Patriots of Russia
PETER THE GREAT
Biography
The great Russian reformer was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672. Like all Russian tsars, the descendant of Alexei Mikhailovich and N.K. Naryshkina was educated at home. The boy showed early enough ability to study, from childhood he learned languages - first German, and then French, English and Dutch. From the palace masters he mastered a lot of crafts - blacksmithing, soldering, weapons, printing. Many historians mention the importance of "fun" in the formation of the personality of the future First Russian Emperor. In 1688, Peter went to Lake Pereyaslavl, where he learned to build ships from the Dutchman F. Timmerman and R. Kartsev, a Russian master. Peter does not stop there and takes a trip to Amsterdam, where he works as a carpenter for six months, continuing to study shipbuilding. During his first trip abroad, which lasted only a year, the future emperor managed not only to "carpentry". In Koenigsberg, he mastered the full course of artillery sciences, and in England he completed a theoretical course in shipbuilding. In 1689, having received the news that Sophia was preparing a coup, Peter was ahead of the princess, removed her from power and occupied the Russian throne. During his reign, he proved to be an outstanding statesman. Peter's reforms were not limited to "cutting a window to Europe." They affected all spheres of life of citizens: new manufactories and factories were opened, new deposits were developed, new bureaucracy was created. One of the most important deeds of his life was the strengthening of the military power of Russia, because the tsar, who had recently ascended the throne, had to end the war with Turkey, which began back in 1686. But the victory did not bring Russia the desired access to the seas. It was only possible to obtain it after a long war with Sweden (1700-1721). Peter also made a significant contribution to culture. In particular, he eliminated the monopoly of the clergy on education. He supported the creation of schools and the publication of textbooks (then primers), he also became the first editor and journalist of the Vedomosti newspaper. By order of Peter, expeditions were carried out to the Far East, Siberia and Central Asia. Peter I encouraged the construction of buildings and architectural ensembles. He contributed to the development of the activities of scientists and researchers. Approved the planning and construction of cities and fortresses. All his thoughts were aimed at strengthening the state. He died on January 28, 1725 in St. Petersburg. Buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
PAVEL TRETYAKOV
Biography
All dictionaries and encyclopedias agree to write next to the name of P. M. Tretyakov: “Russian entrepreneur, patron of the arts, collector of works of Russian fine art, founder of the Tretyakov Gallery.” But everyone forgets that it was Tretyakov who first came up with the idea to collect a collection of Russian paintings that would represent the Russian school as fully as possible. The future founder of the Tretyakov Gallery was born on December 15 (27), 1832 in Moscow, into a merchant family. Parents gave the boy an excellent home education. Pavel Tretyakov shone the continuation of his father's activities, which he did with his brother Sergei. Developing a family business, they took up the construction of paper mills. This provided jobs for several thousand people. From his youth, P. Tretyakov, in his words, "selflessly loved art." Anyway, in 1853 he buys the first paintings. A year later, he acquires nine works by Dutch masters, which he has in his room. There they hung until the death of the patron. But Tretyakov was and remained a deep patriot. Therefore, he decides to collect a collection of modern Russian painting. And in 1856 he buys "Temptation" by N. G. Schilder and "Finland Smugglers" by V. G. Khudyakov. Next - a new acquisition, or rather, acquisitions. The works of K. Bryullov, I. P. Trutnev, F. A. Bruni, A. K. Savrasov, K. A. Trutovsky, L. F. Lagorio ... At his request, painters create portraits of prominent figures of Russian culture - P.I. Tchaikovsky, L. N., Tolstoy, I. S. Turgenev and many others. In 1874, Tretyakov Street provided an extensive space for his collection. And in 1792, he transferred a thoroughly overgrown collection of works (by that time it included 1276 paintings, 470 drawings and a large number of icons) to the city. True, when his best friend, V.V. Stasov, writes an enthusiastic article about him, Tretyakov prefers to simply run away from Moscow. Endless kindness and excellent business acumen coexisted in the character of the philanthropist. For a long time he could financially support artists - Vasiliev, Kramskoy, Perov, patronize a shelter for the deaf and dumb, organize a shelter for orphans and widows of artists. And he patiently bargained with the authors of the paintings, often not agreeing to a price that was too high, in his opinion. Sometimes it came to the refusal of the purchase. His favorite direction in painting was the movement of the Wanderers. Until now, no collection of the world has a more detailed collection of works by these artists. An outstanding philanthropist died in 1898 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
NIKOLAI VAVILOV
Biography
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov - the great Soviet geneticist, plant breeder, geographer. He created the doctrine of the world centers of origin of cultivated plants, their geographical distribution, and also laid the foundations of modern breeding. The future great scientist was born in 1887 in Moscow in the family of a businessman. In 1911 he graduated from the Moscow Agricultural Institute, where he later worked at the Department of Private Farming. In 1917 he was elected professor at Saratov University. In 1921 he was appointed head of the Department of Applied Botany and Breeding (Petrograd), which 9 years later was reorganized into the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov led it until August 1940. In addition, in 1930 he was appointed director of the genetic laboratory, later transformed into the Institute of Genetics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. After research conducted in 1919-20 in the European part of the USSR, the scientist published a work entitled "Field cultures of the South-East." Beginning in 1920, for 20 years he led numerous botanical and agronomic expeditions. He studied the plant resources of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan ... In particular, during the expeditions, he found that the birthplace of durum wheat was Ethiopia. He discovered new types of wild and cultivated potatoes, which later became the basis for selection. Thanks to his scientific research, experimental geographical sowings of cultivated plants were made in different regions of the USSR, they were given an evolutionary and selection evaluation. Under the leadership of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, a world collection of cultivated plants was created. It has more than 300 thousand samples, many of them became the basis for breeding work. The great scientist considered one of his main tasks to be the promotion of agriculture in the undeveloped regions of the North, in semi-deserts and on lifeless highlands. In 1919, Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov substantiated the doctrine of plant immunity to infections and immune varieties. In 1920, a geneticist and plant breeder discovered the law of homological series, which states that similar hereditary changes occur in closely related plant species and genera. The great scientist also owns a number of other discoveries; on his initiative, new research institutions were organized, he created a school of plant growers, geneticists and breeders. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was awarded high Soviet awards, he was an honorary member of many foreign academies. The great scientist died in 1943.
