Today, rare media material about the relations between our two countries does not include the words “conflict” and “contradiction.” On the eve of the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to Ukraine, we asked cultural figures, businessmen, journalists, and athletes about what unites our peoples.

Nikolai Zakrevsky,


editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Kievskie Vedomosti"

What unites us is clearly not politics or politicians. They are united by a common historical past called Kievan Rus, the war with the French in 1812, the fight against fascist invaders in 1941-45, and finally, the construction of the industrial foundations of a common power.

Of course, we can have different attitudes towards the postulate of Mikhail Suslov (the main party ideologist during the reign of L. I. Brezhnev) that Soviet people will become a single historical community that will abolish the national identification of people in the USSR. But the years of Soviet power, as I believe, strengthened the connection between peoples with Slavic roots, taught us to understand that in the current circumstances there is not only a global economic war, but also an ideological confrontation between two systems: Anglo-Saxon and Slavic, which, unfortunately , Ukrainian sovereign men make a negative contribution. Following certain forces in the West, they are trying to rewrite history, leaving behind the threshold all the good that was born within the framework of Slavic unity and friendship: achievements in the military-technical field, in peaceful space exploration, in the field of healthcare, education, culture. I would like people to come to power in Ukraine who understand the significance of the Slavic code - and this, first of all, is linguistic culture and traditions.

Sofia Rotaru,


singer, people's artist of Ukraine, Moldova, USSR

What unites our peoples? Art, sincere feelings and the desire of all peoples to live in peace!

I am Moldovan by origin. She was born and raised in Ukraine, in a Moldovan village in the Chernivtsi region. Moldavian and Ukrainian folk songs I sang with early childhood. She appeared on the big stage with Ukrainian songs. Later I had the great happiness of singing songs by Russian composers. Now I collaborate with people of various nationalities.

Frankly speaking, I don’t want to limit my creativity to one language, to separate it with borders. I consider it my mission to unite the Slavic peoples. In my concert program There are songs in three languages. I'm proud of what's on mine anniversary concert in the Kremlin, both the entire audience and my colleagues on stage sang along with me in Ukrainian the song “One Kalina”...

Now I live in Kyiv, in the summer in Yalta. There are no boundaries for love and friendship! And I want the people of our states to live peacefully and happily and always find common language.

Evgeniy Bykov,


General Director of the Foundation for the Promotion of International Relations and Cooperation “Good Neighborhood”

I believe that what happened in 1991 was a tragedy. This is my deepest belief. Any boundaries ultimately lead to trouble. And this is proven by all the problems that Ukraine and Russia have today - in the economy, social sphere, culture.

What unites us? Deep things. It is enough to remember the common origins of our peoples... although it would be better to say “our people” - I still believe that we are one people.

But, unfortunately, what is being done now is mostly aimed not at unification, but at separation. Perhaps the Orthodox Church will be able to somehow contribute to improving the situation.

Let us trust in our Patriarch: I hope that the visit of His Holiness will give new strength mutual rapprochement.

Oleg Blokhin,


Soviet football star, coach

There are so many things that unite us that in these 20 years it is impossible to destroy the connection with Russia. And why?

If you take away politics, then our peoples were and still are friends. And they are friends on a personal level.

We have always been united by faith - both in prosperous times of peace and in war years. It remains common even now.

We were united by sport, and I really regret that the Union collapsed, but we had such football! I dream of holding unified championships, although I understand that now it is difficult to do this.

Oleg Krivosheya,


leader of the rock group "The Brothers Karamazov"

Regardless of what happened in 1991, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, of course, are united first of all by the fact that they are brothers and sisters, no matter how banal it sounds. For me, this is a single indivisible people who emerged from one baptismal font. We are united by a single faith, which is why our peoples form the basis of the Slavic Orthodox civilization. This is the most important thing that our countries have. Kindness and love for each other, unity not only spiritual, but also state-political - this is our only way.

Peter Tolochko,


historian, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

First of all, we are united by a common history. We all came from a single ancient Russian nationality. Kievan Rus is our common heritage. In addition, we are united by more than 300 years life together in a single state organism - first in Russian Empire, then in the Soviet Union. This unity is enshrined in the memory of many generations, and it will not be possible to destroy it as quickly as some politicians would like.

We are united by common economic interests. And Russia needs Ukraine, but Ukraine needs Russia even more. Even for purely pragmatic reasons. Because Russia is an inexhaustible source of energy and minerals. And we will need to use these God-given resources for a long time. Russia is also a market for Ukrainian goods, which are uncompetitive in Europe.

We are united by one Orthodox faith, which was accepted by Vladimir the Saint and which then spread throughout the territory Kievan Rus. Despite the existence of schisms in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, our Orthodox Church maintains unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. And this unity also means a lot for our peoples.

