The concept and essence of patriotism. Patriotism as a moral and legal category, or patriotism as a refuge for scoundrels

Origin of the term:

The word “patriotism” comes from the Greek patris - homeland, fatherland. IN Explanatory dictionary Vladimir Dahl points out that a patriot is a lover of the fatherland, a zealot for its good.

Patriotism(Greek πατριώτης - compatriot, πατρίς - fatherland) - a moral and political principle, a social feeling, the content of which is love for the Fatherland and the willingness to subordinate one’s private interests to its interests. Patriotism presupposes pride in the achievements and culture of one’s Motherland, the desire to preserve its character and cultural characteristics and identification of oneself with other members of the people, the desire to protect the interests of the Motherland and one’s people. The historical source of patriotism is the existence of separate states established for centuries and millennia, forming an attachment to their native land, language, and traditions. In the conditions of the formation of nations and the formation of national states, patriotism becomes an integral part of public consciousness, reflecting national moments in its development. In the era of the American and French bourgeois revolutions, the concept of “patriotism” was identical to the concept of “nationalism”, with a political (non-ethnic) understanding of the nation; for this reason, in France and America at that time, the concept of “patriot” was synonymous with the concept of “revolutionary”. The symbols of this revolutionary patriotism are the Declaration of Independence and the Marseillaise. With the advent of the concept of “nationalism,” patriotism began to be contrasted with nationalism, as commitment to the country (territory and state) - commitment to the human community (nation). However, often these concepts act as synonyms or similar in meaning.

By attributing patriotic feelings to other persons and patriotic connotations to some events, the person appraising them most often gives a positive characterization.

Patriotism- a special emotional experience of belonging to the country and its citizenship, language, traditions.

Ideas about patriotism are associated with a reverent attitude towards the Motherland, but people have different ideas about the essence of patriotism. For this reason, some people consider themselves patriots, while others do not consider themselves such

Patriotism as a social phenomenon, First of all, it relates to the field of social psychology.

The essence of the concept:

1. Philosophical interpretation. In philosophy, the essence of patriotism is interpreted as “a moral and political principle, a social feeling, the content of which is love for the fatherland, devotion to it, pride in its past and present, the desire to defend the interests of the homeland.”

“Patriotism is a historically established and dialectically developing primarily on the basis material production category of social philosophy, which reflects the positive attitude of people towards their Motherland, including patriotic consciousness, activity, relationships, organization and implementing ideological, methodological, communicative, value and other functions" (see: Ilyichev N.M. "Bulletin of the Russian Philosophical Society" , 2003, No. 3, p. 87).

2. Pedagogical interpretation. The pedagogical interpretation of the quality of patriotism is not limited to moral feelings. It includes the corresponding need-motivational sphere of the individual, his patriotic consciousness and behavior, which, being fixed, in their totality characterize patriotism as a moral quality.

Levels of Patriotism

1. Personal.

Multidimensionality of “patriotism”. Patriotism is a multifaceted and multidimensional phenomenon, representing a complex set of properties and characteristics that manifest themselves differently at different levels of functioning of the social system. At the personal level, a patriotic person is characterized by such traits as the presence of a stable worldview, moral ideals, and adherence to norms of behavior.

At the public level, patriotism can be understood as the desire to strengthen the significance of one’s state and increase its authority in the world community.

At the level of an individual, patriotism can be considered as one of the components of his personal substructure and attributed to the area of ​​higher feelings and stable personal characteristics (values, beliefs, norms of behavior, criteria for assessing social phenomena).

As a complex integral personal formation, patriotism includes:

- love to motherland;

– selfless devotion and service to her;

- indissoluble unity with it, identification of one’s interests with the interests of the fatherland: to be a patriot means to connect one’s life with the life of the Motherland, one’s destiny with its destiny;

– patriotic feelings related to the highest spiritual substructures of a person and presupposing spiritual development: the Motherland is a “spiritual reality”, therefore a spiritually dead person cannot love his Motherland and be a patriot;

– presence of active civic position, readiness to defend the interests of their Motherland, to act in the name of preserving and developing its well-being;

– sacrifice, i.e. willingness to sacrifice personal interests, including life, for the sake of the fatherland; perception of service to the Motherland as one of the important foundations of one’s life self-determination, sacred duty and primary responsibility;

– recognition of the Motherland as the highest, main value in the hierarchy of the individual’s value system;

– pride in one’s culture and achievements of one’s people; admiration for its shrines, historical past and best traditions (with their simultaneous balanced and critical assessment);

– the prevalence in a person of social orientation over individualistic, class or narrowly professional interests;

– respect for other peoples and cultures (Koltsova V.A., Sosnin V.A. // Psychological Journal. 2005).

2. Publicunlimited and unconditional, that is, not requiring anything in return, loyalty to the state, full support of the ruling political structures.

Types of patriotism

A.N. Vyrshchikov identifies the following types of patriotism:

1. State (sovereign) patriotism puts above all else the idea of ​​serving the state, the priority of state interests over the personal, private interests of the citizen. For the development of state patriotism, it is necessary to know the history of one’s state and to cultivate an appropriate sense of justice, which requires mutual respect for the rights of the citizen and the state.

2. Russian patriotism as a socio-psychological phenomenon. Let us remember: “Russia cannot be understood with the mind...”. It is presented more on an emotional and sensory level. The basis of Russian patriotism are the concepts of Motherland, Motherland, and Fatherland. Even in the words one can see a certain paternalism - treating one’s country as a parent, and we treat our parents, the closest people, with love; having lost it, we grieve. In this sense, the concept of patriotism reveals the spiritual basis of this feeling.

3. National patriotism– based on the history and culture of a particular people. Love for one’s land, for one’s people, respect for culture through knowledge of history and familiarity with the heritage of the people is a condition for the formation of a conscious national identity, contributes to the development of a sense of pride in one’s people, the desire to preserve and increase its values.

4. Local patriotism- manifests itself in love for one’s native places, for what is commonly called the “small Motherland.” The formation of these feelings is impossible without awareness of the depth of natural, social and spiritual connections. It is with the concept of “small Motherland” that the formation of national Russian, state patriotism begins. And this process, starting in the family, acquires an organized and purposeful character at school, called the system and process of patriotic education. Without patriots, no state exists, and the cultural achievements of nations are not preserved.

Today there are dozens of different varieties of patriotism. The most famous are:

Polis patriotism

Soviet patriotism,

Russian patriotism,

Military-political patriotism;

Ethnopatriotism;

Religious patriotism

(Fundamentals of Religious patriotism expressed in the words of St. Joanna Kronstadtsky: “The earthly Fatherland with its Church is the threshold of the Heavenly Fatherland, therefore love it fervently and be ready to lay down your soul for it in order to inherit eternal life.”);

Patriotism of civilization;

Messianic patriotism;

Imperial patriotism;

Ideological patriotism, etc.

In the 1990-2000s, at the turn of the twentieth century, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, concepts such as “Orthodox patriotism”, “liberal patriotism”, “supra-ethnic patriotism”, “enlightened patriotism”, “left-wing patriotism”, “skinhead patriotism” appeared. ", "Putin's abstract patriotism", etc. Often in publications there are mocking assessments: “paid patriotism”, “ostentatious patriotism”, “commodity patriotism”, “fashionable patriotism”, “leavened patriotism” ( (cheers-patriotism)- it is based on hypertrophied feelings of love for the state and its people.), etc.

