Conservatism as a social and cultural phenomenon of Russia’s historical way: origins, transformation in the soviet era, influence on modernity
The article is devoted to the study of conservatism as a socio-cultural phenomenon of the russian historical development. The article identifies its origins, traces its transformation in the Soviet era and determines the influence of this phenomenon on contemporary Russia. The author defines the essence of socio-cultural conservatism in the context of cultural interpretation, believing that its understanding in the purely political or social aspect significantly limits the possibility of using this concept in historical and cultural studies. The article uses an interdisciplinary methodology to trace the influence of various factors on the formation and development of socio-cultural conservatism over Russia’s long cultural and historical way. The work substantiates the thesis that socio-cultural conservatism was Russia's civilizational specificity, and its influence was also strong in the soviet period. The author pays attention to the «conservative revolution» of the 1930s, claiming that it contributed to strengthening the civilizational principles of society despite the communist ideology, which contributed to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. In the post-Soviet period, conservative tendencies in the society are growing due to the project of strengthening the «Russian world». According to the author, a special role is played by the Russian Orthodox Church. The authorities also actively support this project, reinforcing the idea that Russia is unique in terms of its civilizational specificity. The article concludes that Russia's civilizational development goes along with the patterns that have been characteristic of the russian historical way.