Historical conditionality of mentality transformation in Russia

The article contains a socio-philosophical analysis of the process of the Russian mentality transformation. Mentality change is studied within the framework of the institutional matrix theory (or the XY theory) developed by Yu.I. Alexandrov and S.G. Kirdina. The institutional matrix in the context of this study is understood as the basis which determines the total of the societal specific mental characteristics. The article considers historical reasons of mentality dynamics. On the basis of the criterion of historical conditionality the author's typology of mentality, including the traditional Russian, the Soviet and the contemporary Russian mentality is proposed, and peculiarities of each mentality type are revealed. The author substantiates determination of the foundational level of the traditional Russian mentality by the X-matrix. Peculiar to the X-matrix are institutions of redistributive economy (conditional property, service labour institutions). The key feature of redistributive economy is the centre's mediation of the circulation of goods and rights to their production and use. The political sphere is characterised by the verticality of power and institutions of communitarian ideology, based on the domination of ''We'' over ''I'' and collective values. In the formative stage of the traditional Russian mentality the features of the traditional society (the prevalence of agricultural labour, irrational mentality type, orientation towards collective self-identification due to the communal lifestyle) were vividly represented. The author notes that the process of mentality transformation is determined by historical turning points. One of them is the October Revolution of 1917. The change of the social milieu determined the new mentality type - the Soviet mentality. It is positioned as a transitory stage from the traditional Russian to the contemporary Russian, for the basis of the traditional Russian mentality was preserved, but the new mental qualities were formed and some age-old Russian features faded. The new system of urban values was formed, which included, together with the traditional ones, new and quite important values of education, material wealth and career. It is worth noting that, despite the emergence of urban values in the Soviet period, their prevalence was not vividly expressed and they fit quite harmoniously with the traditional ones (family, marriage, children, labour). In the Soviet times the rational components of mentality were developing. In the 1990s there was an attempt to inculcate the Western-type mentality in the Russian society. The contemporary Russian mentality is well-formed, but it has preserved its age-old basis, which gives vital forces for overcoming mentality deficiency, manifesting itself in crises and social turmoil periods. The comparative analysis of mentality on various stages of its development implemented in the article made it possible to reveal key preconditions of its evolution and its results.

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