Criticism of patriotism

In modern times, Leo Tolstoy considered patriotism a feeling “rude, harmful, shameful and bad, and most importantly, immoral.” He believed that patriotism inevitably gives rise to wars and serves main support state oppression. Tolstoy believed that patriotism is deeply alien to the Russian people, as well as to working representatives of other nations:

“Tell people that war is bad, they will laugh: who doesn’t know that? Say that patriotism is bad, and most people will agree, but with a small reservation. -Yes, bad patriotism is bad, but there is another patriotism, the one we adhere to. - But no one explains what this good patriotism is. If good patriotism consists in not being aggressive, as many say, then all patriotism, if it is not aggressive, is certainly retaining, that is, that people want to retain what was previously conquered, since there is no country that would not have been founded by conquest, and it is impossible to retain what has been conquered by other means than those by which something is conquered, that is, by violence, murder. If patriotism is not even restraining, then it is restorative - the patriotism of the conquered, oppressed peoples - Armenians, Poles, Czechs, Irish, etc. And this patriotism is perhaps the worst, because it is the most embittered and requires the greatest violence. They will say: “Patriotism has united people into states and maintains the unity of states.” But people have already united into states, this thing has been accomplished; Why now support the exclusive devotion of people to their state, when this devotion produces terrible disasters for all states and peoples. After all, the same patriotism that brought about the unification of people into states is now destroying these very states. After all, if there was only one patriotism: the patriotism of some Englishmen, then it could be considered unifying or beneficial, but when, as now, there is patriotism: American, English, German, French, Russian, all opposite to one another, then patriotism is no longer connects and separates."

L. Tolstoy. Patriotism or Peace?

One of Tolstoy's favorite expressions was Samuel Johnson's aphorism: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. However, S. Johnson himself put a completely different meaning into these words than L.N. Tolstoy.

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel

From English: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Usually attributed to L.N. Tolstoy and interpreted incorrectly: supposedly the writer condemned patriotism as a feeling worthy only of scoundrels.
The author of the expression is the English poet, critic, literary historian and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), who wanted to emphasize the nobility of patriotism with this phrase. And he even wrote the word “patriot” with a capital letter.
Thus, in the article “The Patriot” (1774), which had the subtitle “Address to the Voters of Great Britain,” S. Johnson urged his readers to elect to the English Parliament worthy people, true defenders of the interests of their country, for “only a Patriot deserves a place in parliament. No one else will protect our rights, no one else will deserve our trust.” And a patriot, according to S. Johnson, is one “whose social activity determined by only one single motive - love for his country, the one who, representing us in parliament, is guided in each case not by personal
awakenings and fears, not personal kindness or resentment, but common interests” (quoted from: Literaturnaya Gazeta. 2001. April 18-24).
Thus, the author’s meaning of this statement: not all is lost even for the most notorious scoundrel, if the feeling of patriotism is still alive in him, obeying which he can accomplish a good deed, Noble act in war or peaceful life. That is, patriotism for such a person is the last chance to be morally reborn, to justify his life.
Subsequently, the expression was rethought and began to be perceived as a call not to trust big words about patriotism and civic duty. But in both the first and second cases, it does not allow a disdainful, pejorative interpretation of patriotism as the morality of scoundrels.

The opposite of patriotism is usually considered cosmopolitanism , as the ideology of global citizenship and “homeland-world”, in which “attachment to one’s people and fatherland seems to lose all interest from the point of view of universal ideas.” In particular, such opposition in the USSR during the time of Stalin led tothe fight against “rootless cosmopolitans” .

The content of patriotism includes four main elements.

1.Patriotic consciousness- a part of public consciousness, which is a “squeeze” from all its other parts related to the development and defense of the Fatherland and changes depending on the socio-economic formation. Consequently, patriotic consciousness is “present” in all forms of social consciousness: political, moral, aesthetic, economic, historical, environmental, religious, atheistic, etc. It has relative independence, that is, it is capable of being ahead of social life, lagging behind it, etc. Patriotic consciousness can be expressed at the everyday and theoretical levels, which is especially important to take into account in the process of its formation among students.

3. Patriotic activities - all forms of service to the people, fatherland

2. Patriotic relations are realized in communication between patriots aimed at improving all aspects of the country’s life, as well as the corresponding attitude towards enemies, who sometimes openly express their aggressive nature towards the Russian people of all Russians.

4. Patriotic organizations. Patriotic organizations include all those organizations that are engaged in patriotic activities. Special role belongs to state, socio-political and educational institutions, especially educational institutions. Naturally, a child receives the most basic information about patriotism in the family, in kindergartens and nurseries. All social groups, from primary groups to nationalities, should become subjects of patriotic education. Every person should be a subject of patriotic education in relation to himself.

Functions of patriotism:

1. Worldview. As you know, a worldview is a system of a person’s most general views on the world and his place in it. From here it is clear that patriotism, being a social category, contributes to the formation of a worldview.

2. Methodological. Since the method is a way of spiritual and practical activity to transform reality, patriotism, which includes fundamental knowledge, realizes this function.

3. Communicative. It stems from the fact that patriotism unites and unites people to solve the most fundamental problems of public life.

4. Regulatory the function is expressed in the voluntary fulfillment by an individual and various social groups of patriotic norms and principles that determine the development of all aspects of the country’s progress.

5. Value the function is expressed in the fact that the provisions of patriotic content are the criteria that provide certain qualities and direction of actions of both individuals and various communities. It is thanks to the value function that it becomes possible to identify all kinds of anti-patriotism that flood the modern Russian media.

Report by the rector of the St. Vladimir Church in Dnepropetrovsk, Archpriest Georgy Volkhovsky at the V Archangel Michael philosophical and theological readings “Orthodoxy in world culture”

I.About the importance of the topic

Your Eminence, Eminence, venerable fathers and brothers!

I present to your enlightened attention a report on a topic that I consider extremely important. Important because without it it is impossible to raise either a moral generation or build a worthy state. This is what I'm talking about.

Each nation has its own paths, unique in the history of the world. And we, as a people, go our own way, absorbing a number of foreign influences, but not repeating the paths of any other people. Therefore, no measures, recipes, programs or ideologies borrowed from anywhere outside are applicable to the paths of our development, our statehood and our culture.

However, we can say with confidence that we will not be able to create our national “I” without the same condition on which all states were created and are being created. I'm talking about a moral category that allows people to understand themselves as a single nation. I'm talking about patriotism.

The words of the New Martyr Metropolitan Seraphim Chichagov, spoken at the very beginning of the twentieth century, sound prophetic in our time, that our people have never before “experienced such a time of decomposition and corruption of the mental, moral and spiritual... everything that was gained has been lost thousand years of labor - knowledge of Christ’s teaching and our history, patriotism, the strength and wisdom of our spirit, love for our Orthodox faith and the Church, desire for truth, serious education, love of work, devotion to our Fatherland and the habit of being the master of our home.”

The topic of patriotism has a number of questions that need to be answered. These questions are inspired by those conditions, circumstances and realities historical life, in which you and I find ourselves. So, once present at the departure of conscripts, young recruits, built on the parade ground in ranks and ranks, everyone heard a question that was clearly voiced in response to the speeches of representatives of the state administration. In response to the call to love and defend our Ukraine, the question came from the ranks: “Who to love? Whom to protect? These..." Truly, here social existence determines social consciousness! The question remained unanswered. Everyone just pretended they didn't hear him.

But really. Once upon a time they went into battle for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland, then for comrade Lenin, then comrade for Stalin... And now, if necessary, for whom or for what? For the Motherland, torn apart by parties and religions? For land you don't have? For businesses that don't belong to you? For the president or for the prime minister? Or maybe, as it was already: “For food”...

Among these questions there are also the following: “Is it necessary to love one’s Fatherland and, if so, why should one love it?” “Is it necessary to defend one’s Fatherland, and if necessary, then who and what to defend?” “What would happen to our Fatherland if, for example, with the current morality, 1941 happened again?” “Can there be guarantees of freedom and interests of our people without patriotism, and can there be true freedom without love for one’s Fatherland?” “How did our ancestors understand patriotism, and are we, their descendants, the same patriots?” Etc.

And if you think about what should be the basis of patriotism? Either it is love for God and one’s people, or it is nationality with blood ties, or race, or ideology, or family ties, or something related to property... What underlies such patriotism is may degenerate. If, for example, nationality is the basis, then it will degenerate into nationalism. If the nation - to Nazism. If race - into racism, etc. Thinking about this, questions arise regarding the unity of the people of Ukraine. Is the word “patriotism” and its content understood by the peoples and nations inhabiting Ukraine: those who identify themselves with a Ukrainian, or a Russian, or a Tatar, or a Jew, or a Gypsy...?