YURI GAGARIN
Biography
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino, not far from the city of Gzhatsk (later renamed Gagarin). On May 24, 1945, the Gagarin family moved to Gzhatsk. After 4 years, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin entered the Lyubertsy vocational school No. 10 and, at the same time, entered the evening school for working youth. In May 1951, the future cosmonaut graduated from the school with honors, having received the specialty of a moulder-caster, and in August he entered the Saratov Industrial College. On October 25 of the same year, he first came to the Saratov flying club. 4 years later, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin graduated with honors and made his first flight as a pilot on a Yak-18 aircraft. In 1957, the future cosmonaut graduated from the 1st military aviation school for pilots named after K. E. Voroshilov in Orenburg. On March 3, 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, he was enlisted in the group of cosmonaut candidates and a few days later began training. The launch of the Vostok spacecraft with the world's first cosmonaut on board was made from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 09:07 Moscow time on April 12, 1961. Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin completed one revolution around the planet and completed the flight a second earlier than planned (at 10:55:34). On Earth, a grandiose meeting was arranged for the hero of space. On Red Square, he was awarded the Gold Star of the "Hero of the Soviet Union" and was awarded the title of "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR." In subsequent years, the hero made several foreign visits. A long break in flight practice followed (Yuri Mikhailovich Gagarin, in addition to social activities, studied at the academy). The first flight after a long interval on the MiG-17 was made by him at the end of 1967, shortly after that he received a referral for the restoration of qualifications. The circumstances of the death of the world's first cosmonaut have not yet been fully clarified. The UTI MiG-15 aircraft with Yuri Gagarin on board crashed on March 27, 1968 near the village of Novoselovo, Vladimir Region. Neither the astronaut's body nor traces of his blood have yet been discovered.
GEORGY ZHUKOV
Biography
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov - Marshal of the Soviet Union, who made an invaluable contribution to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany. He was born on December 2, 1896 in the village of Strelkovka in the Moscow region, into a peasant family. The future military leader graduated from three classes of the parochial school, after which he was sent by his father to Moscow. There the boy was apprenticed to a furrier. During the First World War, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was awarded two St. George's Crosses. In 1918 he joined the Red Army, and a year later became a member of the Bolshevik Party, participated in the battles against Wrangel and Kolchak. At the end of the Civil War, the future commander remained in military service. In 1939 he commanded the Soviet troops in the battle on the Khalkhin-Gol River, was awarded the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Later he was awarded this high award three more times (in 1944, 1945, 1956). In January 1941, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov headed the General Staff of the Red Army. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the troops of the Reserve, Leningrad and Western fronts. In August 1942, he assumed the powers of First Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. In the last years of the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov commanded the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. On May 8, 1945, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany. From 1945 to 1946, Zhukov served as commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces. But after the Potsdam Conference, he was sent by Stalin to the Odessa, and then the Urals military district, which was actually a link. In 1955, after the death of Stalin, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov became the Minister of Defense of the USSR, but in 1957 he was dismissed by Khrushchev who came to power. Obviously, the new ruler was afraid of the popularity and enormous authority of the commander. In the last years of his life, the former military leader creates his memoirs ("Memories and Reflections"). Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov died in Moscow on June 18, 1974.