Katerina Tkacheva,


producing editor of the Orthodox magazine for youth “Otrok.ua”

It seems to me that people in whose lives there is a vertical vector cannot discount the fact that both of our peoples live and breathe thanks to Orthodoxy. As our common hero of the day Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol said, “if people still do not devour each other, then the secret reason for this is the service of the Divine Liturgy.”

Both Russians and Ukrainians owe everything they have to Orthodoxy cultural heritage. All the best that is rich in the culture of the Slavs grew on the common soil of the right faith. One can, of course, deny this connection, but, according to the apt remark of one theologian, art is always religious - either with a plus sign or with a minus sign.

The Apostle Paul exhorted: If possible on your part, be at peace with all people(Rome 12 :18). And today this will become a reality if we learn to build relationships based on the situation that has developed in at the moment, and live in the present, not in the past.

Unfortunately, the range of mass media dishes on both sides of the border is quite monotonous. Peace and mutual assistance between our states are not preached in the news. But the choice of each of us is whether to feed on the discord imposed on us or not. With a person who is not caught in the network of political propaganda and strives to think for himself, it is always more interesting to seek a common language, no matter where he lives.

I am close to the position of Yuri Shevchuk: looking “above the barriers,” he calls on young people not to follow the lead of politicians who want to quarrel us, but to learn to love and trust each other, regardless of the political climate and agitation.

Georgy Grechko,


astronaut

What unites? A lot. Parents, for example. My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Belarusian, and I was born, studied in Leningrad, I speak Russian, that is, by way of life and place of residence, most likely I am Russian. Well, how do you propose to divide us?

So I think that all this Slavic peoples, and between us whatever you want: historical, genetic, cultural, and linguistic - all connections! And when the leaders of Ukraine go against the wishes of the people (people want to learn Russian - they are not allowed to, they want to communicate - they put all sorts of obstacles...), then this is just some kind of abscess on general history our peoples. And I think it will burst. In the end, the leaders will leave, they will be re-elected, but the people will remain. So I believe that we Slavs will live together, be friends together, love together. And of course, we will tell jokes about each other. Sometimes we can fight. But we will neither shoot, nor conquer, nor harm, nor fence ourselves off.

But we will certainly tell jokes!

What unites peoples Russian Federation? Is there something fundamentally new that this civilization can offer the planet in times of crisis? To find the answer to such a multifaceted question, you need to use the rules of analysis and break it down into its components.

National composition of the state

According to statistics, representatives of more than one hundred nationalities live in the country,

Twenty-two of them (2010 data) are considered numerous. In order to understand what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to delve into boring numbers. They will tell you a lot. Naturally, Russians (80.9%) make up the bulk of the population. But the analysis says that this figure is growing (0.3%), despite the decrease total number population. Statistics cannot tell about the unity of all people, but reflects general trends, among which it should be noted the increase in the share of the country’s indigenous peoples in total number population. For example, the census showed an increase in the number of peoples such as Buryats (3.6%), Yakuts (7.7%), and Ingush (7.7%). There is some outflow of citizens to nation states(Belarusians). It is clear that statistics do not tell us what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation. It only shows that people in the country live well, since they do not leave it, but coexist in harmony.

What do the lawyers say?

If we consider the issue from the point of view of the law, we will find out that territory plays an important role in the formation of a multinational society. You can't argue with that. Although the Crimean events clearly show that people living in other territories also want to join this community. Another unifying factor is legislation and language. But if we look deeper, it turns out that each of the subjects

States have their own laws that differ from the general ones. And, of course, everyone can use their own language. Nobody in Russia raises the issue of Russian dominance. and indigenous peoples have the right to use the speech that is convenient and comfortable for citizens.

Traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation

There is something more than strict numbers and laws. Each nation has its own customs and way of life. They are proud of them and try to preserve them for their descendants. It turns out that more than a hundred peoples united by one territory have their own traditions. All of them are not only allowed to have and develop their own culture, it is also welcomed and encouraged by the state. This is what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation: respect for each other! Develop yourself and don’t interfere with others! No, this does not mean the globalization that Western civilization brings. Peoples do not mix with each other into a common mass. Created in Russia

conditions for everyone to remain original and not lose their individuality.

Russian world

So we have come to the very essence of the civilizational concept that Russia is offering to the peoples of the world. Live in respect, develop as your ancestors bequeathed to you, do not lose your characteristics! All views have the right to exist (not to be confused with tolerance). The legacy of the Federation is that on a single territory it is possible to build a civilization where everyone will feel at home. In this wonderful world no one will be humiliated for belonging to the “wrong” national group. There is no need to teach someone how to live, what holidays to celebrate, how to speak or think. All this was already given to people by their ancestors. They absorb traditions with their mother's milk. By bringing them into the world, demonstrating his belonging to a certain culture, a person receives respect in return. All peoples of the world can become good neighbors, helping to develop, enriching each other with their uniqueness. They say that this is precisely the civilizational task of the Russian world at the present time.