Do representatives of different religions and denominations understand patriotism in the same way? For example, an Orthodox and Protestant who is doing alternative service in the army. Or a Muslim and a Jew. Will a follower of Buddhism, Krishnaism, Hinduism or other eastern cults defend our Motherland and how?

Parties of different shades and orientations understand patriotism differently. Here, patriotism, on the one hand, is often understood not as the ordinary people of Ukraine themselves understand it, but as it is understood by the creators and leaders of parties and movements. On the other hand, patriotism here often means, first of all, the interests of the ruling, oligarchic class.

There are also extremes. In these extremes, there are people who share the words of human rights activist Sergei Kovalev that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.” Probably obeying this, hiding behind a false desire for truth, in Lately practically everything that was the basis of patriotism in the past is being revised. In any human feat, or the feat of an entire people, they try to see something that vulgarizes this feat and turns it into nothing. Ideals are being destroyed in us, without which the nation loses its face. At the same time, alien ideals are imposed. Here is one example. Looking at modern Western documentaries, or ours, imitating the West, about the war of 1941-1945, you will learn that for us it was not the Great Patriotic War at all, and that victory in it was won thanks to America?! And those who died fighting for their Motherland, following Kovalev’s logic, are simply “scoundrels.”

Obviously, we should dwell on this in more detail. Quite often, the word “patriotism” means, first of all, the national component. The corresponding attributes of such understanding are language and national traditions. With such “patriotism”, as a rule, there is resentment for the humiliation of national pride. In Ukraine, for example, this is associated with the word “Moskal”. There is also an enemy who allegedly encroaches on the attributes of national culture and life. For example, for Ukraine, these are “the imperial ambitions of the Kremlin and its allies, the “zaprodantsi”, represented by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, especially those who speak Russian.

As a rule, such “patriotism”, which is based on nationality, is just banal nationalism, about which Ivan Ilyin wrote back in 1932: “The spiritual essence of patriotism almost always remains beyond the threshold of their consciousness. Then love for the homeland lives in souls in the form of an unreasonable, objectively indefinite inclination, which either completely freezes and loses its strength, while there is no proper irritation (in times of peace, in eras of calm life), then flares up with a blind and counterintuitive passion, the fire of an awakened, frightened person. and a hardened instinct, capable of drowning out in the soul the voice of conscience, the sense of proportion and justice, and even the demands of elementary meaning. Then patriotism turns out to be a blind passion, which shares the fate of all blind and spiritually unenlightened affects: it imperceptibly degenerates and becomes an evil and predatory passion - contemptuous pride, violent and aggressive hatred; and then it turns out that the “patriot” and “nationalist” himself is experiencing not a creative upsurge, but temporary bitterness and, perhaps, even brutality. It turns out that what lives in a person’s heart is not love for the homeland, but a strange and dangerous mixture of militant chauvinism and stupid national conceit, or a blind passion for everyday trifles and hypocritical “great power” pathos, behind which personal or class self-interest is often hidden.”

Everything is often called upon to support such “nationalism.” even religion. This is where a change occurs. The change is that. that patriotism does not come from the essence of faith, being an organic part of spiritual and moral self-awareness, but faith is used national idea as an integral part of it. For example, for Ukraine, this is the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate. “National-patriotism”, which thus dominates faith, using the religious-ideological component as an attribute, degenerates into national conceit. As for other peoples it degenerated into Zionism or Nazism in its time.

As a rule, the ideology of patriotism also includes a historical component. Actually, history is one of the main parts of the justification of patriotism here. However, national consciousness often selects from history only that which can be interpreted exclusively from a national perspective.

To this should be added the internal enemies of true patriotism, which, by destroying or replacing true patriotism, according to Ivan Ilyin, “will not rest until they manage to take possession of... the people through an unnoticeable infiltration of their soul and will, in order to instill in them, under the guise of “tolerance,” atheism, under the guise of a “republic,” submission to behind-the-scenes moves and under the guise of “democracy” - national depersonalization.” The ultimate goal of this “subtle infiltration” is a radical change in the people’s self-awareness, the suppression of their religious, moral, worldview and ideological immunity, the paralysis of the instinct of self-preservation on which patriotism is based, and ultimately the disappearance of the people as an independent, collective spiritual organism.

Therefore, it seems to me that today the most important task should be the protection of our spirituality, morality, strengthening the traditional self-awareness of the people and their historically established patriotic worldview. Let me emphasize: historically developed, not introduced.

We could probably talk endlessly about these issues. I believe that the correct answer to them will determine who we, our children, will be, and what kind of state we will have to live in? Or maybe you will have to dissolve in the agitated human sea of ​​nations, peoples, nationalities, religions and parties?

ΙΙ. Biblical meaning and content of patriotism

Speaking about patriotism, we should, first of all, talk about its foundation, its meaning and content, and the spirit that feeds patriotism. For our people, for almost a whole millennium, it was the spirit of Orthodoxy, which helped them survive and withstand the most difficult historical cataclysms. The spirit of Orthodoxy has always been nourished from the inexhaustible source of Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

It is Scripture that reveals to us the love God instills in man for his faith, for his Motherland and for his people. The very first lines of the Bible literally speak about this: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...” (Gen. 1.1). How can a person not love what God Himself created with love?! And then we read: “And God created man in His own image...” (Gen. 1.27). Is it possible not to love someone who bears the image of God?! “And the Lord God took the man whom he had created, and put him in the Garden of Eden, to till it and to keep it” (Gen. 2.15). The Garden of Eden is the name of the first homeland of all mankind.

From this historical perspective, in relation to the creation of the universe and man, patriotism can be called cosmopolitanism, universalism, and “universality”... Then, as the Bible writes, “The whole earth had one language and one speech” (Gen. 11.1). This could be maintained if all people inhabiting the earth were filled with one Spirit.

However, the Fall divided people. Proud Construction Tower of Babel ended up being “The Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout all the earth” (Gen. 11.9). And, as the Bible writes, the nations settled “The nations spread throughout the earth after the flood” (Gen. 10.20-31). It shows how the Lord Himself gives each people its land and its language.

Using the example of Abraham, we see how the Lord takes him out of the pagan city of Ur of the Chaldeans in order to endow him with land that will belong only to him and his descendants. “And the Lord said to Abraham, Get thee out of thy land, from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, and go to the land that I will show thee; and I will produce from you great people and I will bless you” (Gen.12.1,2). This was the beginning of what we call the Fatherland. And this earthly Fatherland was supposed to become a prototype of that heavenly Fatherland, which man had lost through sin, but which man must achieve through righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, love for one’s earthly Motherland is a prototype of love for the Heavenly Motherland, for which man was created. This is the meaning and content of patriotism. This also contains the spiritual, historical, patriotic principles of love for one’s Motherland! The Lord Himself lays the foundation of these principles.

The cosmopolitanism of the period of the creation of the world, after the Fall, of course, loses its meaning. The “unity of the human race” that cosmopolitanism proclaims can only exist when everyone professes the same faith in the One God and is filled with the same Spirit. In a world corrupted and divided by sin, it is not only unattainable, but, in its essence, false and destructive, since, as it is written in the Gospel, “He who is unfaithful in a little is unfaithful in much” (Luke 16:10). Unfaithful to his people, how will he be faithful to all the peoples of the Earth? Or, to slightly paraphrase the words of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian that “not loving brother his own, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see?” (1 John 4.20), without making a mistake, let us say: He who does not love the earthly Motherland, which he sees, how can he love the Heavenly Motherland, the Heavenly Kingdom, which he does not see? No way! How can you be a cosmopolitan without being a patriot of your small Motherland? No way. How can you care about the whole world and consider the whole world your homeland if you couldn’t love your own homeland, like the Garden of Eden? “cultivate and store”? In the cosmopolitanism of sinful man, the very prototype of the heavenly Fatherland disappears.