ZOYA KOSMODEMYANSKAYA
Biography
She died as soon as she reached adulthood. At the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War and life. A young schoolgirl from one of the Moscow schools, the partisan Zoya, was executed by the German invaders in December 1941: she was hanged with a sign on her chest with the inscription "Pyro". February 16, 1942 Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This fragile girl remains a symbol of female heroism to this day. After school, a 10th grade student and Komsomol group organizer Zoya dreamed of entering the Literary Institute, inspired by her acquaintance with the children's writer Arkady Gaidar. However, the impending war prevented her plans from coming true. In the autumn, when the enemy approached Moscow, all the Komsomol volunteers who remained to defend the capital gathered in the Coliseum cinema (now the Sovremennik theater building). From there they were sent to the Central Committee of the Komsomol, where Kosmodemyanskaya was assigned to the reconnaissance and sabotage military unit No. 9903 of the headquarters of the Western Front under the command of P. S. Provorov. Three days of training and, after the order of I.V. Stalin "to smoke out all the Germans from warm shelters and premises", the group received the task to burn 10 settlements near Moscow occupied by the Nazis within a week. Zoya was given 3 Molotov cocktails, a revolver, dry rations and a bottle of vodka. On November 27, in the village of Petrishchevo, after setting fire to three houses, Zoya was captured by the Germans while trying to set fire to the barn of the traitor Sviridov. During interrogation, she called herself Tanya, and even under incredibly brutal torture, she did not reveal the location of her comrades. The next morning, at 10:30 sharp, she was taken to her execution. Zoya “walked straight up to the gallows, with her head held high, proudly and silently…”. When a noose was thrown over her head, she shouted in an unwavering voice: “Comrades, victory will be ours! German soldiers, before it’s too late, surrender… No matter how many of us you hang, you don’t outweigh everyone, we are 170 million.” She wanted to say something else, but at that moment the box was removed from under her feet ... Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
MIKHAIL KUTUZOV
Biography
The famous Russian commander M. I. Kutuzov is probably known to everyone. And for some reason, no one knows the exact date of his birth. According to some sources, this is 1745, it is also carved on the grave of the commander. According to others - 1947. So, in 1745 or in 1747, a son was born to lieutenant general and senator Illarion Matveevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov and his wife, who was named Mikhail. At first, the parents preferred to train the boy at home, and in 1759 they were sent to the Noble Artillery and Engineering School. Six months later, he receives the rank of Conductor 1st class and is sworn in. He is even given a salary and entrusted with the training of officers. Then follow the ranks of ensign engineer, adjutant wing, captain. In 1762, he was appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, commanded by none other than Suvorov. The character of the commander was finally formed during the Russian-Turkish wars, where he distinguished himself in battles, for which he was promoted to prime minister. And for success in the battle of Popesty, he earned the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1774, during a battle near Shuma, Kutuzov was seriously wounded. The bullet pierced the temple and exited at the right eye, which ceased to see forever. The Empress awarded the battalion commander with the Order of George 4th class and sent him abroad for treatment. Instead, the stubborn Kutuzov chose to improve his military education. In 1776 he returned to Russia and soon received the rank of colonel. In 1784 Kutuzov put down an uprising in the Crimea and became a major general. And three years later, the second war with Turkey (1787) begins. The general distinguished himself in the capture of Izmail, for which he earned the praise of Suvorov himself: "Kutuzov was my right hand." Kutuzov Ishmael got it. He was appointed commandant of this fortress, promoted to lieutenant general and awarded George of the 3rd degree. He managed to take part in the Russian-Polish war, become Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary to Turkey, was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of all troops in Finland and the director of the Land Cadet Corps. Kutuzov's career was generally extremely successful, until in 1802 he fell into disgrace with Alexander I. He was removed from the post of St. Petersburg governor and went to live on his estate. Perhaps there he would have lived out his life, if the war with Napoleon had not broken out. The march maneuver from Braunau to Olmutz remained in military history as a brilliant example of a strategic move. And yet, Russia was defeated at Austerlitz, despite the fact that Kutuzov persuaded the tsar not to get involved in the battle. In 1811, the commander manages to make peace with the Turkish sultan, whom Napoleon had hoped so much for. It makes no sense to describe the Battle of Borodino, the surrender of Moscow, the famous Tarutino maneuver and the subsequent defeat of Napoleon in Russia. On April 16 (28), 1813, M. I. Kutuzov died. From Bunzlau, his body was sent to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral.
MIKHAIL LOMONOSOV
Biography
Lomonosov was everything for Russia - a naturalist, historian, chemist, physicist, writer, artist, an ardent champion of education. We still use his stained glass technology or "night-vision tube" (the prototype of the modern night vision device). And the future pride of the state was born on November 8 (19), 1711 in the village of Denisovka, Kurostrovskaya volost (now the village of Lomonosovo). His father was a Pomor peasant Vasily Dorofeevich Lomonosov. In 1730, the son leaves his father and goes to Moscow, where he successfully pretends to be the son of a nobleman and enters the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Then, among the best students, he goes to the Academic University of St. Petersburg, from there to the Magsburg University of Germany, where he studies physics and chemistry under the guidance of H. Wolf. His next teacher was the chemist and metallurgist I. Genkel. Returning to Russia, the young scientist first becomes an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences, and then a professor. The scope of Lomonosov's achievements, due to the versatility of his personality and extraordinary talent, is extremely wide. Among his merits is the foundation of an open university of the European type (modern Lomonosov Moscow State University). The creator of "Ancient history from the beginning of the Russian people to the death of Grand Duke Yaroslav the First, or until 1054", the author of numerous odes, poems, tragedies, Lomonosov was also a public and political figure. This is evidenced by the treatise "On the Preservation and Reproduction of the Russian People" (1761). He also owns the proposal of new methods for determining the longitude and latitude of a place in "Discourses on the great accuracy of the sea route" (1759). Lomonosov, on the other hand, developed the idea that not everything on Earth is of divine origin. And he successfully proved this in the "Word about the birth of metals from the shaking of the Earth" (1757). The scientist also carried out large-scale physical and chemical work, intending to write a large "corpuscular philosophy", where he wanted to combine physics and chemistry on the basis of molecular-atomic concepts. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry out this plan. Lomonosov drew up an extensive program for the study of chemical solutions, devoted much time to studying the nature of atmospheric electricity, and designed a reflecting (or mirror) telescope. He also became the author of the manual "The First Foundations of Metallurgy or Mining", completed the reform of the syllabo-tonic system of versification, begun by V.K. Trediakovsky. M. V. Lomonosov died from a trifling spring cold on April 4 (15), 1765 in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
