For years, debate has been intensifying regarding the need for the creation and society-wide implementation of a general ideological platform, which would guide state-building and societal and individual development. It should be a key criterion for selecting the country’s governing elite.
The collectively developed ideological platform must be instilled from childhood. In the past, this role was fulfilled by religion or by the quite similar Moral Code of the Builder of Communism.
But today there is a dangerous void. Historically, our state grew and overcame tribulations by relying on a core set of beliefs that define its very essence. Although the zeitgeist might modify them somewhat, they always retained the enduring conviction that Russia is a unique civilizational entity with its own mission before God and humanity.
This identity has been forged over centuries in a crucible of profound and often existential challenges to our Fatherland.
And today, facing a new great challenge, we must make sense of our place in the world, who we are, and what we stand for. In other words, in the misty and mysterious sky of the future, we must discern our guiding star.
This report was prepared within the project “Russia’s Idea-Dream, The Code of the Russian in the 21st Century”. The project was launched and is developing under the auspices of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy and the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the National Research University “Higher School of Economics”.
The report synthesizes findings from years of discussions, situational analyses, conferences, and assemblies of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy.
This report is the result of the joint efforts of like-minded individuals. It also takes into account valuable comments and contributions from a number of outstanding patriotic Russians who have served the country and its people. Scholars from various fields, civil servants, officers, artists, writers, and business people participated in its preparation. Among them are residents of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, and other cities large and small, from diverse regions of Russia, but united by a common historical memory, dynamic present, and promising future.
This report will be a foundation for academic and popular publications that are planned in the project’s future. The authors hope that it will also contribute to professional and public discussion.