To this it should be added that in a religious understanding perverted by sin, the words of the Lord to Abraham: “Look to the north and to the south, and to the east and to the west; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever” (Gen. 13.14,15), can be cosmopolitanly understood as the possession of the whole earth by one people.

ΙΙΙ. Biblical roots of patriotism

In general, the entire Old Testament, also professed by Jews and Muslims, speaks of patriotism. Much has been written about the Old Testament righteous, who at one time crushed the power of the enemy for their faith, their people and their native land.

When Moses sacrifices himself, abandons his pleasantly furnished life and willingly goes to suffer with his people, this is truly a feat of a patriot. Moses condemns himself to all the hardships and difficulties not out of a simple sense of blood relationship, but mainly out of love for God and his people. “By faith Moses, having come of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and rather wanted to suffer with the people of God than to have temporary sinful pleasure and considered the reproach of Christ to be greater wealth for himself than the Egyptian treasures; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11.24..). The patriotic impulse of Moses is shocking when he prayed to God to blot him out of the book of life, but not to deprive the people of Israel of His favor: “Forgive their sin, and if not, then blot me out of Your book in which You wrote” (Ex. 32.32).

Besides Moses, there were many in the Old Testament who could easily be called patriots. This is Joshua. These are the judges of Israel who were after Moses: Gideon, with three hundred of his chosen men, approached the crowded army of the enemy, which he brought into confusion and put to flight. This includes Barak, Samson, Jephthah. This is King David, who defeated the giant Goliath, and the prophet Samuel, who through prayer asked God for victory for the Jews over the Philistines. They “they were strong in war, they drove out the armies of strangers” (Heb. 11.24). The Maccabee brothers, their mother and teacher Eleazar were also patriots. The prophets can also be safely called patriots: Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel...

Whichever of the Old Testament righteous we take, their patriotism clearly shows, firstly, love for God and standing in faith, and, secondly, love for their people and the land that the Lord gave them. The commandment speaks about this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12.30,31; Lev. 19.18). Without these fundamental principles, laid down and revealed by God Himself, there is and cannot be true patriotism. True patriotism is, first of all, patriotism of faith, patriotism of spirit.

“Something taken in itself, in isolation from the spirit,” wrote Ivan Ilyin, “neither the territory, nor the climate, nor the geographical situation, nor the spatial nearby - the residence of people, nor racial origin, nor the usual way of life, nor the economic way of life, nor language , nor formal citizenship - nothing constitutes the homeland, does not replace it and is not loved with patriotic love... None of these living conditions, taken by itself! cannot show a person his homeland: for the homeland is something of the spirit and for the spirit.” Great words!

With such patriotism, the Lord Himself helps. Again the biblical quote: “You come against me with sword and spear and shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. which you have reproached" (1 Samuel 17:45). David said this to Goliath before the fight. These words say a lot. Firstly, by saying “in the name of the Lord,” David thereby speaks for faith, because it is faith in the Lord. Secondly, by saying “God of armies,” David affirms God’s protection over the defenders of the faith and the Motherland.

Further, David says: “And the whole congregation will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for this is the battle of the Lord, and He will deliver you into our hands” (1 Sam. 17.46). So, this is the “war of the Lord,” the war of God in defense of faith and the Motherland, a war for the reproach of those who support this faith. Isn't this the blessing of patriotism?

But more than that, the Lord Himself participates in the war on the side of the defenders of the faith and native land. “When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and a people greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you... for the Lord your God is coming with you to fight for you against your enemies yours and save you” (Deut. 20.1,4). But, by the way, when the Lord fights, Protestants have an alternative service.

Not only the Lord is fighting, but also the angelic army, fully armed, is ready to enter the earthly battle together with the defenders of the faith and the Fatherland: “In the morning, the servant of the man of God got up and went out; and behold, there was an army around the city, both horses and chariots. And his servant said to him (Elisha - author): alas! My lord, what should we do? And he said: Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are greater than those. who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said: Lord! Open his eyes so that he can see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw, and behold, the whole mountain was filled with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6.15-17).

True patriotism is not just spiritual, it is always spiritually connected with the forefathers and their spiritual heritage. It fuels patriotism. Spiritual, namely spiritual, historical roots of faith always nourish patriotism. The following speaks about how patriotism carefully treats its history. The entire Old Testament, practically, is the history of the Jewish people, in which everything is very scrupulously collected and preserved, from names and dates to events and facts. There are even books with common name"Chronicles", which means "Chronicle". Hence, a person who rejects his native spiritual heritage cannot be a patriot.

This heritage was embodied not only in the faith of the ancestors, but also in the word “father” connected with this faith. Hence the Fatherland. Hence the patronymic. One who does not fulfill the commandment of God cannot be a true patriot. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God has given you” (Deut. 5.16), does not fulfill the commandments of his fathers and forefathers, or simply does not consider it necessary to simply remain in obedience to them. After all, how can you love the history of your fatherland and your people if you ignore your historical roots in your own father? No way.

One cannot be a patriot who does not preserve and support what the Motherland begins with - his family. And that's true. How can you be a patriot of an entire people if you don’t support your family and friends? The Apostle Paul wrote about this in these words, saying that who “If anyone has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to honor their family and pay tribute to their parents: for this pleases God... If anyone does not take care of his own, and especially his family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel” (1 Tim. 5.4 ,8).

Actually, this also applies to the number of children in the family. The words “children” or “sons” in the Bible designate not only the direct descendants of a person, but also his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that is, subsequent generations. Numerous offspring mean joy and happiness. It is considered a blessing from God: “This is the heritage of the Lord: children; the reward from Him is the fruit of the womb. Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are young sons. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! They will not remain in shame when they speak with their enemies” (Ps. 126.3). In a childless marriage, there is God's punishment. A true patriot will try with his legacy to increase the wealth of the people to which he belongs and who loves him so that he does not die out, but “he was fruitful and multiplied and filled the earth and possessed it” (Gen. 1.28).

In fact, with the Ten Commandments, the Bible affirms the hallmarks of true patriotism. So, for example, a thief and a liar cannot be a true patriot. How can you claim that you love your people if you rob them and lie to them?

Centuries have passed, but the Lord does not change. “God is not a man, that He should change” (Num. 23.19). “With God there is no variableness or shadow of turning” (James 1.17) and if so, will God, who helped the patriots in the Old Testament, change and teach differently during the New Testament? No way.

IV. New Testament foundations of patriotism

Christians, like the prophet David, who wrote about himself: “I am a stranger on earth” (Ps. 119.19), also consider themselves, together with the Apostle Paul, “strangers and strangers on earth; for those who say this show that they are seeking a heavenly fatherland” (Heb. 11.13). Christians “have in their minds the fatherland,” as the apostle further writes, “from which they came” (Heb. 11.15). Therefore, every Christian, carrying in his heart “images of heavenly things” (Heb. 9.23), sees in the earthly Fatherland a prototype of the Kingdom of God, the Heavenly Fatherland, and runs the race set before him, looking to the author and finisher of the faith, Jesus Christ, Who showed love and fidelity with His whole life. to His Kingdom.

St. John of Kronstadt spoke about these foundations of patriotism as follows: “The earthly Fatherland with its Church is the threshold of the Heavenly Fatherland, therefore love it fervently and be ready to lay down your soul for it in order to inherit eternal life.”

“Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David. Son of Abraham...” (Matthew 1.1). This is how the Gospel of Matthew begins. Here is the historical chronicle of “all generations from Abraham to David... and from David to the deportation to Babylon... and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ” (Matt. 1.17). carefully preserved and brought to us. This is nothing more than the spiritual heritage of patriotism, the very historical roots that spiritually nourish faith, love for God and one’s people.

The Gospel of John, literally from the first words speaking about the incarnation of the Word, lays the foundation for the New Testament foundation of patriotism: “He came to his own...” (John 1.11). Like this. Loving and saving everyone, the Lord came “to his own.”