DMITRIY MENDELEEV
Biography
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev is a brilliant Russian chemist, he owns the discovery of a system of chemical elements, which has become the cornerstone of the development of this science. The future great scientist was born in 1834 in Tobolsk, in the family of the director of the gymnasium. In 1855 he graduated with a gold medal from the course of the Department of Natural Sciences of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Main Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg. A year later, at St. Petersburg University, the great chemist defended his master's thesis, and since 1857, having become an assistant professor, he taught a course in organic chemistry there. In 1859, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev went on a scientific trip to Heidelberg, where he spent almost 2 years. In 1861, he published the textbook Organic Chemistry, which was awarded the Demidov Prize by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. After 4 years, the scientist defended his doctoral dissertation "On the combination of alcohol with water", in 1876 he was elected a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. From 1890 to 1895 he was a consultant at the Scientific and Technical Laboratory of the Naval Ministry, during this period he invented a new type of smokeless powder, and set up its production. In 1892, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was appointed scientific curator of the Depot of Exemplary Weights and Scales. Thanks to the great chemist, it was transformed into the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures, the director of which the scientist remained until the end of his life. Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev is the author of fundamental works in chemistry, chemical technology, physics, metrology, aeronautics, meteorology, agriculture ... His discovery of the famous periodic law dates back to February 17 (March 1), 1869, when the scientist compiled a table entitled “Experience of a system of elements, based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity." This system has been recognized as one of the fundamental laws of chemistry. In 1887, a scientist without a pilot made a balloon ride to observe a solar eclipse and study the upper atmosphere. He was the initiator of the construction of oil pipelines and the versatile use of oil as a chemical raw material. His scientific and social activities are incredibly wide and multifaceted. Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was awarded over 130 diplomas and honorary titles from Russian and foreign academies, learned societies and educational institutions. The chemical element 101 discovered in 1955, mendelevium, is named after him. The great scientist died in 1907 in St. Petersburg.
IVAN PAVLOV
Biography
The famous physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born in 1849 in the family of a priest in the Ryazan province. He graduated from the course of sciences at the medical-surgical academy. He was appointed Privatdozent of Physiology, and later (in 1890) - an extraordinary professor at Tomsk University, at the Department of Pharmacology. In the same year, he was transferred to the Imperial Military Medical Academy, and seven years later became its ordinary professor. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov proved through experiments that the work of the heart is controlled, in particular, by a special amplifying nerve. The scientist also experimentally established the value of the liver as a purifier of the body from harmful products. The physiologist also managed to shed light on the regulation of juice secretion by the glands of the gastrointestinal tract. So, he found out that the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal canal has a specific excitability: it seems to recognize what kind of food product it is given (bread, water, vegetables, meat ...) and produces juice of the required composition. The amount of juice can vary, as can the acid or enzyme content. Some foods cause increased activity of the pancreas, others - the liver, and so on. At the same time, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov discovered the significance of the vagus and sympathetic nerve for the secretion of gastric and pancreatic juice. The most famous works of the physiologist: "The amplifying nerve of the heart" (published in the "Weekly Clinical Gazette" in 1888); "Ekkovsky fistula of the veins of the inferior vena cava and portal and its consequences for the body" ("Archive of Biological Sciences of the Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine", 1892); "Lectures on the work of the main digestive glands" (1897); "Centrifugal nerves of the heart" (St. Petersburg, 1883).
NIKOLAY PIROGOV
Biography
The great surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was born on November 25, 1810 in Moscow, into the family of a small estate nobleman. One of the friends of his family, the famous doctor and professor at Moscow University Mukhin, noticed an outstanding medical talent in the boy and began to educate the child. At the age of 14, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov entered the medical faculty at Moscow University. The student scholarship was not enough for life: the teenager had to earn extra money in the anatomical theater. The latter predetermined the choice of profession: the student decided to become a surgeon. After graduating from the university, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was preparing for a professorship in Tartu, at Yuryev University. There he worked in a clinic, defended his doctoral dissertation, and became a professor of surgery. As a dissertation topic, the scientist chose ligation of the abdominal aorta: at that time it was performed only once - by the English surgeon Cooper. In 1833, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov went to Germany and worked in the Berlin and Göttingen clinics to improve his professionalism. Returning to Russia, he publishes the famous work "Surgical Anatomy of the Arterial Trunks and Fascia". In 1841, the physician moved to St. Petersburg and began working at the Medical and Surgical Academy. Here he spent more than ten years, created the first Russian surgical clinic. Soon another famous work by Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, "A Complete Course in the Anatomy of the Human Body," saw the light of day. Taking part in military operations in the Caucasus, the great surgeon operated on the wounded under ether anesthesia - this happened for the first time in the history of medicine. During the Crimean War, he was the first in the world to use a plaster cast to treat fractures. It was also thanks to his initiative that sisters of mercy appeared in the army: the beginning of military field medicine was laid. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was appointed trustee of the Odessa and Kyiv educational districts, but in 1861 he retired. In his estate "Cherry", near Vinnitsa, the scientist organized a free hospital. During this period, he made another discovery - a new way of embalming bodies. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov died in 1881, after a serious illness. The embalmed body of the great surgeon is stored in the crypt of the church in the village of Cherry.
MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH
Biography
The great conductor and cellist Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was born on March 27, 1927 in Baku. From 1932 to 1937 he studied in Moscow at the Gnessin Music School. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, his family was evacuated to the city of Chkalov (Orenburg). At the age of 16, the future great musician entered the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1945 he won a gold medal at the Third All-Union Competition of Performing Musicians, conquering everyone with the skill of a cellist. Soon Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich became famous abroad. His repertoire included almost all works of cello music that existed during his lifetime. About 60 composers dedicated their works to him, including Aram Khachaturian, Alfred Schnittke, Henri Dutilleux. Since 1969, the great musician supported the "disgraced" writer and human rights activist Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn. This entailed the cancellation of concerts and tours, the halt of recordings. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich and his family were even deprived of Soviet citizenship, which was returned to them only in 1990. The great musician spent many years abroad, receiving great recognition there. For 17 seasons in Washington, he was the artistic director and conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, making it one of the best in the United States. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich performed regularly at the Berlin and London Philharmonics. A documentary film "Return to Russia" was made about his trip to Moscow with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1990. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich has received state awards from 29 countries and is a five-time Grammy Award winner. The musician was known for his charitable work. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich died on April 27, 2007 after a severe and prolonged illness.
ANDREY SAKHAROV
Biography
The great scientist and human rights activist Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was born on May 21, 1921 in Moscow. In 1942 he graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University with honors. Immediately after that, according to the distribution, he was sent to the cartridge factory in Ulyanovsk. There, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov made an invention for the control of armor-piercing cores. In the next two years, he wrote several scientific papers and sent them to the Physical Institute. Lebedev. In 1945 he entered the graduate school of the Institute, and after 2 years he defended his PhD thesis. In 1948, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov was enrolled in a special group and worked for twenty years in the development of thermonuclear weapons. At the same time, he also carried out pioneering work on a controlled thermonuclear reaction. Since the late 1950s, he has been actively advocating an end to nuclear weapons testing. In 1953, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov received a doctorate in physical and mathematical sciences. In the late 1960s, he became one of the leaders of the human rights movement in the USSR, and in 1970, one of the three founding members of the Human Rights Committee. In 1974, the scientist and human rights activist held a press conference at which he announced the Day of Political Prisoners in the USSR. A year later, he wrote the book "On the Country and the World", in the same year Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Having made a number of statements against the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, he was deprived of all government awards and sent to the city of Gorky, where he spent almost 17 years. The articles "What the US and the USSR Should Do to Keep the Peace" and "On the Danger of Thermonuclear War" were written there. At the end of 1988, the scientist and human rights activist made his first trip abroad and met with the heads of the United States and a number of European states. In 1989 he became a people's deputy of the USSR. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov died on December 14, 1989 from a heart attack.
ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN
Biography
The great human rights activist and writer Alexander Isaevich (Isaakovich) Solzhenitsyn was born on December 11, 1918 in Kislovodsk. In 1924, his family moved to Rostov-on-Don, where the future great writer studied at school from 1926 to 1936. Then he entered the Rostov State University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, graduated in 1941 with honors. In 1939 he entered the correspondence department of the Faculty of Literature of the Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History in Moscow, interrupting his studies in 1941 due to the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. October 18, 1941 was called to the front. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War and the Red Star, in June 1944 he received the rank of captain. In February 1945, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn was arrested for criticizing the Stalinist regime and sentenced to 8 years in labor camps. After his release, he was sent into exile in southern Kazakhstan. The novel "In the First Circle" was written there. In June 1956, the writer was released, on February 6, 1957 he was rehabilitated. In 1959, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn wrote the story "Sch-854", later under the title "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", the work was published in the journal "New World", and soon the author was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR. In 1968, when the novels “In the First Circle” and “Cancer Ward” were published in the USA and Western Europe, the Soviet press launched a propaganda campaign against the author, and he was soon expelled from the Union of Writers of the USSR. In 1970 Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. At the end of December 1973, the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago was published abroad. On February 13, 1974, the author was deprived of Soviet citizenship and expelled from the USSR. In 1990 he was restored to Soviet citizenship, for the book "The Gulag Archipelago" he was awarded the State Prize. He returned to his homeland in 1994. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, but refused the award. One of the last large-scale works of the writer was the epic "Red Wheel". Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn died on August 3, 2008 from acute heart failure.