Valery Tishkov,Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

— We have a lot in common. Russian, which is the native language of many more people in Russia than the size of the Russian population. General knowledge of our history and culture, general concept about values ​​and symbols. Not everyone knows the text of the national anthem by heart, but everyone knows the flag, coat of arms and many other things that are symbolic for us.

Another component that unites the citizens of the country and makes them one people is a feeling of belonging to Russia, what is called patriotism. Even including sports patriotism. When we cheer for the national teams at major competitions, from football and hockey to the Olympics, we thereby do not divide the people of our country by nationality.

After the collapse of the USSR, the country is no longer the same in composition and territory. The concept of “Soviet people” is gone, the concept of “Russians”, which has been known since pre-revolutionary times, began to return. It was not Yeltsin who coined the word “Russians.” It occurs quite often in both Pushkin and Karamzin.

Over the past 20 years, there has been a strong shift towards awareness of this collective identity (“I am Russian”). I note that among part of the population, especially among residents of the republics, it competes with ethnicity (“I am both a Tatar and a Russian”). Here the feeling of a large homeland and a small one compete, but do not exclude each other. In general, all surveys for the country recent years show that awareness of oneself as a citizen of Russia comes first. But this process took 20 years and is far from complete.

Each new generation goes through the process of its own internal referendum. As Ernest Renan noted, the life of a nation is a daily plebiscite. From birth, identity is not immediately laid down - a person is raised as a citizen of a particular country through family, school, groups, from the army to other social environments. And each new generation perceives its country a little differently and distinguishes something of its own in it.

“Diversity is the code of Russian identity”

Alexey Kara-Murza, Head of the Philosophy Sector Russian history Institute of Philosophy RAS

— In my opinion, Russia should be united by tolerance towards its diversity. Russia is a world of worlds, and this is precisely what holds it together. Some people think that this is bad, that it can lead to decentralization and even disintegration, but better times Russia was just at a time when the country's leaders knew how to embrace diversity. And vice versa - when they tried to unify, it got worse.

Here is Catherine II, who spoke for many hours with delegations small peoples Severa, for me, is an example of how an enlightened empress could relate to Russian diversity. As part of Valdai, I am going to talk about the fact that political cultures in Russia are also different.

For example, I belong to European political culture, which is a necessary element of Russian diversity. I’m not saying that he should dominate, much less be the only one, but under no circumstances should he be oppressed. The prosperity of Russia is associated with the strengthening of the European element. And the golden age, and silver age- this is all European centuries. And when they begin to press this element - they say, we don’t need Europe, we are original, on our own - in my opinion, this leads to the degradation of Russia. In its finest hours, Russia was Europe. Our entire culture is European. Therefore, when we are against Europe, we end up being against our own culture.

Russia is alive in the world only because it is diverse. In my opinion, there cannot be any common denominator, any single huge identity - it’s like cutting down a huge tree for a telegraph pole. Unity in diversity is the code of Russian identity. Tolerance should unite people. When hatred unites, it is a recipe for disaster. But this is not a state, this is a process: the more tolerant we become of each other, the better Russia will be.

“We have a whole palette of values, but we need to work with them”

Vitaly Kurennoy, Head of the Department of Cultural Studies High school economy

— There are many levels of identity, it extends from the most obvious - the unity of the territory and the state, includes a common legal field and a whole series sociocultural aspects. First of all, this is, of course, the commonality of historical fate, which must be understood and accepted with all its drama. In addition, we have the Russian language and everything that is transmitted through it - a vast cultural field. Russian literature and philosophy are a fundamental unifying factor.

There are controversial issues for each of the factors. There are different points perspective on the problems of nation-building. And the space of our history is a field of conflicting interpretations, but again due to its extraordinary drama, especially in the last century. On the one hand, this greatly polarizes society. On the other hand, history is an irrevocable fact. No matter how we evaluate it, this is our story.

As for values, the whole palette of modern values ​​is present in Russian society- both forms of solidarity and individualistic strategies. It's all there. This just needs to be dealt with correctly at the level of cultural policy. But not in the sense of inventing something and planting it, but in the sense of presenting really good examples, popularizing and replicating them.

In general, I have a bad attitude towards the idea of ​​​​developing new values, an insane project-based design approach in this area. In the USSR, all they did was build a person, or some kind of values. I repeat, in Russian culture all the values ​​that are needed for the normal existence of society already exist. The only question is to place the accents correctly. There is, for example, the problem of legal consciousness. After all, it is not formed through propaganda books - this is a matter of behavioral things, accordingly it is necessary to create conditions so that positive behavioral patterns are supported. And you need to choose the right historical symbols.