Of course, He came “to do good to all,” as the Apostle Paul writes, “but especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6.10). He came “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15.24), so that, starting with small things, he could save even more, “by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1.21) on Him.

And more than that. Proclaiming the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to “his” first, He tried to gather them around Him, “like a bird gathers its chicks under its wings” (Mer. 23-37). When they did not want this, He, the Holy One, grieved and cried over their blindness and the destruction they had prepared for themselves (Luke 19.41-43). Here, what was written above is revealed in the best possible way, that it is impossible to be a patriot of everyone and everything at once, without being a patriot of your own.

Actually, unlike the first Adam, the entire earthly life of the God-man Christ is a single impulse of faith, acting through love. An outburst of endless love for His Heavenly Kingdom, true Fatherland, for whose evangelism He accepted death on the Cross.

Likewise John the Baptist, who suffered death by the sword. He suffered, firstly, for faith, for fidelity to the moral Law of God, which is incompatible with vice. And, secondly, for the people who tried to protect them from the corrupting, lustful royal temptation.

The Apostle Simon, nicknamed the Zealot, also arouses some interest. The word "zealot" means "zealot." As the Biblical Encyclopedia explains, during the time of Christ the Zealots “were jealous of external freedom, preached that the people should not pay tribute to Caesar... stirred up rebellions and indignations of the Jews against the Romans.” Actually, these were patriots of their people and zealots of their faith. The same zealot of faith and love for the Lord was Simon, whom the Lord called to apostolic service and preaching of the Kingdom of God, thereby blessing patriotism in the person of this apostle.

Like the Old Testament Moses, the Holy Apostle Paul said with sorrow that “I would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers who are related to me in the flesh, that is, the Israelites” (Rom. 9.3). He is echoed by the holy Apostle John the Theologian: “In this we know love, that the Lord laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3.16).

The Lord Jesus Christ gives the basis of patriotism the content that distinguishes it from nationalism. Notice that the Lord did not consider anyone His enemy. He loves everyone, prays for everyone, suffers for everyone and saves everyone. Here are the roots of the difference between Orthodox patriotism and nationalism. An Orthodox patriot loves the Lord, his Motherland and his people, while a nationalist hates more those whom he considers the enemy of his nation. In Orthodoxy, patriotism stems from faith, in nationalism - from nationality. Orthodox patriotism always has the Spirit of Christ within it. True patriotism of faith is always filled with the Spirit of love. “Love your enemies (Matt. 5.44). Bless your persecutors; bless and do not curse” (Rom. 12:14,15). Nationalism, in its essence, is always unspiritual or false spirituality. This is a big, fundamental difference. “We, who are looking for ways of spiritual renewal, cannot be indifferent to what kind of patriotism we affirm and what kind of nationalism we instill.” This is Ivan Ilyin again.

V. Patriotism in our Orthodox history

Patriotism is based on a strict hierarchy of spiritual values ​​and an awareness of spiritual self-determination. “At the heart of patriotism,” wrote Ivan Ilyin, “is an act of spiritual self-determination. Patriotism can and will live only in that soul for which there is something sacred on earth, which has experienced through living experience the objectivity and unconditional dignity of this sacred - and recognized it in the shrines of its people.”

All the best from Christ’s teaching of love has been absorbed by Orthodoxy, where the patriotism of our Orthodox people for centuries was based on a fundamental idea that involves understanding life as a religious duty, as a universal joint service to the Gospel ideals of goodness, truth, love, mercy, sacrifice and compassion. According to this worldview, the goal of the patriotic aspirations of an individual in his personal life, the main task and meaning of both married family life and public, state service, is the feasible embodiment in life of those high spiritual principles, the permanent custodian of which is the Orthodox Church from century to century. Church

Actually, the entire history of the Orthodox Church is the history of patriotism of faith, where patriotism is not just love for one’s people, which in us is only a natural affection, but, above all, a highly moral feeling, Christian virtue.

Orthodox patriotism is not at all connected with nationality or territory. “The sign of race and blood,” wrote Ivan Ilyin, “does not resolve the question of the Motherland: for example, an Armenian can be a Russian patriot.” Hence the patriotism of the Russian people, to which, by the way, the Orthodox people of Ukraine also belong, is determined not by nationality, but by the messianic significance of preserving the completeness and purity of the Orthodox faith. This is the patriotism of faith and the saving teachings of Christ.

The history of the Church of Christ is replete with the names of holy patriotic warriors. It is enough to recall only one St. George the Victorious, who is the patron saint of Orthodox warriors.

Likewise, the value system of Holy Rus' has created all the conditions for the highest spiritual self-determination, and therefore the mature patriotism of our people. Based on this system of values, our people realized their spiritual strength and power, health, a sense of pride and satisfaction from their way of life and thought.

Let us turn to the history of Russian holiness. All classes showed the world the patriotism of our people. Blessed Princes Boris and Gleb, Blessed Grand Dukes Mstislav of Kiev, Alexander Nevsky, Rostislav of Kiev, Prince Martyr Mikhail of Chernigov, Blessed Prince Mstislav the Brave, Reverends Peresvet and Ilya of Muromets, Reverends Titus, Fyodor of Ostrozh, Reverend Anthony pierced by an arrow....not all transfer. In the history of our Fatherland we see everywhere traces of military valor and civil courage left by our glorious ancestors.

When in 1380 Grand Duke Demetrius Donskoy came to St. Sergius to ask for a blessing for the battle with the Tatars, who at that time were the masters of Rus', but St. Sergius did not immediately agree to give this blessing. In any case, purely political motives, the desire to see Rus' independent of the Tatars and for this to go to war, were completely alien to him. He spoke to the prince like this: “First, go to the Tatars with truth and humility, as you should, according to your position, submit to the Horde king. And Scripture teaches that if such enemies want honor and glory from us, we will give it to them; if they want gold and silver, we will give that too; but for the name of Christ, for the Orthodox faith, one must lay down one’s soul and shed blood. And you, sir, give them honor, and gold, and silver, and God will not allow them to overcome us. He will exalt you, seeing your humility, and will bring down their inflexible pride.”

Some time later, blessing the prince for the battle with the Tatars, he said: “Go! The God of righteousness will give you victory and will preserve you for eternal glory, and for many of your ascetics crowns of martyrdom are ready. Go boldly, prince, and trust in God’s help...”

Another example of a true son of the holy Orthodox Church. It is taken from the story of Mikhail Grushevsky. Here is the speech he quoted from Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky (I quote from the original): “Having already proven that I was not thinking right away, now I will prove that I was thinking,” Khmelnitsky said, “I will free the Russian people from their captivity!” Previously, I fought for my Skoda and falsehood, now I fight for our Orthodox Bipy. In the meantime, help all the people (!-ed.)... The foot of a foreign prince or gentry will not stand in Ukraine... I am a small and insignificant person, but by the will of God I became a self-owner and a Russian autocrat" (History of Ukraine. Kiev - Lviv.1913. p.303).

So, true patriotism is only true when, relying on its spiritual heritage, it professes and stands in defense of the faith of Christ, in defense of the highest interests of its people and its Motherland, where the highest interest is the salvation of the human soul, for which the Lord suffered on the Cross and Our Savior Jesus Christ.

I want to end my report with the words of a true patriot of our faith, the late Metropolitan John (Snychev), addressed to each of us: “Only those few surviving old people who now stand with outstretched hands in the subway passages, wearing the stocks of military awards, jingling (who don’t managed to sell) orders of the Great Patriotic War, they have before God the right to inherit the exploits of their ancestors. We, indifferently rushing by, are deprived of such a right until we restore what has been trampled on and remember what has been forgotten... We just have to start, and the Almighty Lord will give us strength for spiritual warfare, pure life and good deeds! Let it be so. Amen".

The spiritual and moral principle in a person determines his thoughts, words, actions, determines his choice. Patriotism in its own sense is a MORAL CATEGORY. The ability to sacrifice oneself for the sake of one’s neighbors is not born outside of moral choice.