PETER STOLYPIN
Biography
The famous Russian reformer was born on April 14, 1862 in Dresden, into an old noble family. The future Minister of the Interior spent his childhood and youth in Lithuania, sometimes going to Switzerland for the summer. When the time came to study, he was sent to the Vilna Gymnasium, then to the Oryol Gymnasium, and in 1881 he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. During his studies, Pyotr Stolypin managed to get married. The father-in-law of the future reformer was B. A. Neidgardt, who is credited with significant influence on the future fate of his son-in-law. In 1884, even before graduating from university, Stolypin was enlisted in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. True, after some time he took a six-month vacation, apparently to write a diploma. After the vacation, a request was made to transfer to the Ministry of State Property. In 1888, he again transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he received the appointment of the Kovno district marshal of the nobility. A year later, he became the Kovno provincial marshal of the nobility. Three years later - a new appointment: the governor of Grodno. And after 10 months - the governor of the Saratov province. The Saratov province, which was previously ruled, to put it mildly, carelessly, with the arrival of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin began to raise its head. The Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium and a nightshop were founded, the modernization of the telephone network and asphalting of the streets began. In addition, the new governor reorganized the management system and actively took up agriculture. And in May 1904, riots broke out in the Saratov province. True, thanks to the determination of the new governor, they quickly choked. Then - a prison riot in Tsaritsyno. After Bloody Sunday, rallies and strikes began in Saratov. Stolypin did not particularly stand on ceremony with the rebels, but he still could not cope alone, and first Adjutant General V. V. Sakharov came to his aid, and later Adjutant General K. K. Maksimovich. Shortly thereafter, an uprising breaks out in the neighboring province of Samara, and Stolypin sends troops there without hesitation. After the resignation of the Witte government, the Saratov governor was appointed Minister of the Interior. A little later, he becomes prime minister. But all the reformer's attempts to "refresh" the Cabinet of Ministers in any way lead to nothing. In 1906, revolutionaries raided Stolypin's dacha. Not to say that this greatly crippled the minister. But by order of Nicholas II, Peter Arkadievich is settled in the Winter Palace, which is carefully guarded. That moment Stolypin becomes much less liberal. To control the observance of order, he travels to the field, compares the reports of the governors with personal observations. But by doing this, he made himself many enemies among the bureaucratic elite, which he often subjected to checks and revisions. And soon there is a turning point in relations with Nicholas II, after which Stolypin submits his resignation. The resignation of the king does not accept. In 1911, the great reformer was mortally wounded by an agent of the security department, Dmitry Mardechai Bogrov. Stolypin died on September 5 (18) in Makovsky's private clinic. Buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
VALENTINA TERESHKOVA
Biography
The future first female cosmonaut of the Earth was born on the eve of International Women's Day in the village of Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl Region. The young lady loved the heights, so she enrolled in parachute school. In 1961, having seen on TV a story about the first manned flight into space and the radiant smile of Yuri Gagarin from the screen, parachuting instructor Valya wrote an application to the cosmonaut corps the very next day. The detachment was secret, so relatives had to say that she was leaving for the annual paratrooper competition. Her parents learn about her flight only by radio. In the meantime, there are endless workouts before him, which the super-soft will call "difficult." The name of the centrifuge alone instilled fear in the five girls of the detachment from the entire Soviet Union, headed by Tereshkova. She endured seven days in a confined space, entertaining herself with songs. In June 1963, at five minutes to five, the folk heroine climbed aboard the Vostok-6 and with the words “Hey! Heaven, take off your hat!” set off towards the stars. So, reclining in it for three days, without eating and alternately losing consciousness, the first female cosmonaut with the call sign “Seagull” periodically cried out: “Oh, moms,” but found the strength to smile at the camera. Overnight, Valentina Tereshkova became a role model for all Soviet women, not only with her hair, but also with her determination and strong character. Three months after the flight, she married an astronaut. N.S. himself attended her wedding. Khrushchev. In 1997, Major General and Honored Master of Dispute of the USSR Valentina Tereshkova resigned and is now a member of the Regional Duma of the Yaroslavl Region from the United Russia party. Awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland II and III degree. An interesting fact: the landing of Vostok-6 turned out to be so difficult that Valentina was immediately taken away by ambulance to a local hospital. After rehabilitation from the “tops”, they requested material on the filming of a report for television, where Tereshkova, allegedly just returned, steps on the ground in a spacesuit and waves at the camera.
VLADIMIR GILYAROVSKY
Biography
Repeater, barge hauler, hooker, worker, fireman, herdsman, circus rider, military man or actor? The first Russian reporter!
No one in Vologda could even imagine that the lazy first-grader Vladimir, having remained in his second year in his first academic year, would in the future become the most honored resident of Moscow and the most famous journalist in Russia. For the first time, Gilyarovsky's poetic and writing talent manifested itself in the gymnasium, where he wrote "dirty things about mentors." After failing the next exam, a young high school student without documents and money runs away from home to Yaroslavl, where he gets a job as a barge hauler and hooker. Then in Tsaritsyn he contracted as a herdsman, in Rostov he was hired as a rider in a circus, after he entered the actors and toured with the theater in Russia. In 1877 he left to serve in the Caucasus. A life rich in impressions did not pass without a trace: Gilyarovsky wrote, made sketches, composed poems and sent it by letter to his father. In 1881, the satirical magazine "Alarm Clock" published a series of poems, after which the newly minted poet abandoned everything and began to write. Moscow life flowed like a stormy river from Gilyarovsky’s ink: essays, reports, exhibition openings, theatrical premieres, a description of the terrible tragedy on the Khodynka field ... He was published in Russkaya Gazeta, Russkiye Vedomosti, Sovremennye Izvestiya and other publications: “ ... For fourteen days I sent by courier and by telegraph information about each step of the work ... and all this was printed in Listok, which was the first to publish my big telegram about the catastrophe and which was selling like hot cakes at that time. All other papers were late." (From an essay on the railway accident near the village of Kukuevka). All of Moscow knew or heard about "Uncle Gilyai", and he was friends with Chekhov, Andreev, Kuprin and many others. His first book, Moscow and Muscovites, was published in 1926. Following are "My Wanderings" and "Slum People", which was banned by censorship. All copies were burned, but essays, stories and articles were published in different editions before the book was published. After the 1917 revolution, Vladimir Gilyarovsky worked for Izvestia, Evening Moscow, and Ogonyok. By old age, his eyesight began to deteriorate, but, almost completely blind, Gilyarovsky continues to write and write ... The best Moscow reporter of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. died two months before his 80th birthday.
