but a bearer of the Divine image, then I will definitely treat my neighbor with love.

That is why Russian missionaries, coming to small nations, not only did not destroy their national culture, but also preserved it through the creation of writing. We see what a contrast in behavior takes place in the culture of Western peoples who have adopted Catholicism or Protestantism. When they came to other peoples, they began to destroy their national cultures, and I don’t remember any precedents when Western peoples created writing for conquered peoples and developed the culture of conquered peoples. Let's take European Norway as an example. The Norwegians received state independence, you won’t believe it, only in 1905! Until this time, the Norwegians were under the rule of Denmark, then Sweden. At the same time, the Norwegians did not have their own common language and writing! Modern Norwegian was artificially created at the beginning of the 20th century. The result of this is natural. The world knows Danish and Swedish writers (for example, Hans Andersen and Astrid Lindgren), but Norway has not given the world writers equal to them... What other national characteristics of Russians are there?