Treasury moral values Russia is in the experience and traditions preserved and living, first of all, in the Church. Attempts to focus on Western principles and models of life have revealed the impossibility of effective state building without the adoption of traditional, time-tested foundations.

So, the spiritual component should be recognized as paramount in the educational process. Training physical capabilities and skills, acquiring basic military knowledge, knowledge military history, of course, should be encouraged by us. But the main role in this is played by military and sports specialists, and not by the clergy and the general public. Our role is to form the spirit of the defender of the Fatherland. And one has to defend the Fatherland not only on the battlefield. In history, the interests of the Fatherland have repeatedly had to be defended in difficult confrontations in the diplomatic, socio-political, economic, scientific and technical, and many other spheres. The feats accomplished in this case were always based on the spirit of the defender of the Faith and the Fatherland. This is even more evident in the present time, when completely new ways and methods of influencing entire nations have emerged. And only the spiritual component will allow our people to navigate the processes taking place around them.
That is why today the most violent and significant anti-patriotic and anti-Russian project is the activity of Russia’s enemies to belittle, conceal and eradicate from the people’s consciousness the true historical role Russian Orthodox Church in heroic story our Motherland.

The Church gave birth, inspired, blessed and made possible: state building itself - the gathering of Russian lands, the formation of a nation - a single and unique people, overcoming slavery and external threats, countless victories over invaders from the West and East, the creation of the highest culture on a global scale. The Orthodox Church was formed around Russian education, which we were proud of until recently. The best military leaders relied on the moral authority of the Church and the examples of its saints. A strong, healthy and happy family was created based on examples of Christian piety. To interrupt this connection, to undermine this foundation, means committing a crime against the Russian people.
We often remain bashfully silent about this role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the formation and life of the people. And with this silence we pour grist into the mill of our enemies.

Today, among military-patriotic organizations, a significant share is represented by clubs and groups operating at churches or Sunday schools. There are also those who are based on an absolutely secular basis, but rely on the support and spiritual help of priests who are not indifferent to the problems and spiritual state of the people living around them, to the moral environment in which their parish is located, in which everyone who happens to be nearby will have to live. .

We need to call on these good shepherds, of whom there are many throughout our land, to more active prayerful, spiritual and other feasible support for public organizations and public initiatives aimed at the benefit of Russia.

The activities of many associations that carry out the patriotic education of youth already rely on the help of the clergy. This is evidenced by their leaders, instructors and participants, who consider priests to be the helmsmen, the confessors of their organizations. But this is not enough - more and more active lay people must be involved in the defense of the spiritual values ​​that the Lord has entrusted to us.
Time reminds us of the need active position citizens of Russia on issues of self-identification, preservation of continuity and national identity. This requirement of the time is especially aggravated in light of the latest youth clashes, which also have a national background. Only respect for their national roots will allow the majority in Russia to maintain firmness and national dignity, and the minority to reckon with the people who gave them freedom, peace and prosperity.

I must add that each of us, clergy, needs to overcome lukewarmness and formalism in relation to youth work and, above all, in the matter of patriotic education, spiritual nourishment of clubs and organizations. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly made appeals about the need to meet young people halfway, to actively preach, and to use modern forms and methods of working with the younger generation. However, for many this remains only a call. Often parishes treat such activities formally, hold events only for reporting purposes, and prefer to engage only with those who have already come to the Church and are firmly on their feet.

If we all do not participate with heartfelt passion in this most important work, then sects, atheists, carriers of popular culture and other forces contributing to the destruction of society.

All sensible people already see the danger standing at the threshold of our Earth - the danger of complete, comprehensive destruction, a multifaceted and undeniable danger. Specialists of the highest level in the most different areas(economics, sociology, politics, history, culture, military affairs, etc.) are shocked by how rapid and fatal the negative changes in the life of the country turned out to be, in how short a period of time the key systems of the country’s life were destroyed. And there is no other answer to the question about the reasons for what happened, except one: the spiritual and moral foundation of the entire building has been undermined.

Restoring this foundation in its time-tested configuration, designing a revived reality based on this solid stone - this activity should run like a red thread throughout all service to the cause of patriotic education of the younger generation.

The key platform for the battle between good and evil has become no longer the sphere of territorial claims, not the struggle for natural resources, but the area of ​​content, the area of ​​spiritual choice. Today our enemies are delivering the main blow to the foundations of our faith, to our right to spiritual sovereignty, to our roots.

Historical myths are formed against the truth about our past, alien ideological paradigms are being introduced that undermine our will and consciousness. Instead of traditional foundations, a variety of models are proposed - the Islamization of Russia, subordination to new global pseudo-values, complete de-ideologization, a path into emptiness, a dead end, a path to self-destruction is proposed.

One of the joyful events of the past year was the painting of the icon of the Patron Saints of the Russian Army. The initiators were: the Center “National Treasure”, the association of organizations for the patriotic education of youth “Eastern Front”, a number of military-patriotic clubs and public organizations. The image was consecrated on August 19, on the day of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in the center of Orthodox spirituality of our Fatherland - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, at the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed Russian soldiers more than six centuries ago before the Battle of Kulikovo.
Now the Image will visit many military units in Russia and dozens of military-patriotic and military-historical associations. It is kept alternately - in the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki and in Novomoskovsk, Tula region. The icon includes the faces of more than forty saints, revered as patrons of the pious Orthodox army and military service in our Fatherland.
By turning to the support of the Church or calling on the help of the saints, we do not try to shift our responsibility for the future of Russia to someone else, we accept the thousand-year experience of the meaningful, purposeful life of the people, we come to the conviction that we have a lot to do to change ourselves and the world for the better around you.

Let us, imitating the ascetics of the past, demonstrate true conciliarity - that form of unity that has repeatedly led Russia to victory over the most terrible external and internal enemies, to new prosperity, to overcoming all crises and threats. Conciliarity is the opposite of selfishness, chaos and fragmentation of the people.

In our history, conciliar unity has always emerged or strengthened in the face of grave threats - Tatar-Mongol yoke or times of troubles, wars or devastation. The Church has always acted as a unifying force, filling the public will with moral fullness and higher content, allowing one to overcome divisions, fear and indecision.

Obviously, today there are conditions for the revival of conciliarity - these are geopolitical threats, this is the merciless information war waged against Russia, these are the consequences of decades of official atheism, and then permissiveness.

Hegumen John (Ermakov),
head of the Center for Spiritual
moral, civil
and patriotic education
youth “National Treasure”,
rector Patriarchal Metochion
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki

In the scientific literature there are various classifications of patriotism, its types and forms are distinguished.

One of the grounds for clarifying the typologies of patriotism can be the popular concepts of a large and small Motherland, conciliarity, spirituality, service to the Fatherland, defense of the Motherland, etc. Under big homeland previously meant Russian empire, later - Soviet Union, Russia, Russian Federation. Small Motherland- province (later - region, territory, national republic) or district (district), city, village, hamlet, etc. In accordance with this basis, the types of patriotism include: state, Russian national, national, civil, local or regional, etc. All these types of patriotism are interconnected, but each of them reveals something special in it (patriotism).

State patriotism connected, first of all, with the single and highest goal of each person, team and society as a whole; the interests of the state and national security are a priority in the system “individual - collective - society - state”. The political regulators of state patriotism are the concept of state, statism, and the main principle that supports and develops national culture, protects national independence and state territorial integrity is the principle of sovereignty. The normativity of patriotism is social norms regulating human behavior in society, his attitude towards other people, towards society, the state and towards himself. Their implementation is ensured by the power of both public opinion, internal conviction based on the ideas accepted in a given society about one’s own safety and the possibility of reproduction, and coercion from the state, based on legal regulators.

State patriotism presupposes that Russians have general interest in unity and development, the general goal of strengthening the state, the confidence that spiritual solidarity and justice, and a sense of responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland reign within its borders. For the development of this type of patriotism, knowledge of the history of the Fatherland, the establishment in the legal consciousness of the people of the idea of ​​the state, their Motherland, are important; community of interests and common determination to protect its interests; the presence of an established system of monitoring the observance of citizens' rights and at the same time monitoring the fulfillment of citizens' responsibilities to society. It is in this regard that the degree of public confidence in the authorities increases.