VICTOR TALALIKHIN
Biography
A young man of 15 years old named Victor, who was dreaming about the sky, once knocked at the door of the factory apprenticeship school of the Moscow Meat Processing Plant. The fate of two older brothers who served in the army in aviation did not leave him indifferent, and after 2 years he enrolled in a glider circle that opened at the plant. The first flight of the future war hero was so successful that the next time Victor, by all means, decided to fly even higher: “I want to fly the way Chkalov, Baidukov and Belyakov fly.” Having received the basics of flight, Victor goes to the flying club of the Proletarsky district of Moscow. They did not want to take him because of his small stature - 155 cm - although his health was excellent. But the desire and stubbornness of the future pilot overcame all the established canons. In 1937, Talalikhin entered the Borisoglebsk Red Banner Military Aviation School. Chkalov. Here, in one of the master classes in aerobatics, a young pilot performed several loops at a dangerously low altitude. After the flight, the garrison guardhouse was waiting for him for two days. At the beginning of 1941, junior lieutenant Talalikhin, upon completion of the course, was appointed commander of the 1st squadron of the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment. In July, Viktor Talalikhin, after special training at the Dubrovitsy airfield near Podolsk, made his first combat flight over Moscow. On the night of August 6-7 on I-16, Junior Lieutenant Talalikhin made his immortal ram. Above Podolsk, at an altitude of 4.5 km, he discovered an enemy He-111 (Heikel). Having fallen under the bombardment, the enemy changed the flight course and began to evade pursuit. However, Talalikhin did not lag behind and continued to attack the enemy, pouring machine-gun fire on him. But the cartridges quickly ran out, and the He-111 was still in flight. Then it was time for the ram. Approaching the enemy closely, Talalikhin decided to cut off the enemy tail with a screw and at the same second came under fire: “I burned my right hand. He immediately gave gas and, no longer with a screw, but with his whole machine, rammed the enemy. Then our hero, having unfastened his belt, left the plane and successfully landed with a parachute. The news spread all over the country in one day and, on August 8, 1941, for the first night ramming of an enemy bomber in the history of aviation, the pilot was awarded the Order of Lenin. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the brave pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. For a short period of participation in the Second World War, Junior Lieutenant Viktor Talalikhin completed more than 60 sorties, shot down 7 enemy aircraft. On October 27, 1941, our troops, led by Talalikhin, flew to battle in the Kamenka region, which is 85 km from Moscow. Having shot down one enemy Me (Messerschmitt), Talalikhin rushed after the next. “He didn’t leave, the scoundrel, flew off over our land,” Victor’s words sounded in the radio transmitter. Those were his last words. Three more fascist planes "surfaced" from the cloud and opened fire. One of the bullets hit our pilot in the head... Viktor Talalikhin was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. A monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union was erected in Podolsk. On September 18, 2008, the famous Hero of the Soviet Union and the author of Talalikhin's ram would have turned 90 years old.
MAYA PLISETSKAYA
Biography
Her debut took place on the stage of the Moscow Operetta Theater on June 21, 1941. The next day she had to forget about ballet for a year. The war has begun. She was distinguished by her own, unique style of choreography, in which each step, each wave of the hand, each direction of gaze formed a special dance pattern in a single impulse. At the age of 20, she received the part of the Autumn Fairy in S. Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella, and the small role of a young dancer overshadowed the main ones, thanks to an outstanding jump and unusual graceful plasticity. Ballet in the 1950s and 60s was inseparably linked with the name of Plisetskaya and her roles in the ballets Don Quixote and Raymond. But Bejart's Bolero remains Maya Mikhailovna's favorite performance. Maurice Bejart himself once admitted: "If I had known Plisetskaya twenty years earlier, the ballet would have been different." She danced almost all the classical ballets, one after the other. All the main parts of the directors and directors trusted only Plisetskaya. However, her dream was to do something new. Bring your own. She became "Carmen". At first, critics and spectators of the Bolshoi Theater did not accept her. Or didn't understand. The authorities were in a panic. But Maya did not give up. Calming down the director and polishing every move over and over again, she achieved her goal, creating a new image with "an intensity of emotion and a flamboyance of form." "Swan Lake", "Isadora", "Sleeping Beauty" and other eminent works brought Maya Plisetskaya to the world ballet prima pedestal. In the 1970s, she took up choreography and staged Anna Karenina, The Seagull and The Lady with the Dog at the Bolshoi Theatre. Unable to find a suitable journalist who would write a book in her intonation, she sat down to write her memoirs herself. 1994 - the autobiography of the outstanding ballerina "I, Maya Plisetskaya" is published. The book becomes a bestseller and has been translated into 11 languages. To this day, Maya Mikhailovna does not change the stage and periodically performs concert programs abroad, and also teaches master classes in ballet dancing. “The main thing is to be an artist,” says Plisetskaya, “to hear music and know why you are on stage. Know your role and what you want to say.