We will learn in this section:

• how many different peoples live in Russia and what unites them;
• what is the Universe and what place does our planet occupy in it;
• what units of time were invented by people;
• what is a calendar and what types of calendars are there?
• how old and modern holidays celebrated in Russia and around the world;
• what ancient labor customs and holidays are preserved by the peoples of Russia.

We will learn:

• use a compass, tell time using a clock, find out in the old-fashioned way how many days there are in each month, measure temperature with a thermometer.

We are the union of the peoples of Russia

Let's remember

• What peoples of Russia did you learn about in 1st grade?

The name of our country is Russia, Russian Federation. The word "federation" means "union", "union". On the map you can read the names of republics, territories, regions, districts. These are different names for parts of the country. Their union is the Russian Federation.

Peoples of the Russian Federation

You already know that the most different peoples. There are more than 150 of them. The pictures show only a few of them. The most numerous people are Russians. Behind them come the Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Chechens, Armenians, Mordovians, Belarusians... Each people has its own language and original culture.

Religion occupies a large place in the culture of the peoples of Russia. There are many religions in the world. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism are especially widespread in our country (1).

The official language in Russia is Russian. It is used to draw up state documents, conduct negotiations at international meetings, study in schools and other educational institutions. This is how a common language unites us in a common Fatherland. The union of peoples is also held together by a common history.

• What languages ​​are native to you and your fellow countrymen?

Let's check ourselves

1. What does the name “Russian Federation” mean?
2. How many peoples live in Russia?
3. Why do the peoples of Russia need a state language?
4. What unites the peoples of Russia into a single union?

Let's conclude

More than 150 peoples live in the Russian Federation. They differ in numbers, culture, and languages. Cultural diversity constitutes the wealth of Russia. The official language of Russia is Russian.

What unites the peoples of the Russian Federation? Is there something fundamentally new that this civilization can offer the planet in times of crisis? To find the answer to such a multifaceted question, you need to use the rules of analysis and break it down into its components.

National composition of the state

According to statistics, representatives of more than one hundred nationalities live in the country, twenty-two of them (2010 data) are recognized as numerous. In order to understand what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to delve into boring numbers. They will tell you a lot. Naturally, Russians (80.9%) make up the bulk of the population. But the analysis says that this figure is growing (0.3%), despite the decrease in the overall population. Statistics cannot tell about the unity of all people, but they reflect general trends, among which it is worth noting the increase in the share of the country’s indigenous peoples in the total population. For example, the census showed an increase in the number of peoples such as Buryats (3.6%), Yakuts (7.7%), and Ingush (7.7%). There is some outflow of citizens to national states (Belarusians). It is clear that statistics do not tell us what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation. It only shows that people in the country live well, since they do not leave it, but coexist in harmony.

What do the lawyers say?

If we consider the issue from the point of view of the law, we will find out that territory plays an important role in the formation of a multinational society. You can't argue with that. Although the Crimean events clearly show that people living in other territories also want to join this community. Another unifying factor is legislation and language. But if we look deeper, it turns out that each of the subjects
States have their own laws that differ from the general ones. And, of course, everyone can use their own language. Nobody in Russia raises the issue of Russian dominance. National minorities and indigenous peoples have the right to use the speech that is convenient and comfortable for citizens.

Traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation

There is something more than strict numbers and laws. Each nation has its own customs and way of life. They are proud of them and try to preserve them for their descendants. It turns out that more than a hundred peoples united by one territory have their own traditions. All of them are not only allowed to have and develop their own culture, it is also welcomed and encouraged by the state. This is what unites the peoples of the Russian Federation: respect for each other! Develop yourself and don’t interfere with others! No, this does not mean the globalization that Western civilization brings. Peoples do not mix with each other into a common mass. In Russia, conditions have been created for everyone to remain original and not lose their individuality.

Russian world

So we have come to the very essence of the civilizational concept that Russia is offering to the peoples of the world. Live in respect, develop as your ancestors bequeathed to you, do not lose your characteristics! All views have the right to exist (not to be confused with tolerance). The legacy of the peoples of the Russian Federation is that on a single territory it is possible to build a civilization where everyone will feel at home. In this wonderful world, no one will be humiliated for belonging to the “wrong” national group. There is no need to teach someone how to live, what holidays to celebrate, how to speak or think. All this was already given to people by their ancestors. They absorb traditions with their mother's milk. By bringing them into the world, demonstrating his belonging to a certain culture, a person receives respect in return. All peoples of the world can become good neighbors, helping to develop, enriching each other with their uniqueness. They say that this is precisely the civilizational task of the Russian world at the present time.