Russian national patriotism is more connected with the emotional world of a person. Its spiritual and moral basis are the concepts of “Fatherland” (father’s house) and “Motherland” (birth womb). They reveal the spiritual basis of patriotism, the content of the patriotic experience of the people, and its values. In their totality, the Fatherland and the Motherland accumulate ideas about the people as a family living in a multi-ethnic and unified political space. Russian patriotism, reflecting and protecting the interests of the people, society and orienting individuals in their civic behavior towards the implementation of legal norms, simultaneously stimulates them to consolidate through the development of patriotic experience, which is enshrined in moral norms, customs, traditions, folklore, values life world developed by the people and their culture. Modern Russia needs patriotic traditions and values ​​to be internalized by the population and become individual and group behavioral programs.

A Russian patriot is a person who has united his fate with the fate of his people, with its age-old traditions, who believes in Russia, is connected with it spiritually, morally and emotionally, building his behavior in accordance with Russia, its future and present.

National(Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, etc.) patriotism is based on its national culture, i.e.

Local, regional patriotism manifests itself in love for surrounding nature, his small homeland, economic work, family and loved ones, the spiritual culture of his people. Natural, historical, blood and household ties should become the subject of patriotic love as elements of the spirit of one’s ancestors and one’s people. Children learn the concepts of “Motherland” (womb of birth), “Fatherland” (father’s house) in early childhood through the world around them.

In conditions modern Russia, during the period of its entry into the processes of globalization, special place takes civic patriotism , which is based on love for the Motherland on its national scale, national and legal self-awareness, civic morality: pride in one’s family, home, one’s people, yard, sports club, city, region, country.

Ivan Ilyin wrote: “In order to find your homeland and merge with it with feeling, will, and life, you need to live in spirit and cherish it within yourself; and, further, it is necessary to realize patriotic self-awareness in oneself, or at least to truly “feel” oneself and one’s people in spirit. You must truly feel your spiritual life and the spiritual life of your people and creatively affirm yourself in the powers and means of this latter, i.e., for example, accept the Russian language, Russian history, Russian state, Russian song, Russian legal consciousness, Russian historical worldview, etc. .d. like your own. This means establishing similarity, communication, interaction and community in spirit between oneself and one’s people; recognize that the creators and creatures of his spiritual culture are my leaders and my achievements. My path to the spirit is the path of my homeland; her ascent to spirit and God is my ascent. For I am identical with her and inseparable from her in spiritual life.”

Civil patriotism is based on subconscious aspirations and impulses that are rooted in the spirit of the people, the national instinct, the desire for creativity, and active social activity.

Civil patriotism reflects a unique mechanism of interaction between an individual, a team, society and the state; it synthesizes other types of patriotism and is associated precisely with the defense of one’s national and cultural identity. Currently, there is a clearly identified need for a patriotic orientation in education, teaching young people civilized norms of relationships in matters affecting the interests of the individual, the collective, society, the state and requiring decisions that are binding on all institutions of civil society.

Patriotism as a social phenomenon, in addition to its classical manifestation, has not only other types, but also forms. In his work “The Concept of Patriotism: An Essay on the Sociology of Knowledge” A.N. Malinkin, based on the main essential feature of patriotism (love of the motherland), identifies the following forms: affective patriotism, patriotic indifferentism, anti-patriotism, false anti-patriotism, pseudo-patriotism, patriotic nihilism, counter-patriotism.

Affective patriotism- patriotism as a “social emotion”, a manifestation of affects and passions, forming a superficial, peripheral layer of individual, group and public consciousness. Affective patriotism is important component many authoritarian-oriented political ideologies, for example, racist, nationalist-extremist, religious-fundamentalist, etc. Most of them are not concerned with searching for the truth (it is “known” to them).

Patriotic indifference- an indifferent, indifferent attitude towards the homeland or even the absence of a definite attitude towards it, oblivion of the homeland - its disappearance from the field of objects of possible attention.

Antipatriotism- hatred of the homeland, as a rule, is the result of a natural protest reaction of a person who seeks to escape from the established life world, but is temporarily unable to do this (for example, by changing socio-economic conditions, migration or emigration). A person either comes to terms with an environment that he perceives as a “vicious circle,” “trap,” etc., or continues to fight it, trying to neutralize the influence of an alien or hostile social environment.

False anti-patriotism- ardent and jealous love for the homeland (“I love my homeland, but strange love"), hidden most often under national “self-flagellation”.

False patriotism (or pseudo-patriotism)- hatred and contempt for the homeland.

Patriotic nihilism- this is the denial of the positive value of the homeland as such, that is, the denial of the special and irreplaceable place of the homeland in the system of human values. Symptoms of patriotic nihilism indicate irreversible changes in the emotional constitution and state of mind of a person, which in principle exclude the revival of love for the motherland. Patriotic nihilism is expressed in blind worship of everything foreign, fanatical devotion to some foreign or ancient culture, etc. The main manifestations of patriotic nihilism are humanitarianism and cosmopolitanism.

Humanitarianism and cosmopolitanism can be classified as social phenomena, essentially and necessarily related to patriotism, but having the opposite value vector.

Humanitarianism- abstract love for everything that, in the eyes of the one who thus loves, has human face(even if it is the face of a “friend of man” - a dog, cat, etc.). Humanitarianism is indifferent to the racial, national, ethnic, cultural and other affiliation of a person, to specific groups, since it is based on a limited and historically obsolete idea of ​​the equality of nature of all people (the rational essence of man), as well as a more than ambiguous idea “ universal human values.

Cosmopolitanism– a state of mind of individual-egoistic alienation from the homeland and cynical indifference towards it.

For a cosmopolitan, love for the fatherland is either negligibly weak or has completely atrophied. The cosmopolitan considers himself a “citizen of the world”, declares involvement in a community of a higher order and significance (to the whole world, humanity), but the objectively higher value of this community (in itself, of course, not illusory) for the cosmopolitan is not an end in itself, not an object of love and active, sacrificial service, but just a means - the basis and reason for an arrogant, contemptuous attitude towards one’s people and native country.

The opposite of the phenomenon of cosmopolitanism is the concept planetarism as a supranational consciousness of belonging to the human community on planet Earth, a feeling of love for all living things and everything living on it and solidarity with them, readiness to actively and sacrificially serve them. The basis of this positive feeling and consciousness is necessarily patriotism, which naturally outgrows its local and national boundaries.

A special - political-ideological - type of cosmopolitanism is internationalism, in the classical Marxist form, considered as social-class internationalism - the internationalism of capitalists and the working class. Since proletarian internationalism puts class interests (that is, political-economic) above national interests (primarily national-state), and therefore above the interests of the fatherland, it denies patriotism. Another thing is that for the majority of the peoples of the USSR, but especially for the Russian people, “real internationalism” actually meant the perception of representatives of other states, nations, races, and ethnic groups as equals, respect for their national dignity and original culture; the absence of national chauvinism - great-power or based on God's chosenness and the special mission of a nation; sacrificial “international assistance” - military, economic and cultural (in the field of education and science), as well as a number of other positive features coming from the depths of the healthy nationalism of these peoples.

Nationalism- a concept that received a perverted interpretation during the Soviet period, which was actually identified with manifestations of “national chauvinism”, “national extremism” and other deviations in national self-awareness. In reality, nationalism personifies love for the original spirit of one’s people, developing into national self-awareness, preserving and creating the national way of life. Taking into account the existing post-Soviet realities and the discrediting of the term “nationalism” in the public consciousness, we should recognize the absence in our vocabulary of a concept that would adequately reflect the positive potential of patriotism.

Counter-patriotism- this is love for the ideal (utopian) image of the homeland, which turns into jealousy or hatred when confronted with the homeland, given in the form social reality, which does not correspond to the ideal (utopian) image. Counter-patriotism is characterized by a clearly realized distinction between the “motherland” (a warm feeling is maintained towards it) and “those who speak and act on its behalf” (a persistent hostility or hatred arises towards them).

It should be emphasized that various directions of perverted patriotism propose to see in patriotism something that must be “overcome” as something base (instinctive attachment, going back to the territorial instinct of animals), or “outlived” as an age-related phenomenon, or “rejected” as a conservative isolationist tendency , is a deep misconception. Love for the fatherland as an “eternal” social phenomenon and enduring human value does not isolate from the world, but rather opens the world in its true light: it allows us to see planet Earth not as an internally indifferent, and therefore incapable of development, universal human unity, but as a fruitful unity development-oriented diversity.

Existing classifications of patriotism into types and forms, partially reflected above, allow us to objectively and comprehensively identify objective manifestations of patriotism at the social and individual level, and systematically reflect the complex picture of the functioning of patriotism in the space of public consciousness.

Questions to control the mastery of competencies:

1. What are the ideas of I.A. Ilyin can be developed in relation to modern Russia?

2. Summarize in the form of a diagram the main directions of understanding of patriotism in the scientific literature, identify their relationships.

3. Highlight the qualities of a person that characterize his civil-patriotic sphere and fill out the table:

4. Justify which types of patriotism are most acceptable for Russia in the context of globalization.

5. Describe the manifestations of state and personal patriotism in modern social practice.

6. Determine what a student’s patriotic activity may consist of while studying at a university.

Literature:

1. Efimov V.F. Historiosophical aspects of Russian patriotism//SOTIS-social technologies, research. - 2008. - No. 4. - P. 33-42.

2. Zapesotsky A.S. Dmitry Likhachev about morality, freedom and patriotism//Additional education and upbringing. - 2008. - No. 6. - P.3-8.

3. Ivanova S.Yu., Lutovinov V.I. Modern Russian patriotism. – Rostov n/d: Publishing house of the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2008. - 320 p.

4. Malgin E.L. On the relationship between the concepts of “spirituality” and “patriotism” // Applied psychology and psychoanalysis. - 2007. - No. 1. - P. 7-12.

5. Russian patriotism: origins, content, education in modern conditions. – Textbook/general. ed. A.K. Bykova, V.I. Lutovinova. – M., 2010. – P. 121-122.

Internet-resources:

1. http://www.zpu-journal.ru/ “Demidova E. I., Krivoruchenko V. K. Patriotism in its idea is unchanged. Electronic journal "Knowledge. Understanding. Skill". – 2008. - No. 6. - Story".

2. http://www.library.novouralsk.ru/ “Public libraries. Path of interaction. Issue 12. Spiritual, moral and heroic-patriotic education of readers.”

Patriotism is a special emotional experience of belonging to a country, citizenship, language and traditions, native land and culture. Such a feeling implies pride in your country and confidence that it will always protect you. These are the main criteria in the definition, although there are other interpretations.

What is "patriotism"?

The word “patriotism” is translated from Greek as “fatherland”; it is a feeling, the essence of which is love for one’s country and the willingness to sacrifice everything for it. What is a patriot? A person who is proud of the successes and culture of his country and strives to preserve the characteristics of his native language and traditions. This is the most common variant of denoting the essence of the term “patriotism”, but there are also other interpretations:

1. A moral indicator that distinguishes a generous person from a low one.
2. Pride in the achievements of your people.
3. Real assessment of the actions of your state.
4. Willingness to sacrifice individual interests for the sake of common ones.

Business patriotism - what is it?

In the 21st century, the feeling of patriotism began to reach new level, calls for the formation of groups of business patriots are beginning to sound louder. It’s not just about giving preference to domestic goods; the Russian Association of Entrepreneurs for the Development of Business Patriotism recently proposed its own strategy. Its leaders see the main task as comprehensive support for entrepreneurs, since the share of small businesses abroad is several times larger than domestic ones. We need conditions for growth in several directions:

1. Education. Development of youth entrepreneurship, holding master classes.
2. Support in the implementation of plans and promotion of commercial growth.
3. Business club. A place where you can exchange experiences, contacts and best practices.

Nationalism and patriotism - the difference

Many people confuse the concepts of “nationalism” and “patriotism”; even dictionaries note that patriotism is love for the homeland and one’s people. Experienced linguists point out the following error in substituting concepts:

1. Love for the homeland is a feeling for the land, nature, native language and state. This is what patriotism is - an expanded concept of love for one’s home.
2. Love for the people - broad concept love for loved ones, which arises in a person before patriotism. This is already nationalism, awareness of commitment to the nation, which is instilled from birth.

Why is patriotism needed?

Why is patriotism important? Experts believe that this is natural mental condition, which is expressed in the readiness to protect one’s own from someone else’s, to recognize it under a different mask. It’s hard to survive without patriotism, because every person must have core values ​​for the sake of which they can realistically overcome fear and even go to death. Only thanks to enormous patriotism, soviet people were able to win World War II and stop hordes of enemies at the cost of millions of lives.

A patriot is a person for whom the fate of the state always comes first. But similar attitude appears only when a person is sure that his country will protect him in difficult times and will help his family. Therefore, those who survive in poverty cannot be forced to be patriots; people must have something to be proud of and something specifically to defend: their well-being, home front, achievements.

Types of patriotism

What is patriotism? Over the years, this feeling has been used to denote various phenomena, often replacing the concept of “love for the motherland” with “love for the state.” This is how other types of patriotism appeared:

1. State. When the interests of the state are above all.
2. Russian as a phenomenon. For many centuries, for the Slavs, and then for the Soviet people, the main concept was “homeland”; it was compared to a bride, a mother who must be protected.
3. National. Based on history and cultural heritage people, the formation of such love develops a sense of pride and the desire to increase existing values.
4. Local. It manifests itself in love for one’s village, city, street, home. Characteristic feature Soviet ideology was the education of feelings from the particular to the general, from loyalty to one’s land to the readiness to give one’s life for one’s country.

Education of patriotism

The development of patriotism has at all times been the main task of ideologists of any country. Events were developed with an emphasis on examples of heroism, songs were composed, and events of the past were corrected. The child had to grow up with the idea that his country is the best because it protects, provides a fun childhood, supports him in choosing a profession in his youth and protects him from adversity in adulthood.

Because great importance is devoted to the study of symbolism, the legal system, and acquaintance with the actions of outstanding people. But in a country where there is no return from the state, and the individual does not see what he gets in return for his willingness to sacrifice his personal, the problem of patriotism becomes especially acute. Sometimes there are attempts by those in power to grow it artificially.

Church and patriotism

Since ancient times, patriotism and Orthodoxy have been inextricably linked; an example of this is the church’s blessing of the defenders of the fatherland for a military battle. This tradition goes back thousands of years, even during the Second World War, when all Soviet people were atheists, special prayer services were served, and priests collected funds to buy tanks and airplanes. If we turn to official church documents, the concept of patriotism is stated as follows:

1. Christians should not forget about their earthly homeland.
2. To be a patriot is to love not only your native land, but also your neighbors, your home, and protect them. Because sacrifice for the fatherland is made not only on the battlefield, but also for the sake of children.
3. To love your land as a place where faith and the Orthodox Church are preserved.
4. To love other peoples is to fulfill the commandment of love for one's neighbor.

Patriotism - books

There are thousands of examples from the lives of heroes who showed true patriotism, not only in Soviet literature. Many Russian poets and prose writers wrote about such manifestations, and they were presented in epics. The most striking works dedicated to patriotism:

1. A. Fadeev. "Young guard". A novel about underground heroes of Krasnodon during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War, more than one generation of Soviet children grew up on it.
2. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". Ancient legend, which tells the story of the defenders of their native land during times of hostile raids.
3. L. Tolstoy. "War and Peace". Important historical episodes of the 19th century - the Patriotic War of 1812, with examples of the heroism of the main characters.
4. B. Field. "The Tale of a Real Man". A novel about the legless pilot Maresyev, who managed to return to aviation to fight the Nazis again.