Report at the All-Russian Scientific and Public Conference "", held on March 28, 2014 in Moscow.
“The new Soviet patriotism is a fact that is pointless to deny. This is the only chance for the existence of Russia. If he is beaten, if the people refuse to defend Stalin's Russia, as they refused to defend the Russia of Nicholas II and the Russia of a democratic republic, then there are probably no opportunities for historical existence for this people ”(G.P. Fedotov)
The Russian historian and religious philosopher Georgy Petrovich Fedotov (1886–1951), who lived in exile for a quarter of a century, can hardly be suspected of loving the Stalinist regime. In the article "Defence of Russia", published in the 4th issue of the Parisian "New Russia" for 1936, the thinker does not undertake to evaluate the "strength and vitality of the new Russian patriotism", the bearer of which is the "new nobility" that governs Russia. Moreover, he doubts the strength of the patriotic feeling of the workers and peasants, "on whose backs the Stalinist throne is being built." That is, for Fedotov, the difference between patriotism, as an ideological construct, and the patriotic feeling, the bearer of which is the people, was obvious.
But this duality of patriotism is external, because by its nature, it represents the interconnection of two principles - socio-political and moral (Fig. 1), two dimensions - a small and large Motherland and two manifestations - a feeling of love for the Motherland and readiness to defend the Fatherland.
Rice. 1. The essence of patriotism
In its deepest essence, patriotism is the basis for satisfying the need to ensure the security of the individual and society. It is based on two archetypal images: the Mother, personifying the native land, and the Father, symbolizing the state.
So what is patriotism: “the last refuge of a scoundrel” (as defined by the author of the famous “Dictionary of the English Language” Samuel Johnson), “a tool for achieving power-hungry and selfish goals” (in the understanding of Leo Tolstoy) or “virtue” and “love to the good and glory of the Fatherland ”(according to N.M. Karamzin and V.S. Solovyov)? Where is the line between nationalism, real and false patriotism? Is patriotism compatible with universal values?
The problem of patriotism has been and is one of the most urgent in the sphere of the spiritual life of Russian society. It is not surprising that only during the existence of the new Russian statehood, the attitude towards patriotism in different social groups has fluctuated and continues to vary from complete rejection to unconditional support. Today in Russia everyone is talking about patriotism - from monarchists to communists, from sovereigns to internationalists.
Few will argue with the fact that almost two thirds of the history of our people is a struggle for independence. It is not surprising that in these conditions, patriotism has become the cornerstone of state ideology. We must also take into account the fact that the formation of a patriotic idea, which coincided in time with the emergence of the Russian state, from the very beginning turned out to be associated with the fulfillment of military (military) duty. As the idea of uniting Russian lands in the fight against enemies, it is clearly heard in The Tale of Bygone Years and the sermons of Sergius of Radonezh, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign and Illarion's Tale of Law and Grace.
But at the same time, the absence of a single type of warrior-hero in Russian epics attracts attention. But all of them (Mikula Selyaninovich and Ilya Muromets, Sadko and Nikita Kozhemyaki) are united by love for the "father's coffins" and the desire to "stand up for the Russian land."
It is significant that the term "patriot" was used in Russia only in the 18th century. in connection with the Northern War. In his work on this war, Vice-Chancellor Baron P.P. Shafirov first used it with the meaning "son of the Fatherland." It is precisely for the time of Peter the Great that the growth of national self-consciousness in general and the state principle in it, in particular, is characteristic. It can be considered that under the first Russian emperor, patriotism acquired the character of a state ideology, the main motto of which was the formula “God, Tsar and Fatherland”. Parting words to the soldiers before the Battle of Poltava, Peter the Great emphasized that they were fighting for the state, their family and the Orthodox faith. “Institution for battle”, “Military article”, “Charter of military and cannon affairs” and “Naval charter” - all these and other laws of the Petrine era fixed patriotism as a norm of behavior, first of all, a warrior. Later, the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov used the term “patriot” in the same meaning. And this is no coincidence. After all, the word “patriotism” owes its origin to the Greek “compatriot”, which originates from the ancient Greek “patra”, which meant clan. Let us recall that the ancient thinkers considered the attitude to the Fatherland to be the noblest thought. For antiquity, patriotism was the main moral duty of a member of the policy, investing in this concept not only the military defense of the city-state, but also active participation in the management of the policy. Unfortunately, in Russian history (including for a number of objective reasons), patriotism as a feeling of a citizen of one's Fatherland has received much less development than its military component.
As an ideology, patriotism is the ideological basis for the effective functioning of social and state institutions, one of the mechanisms for the legitimacy of power and a tool for the formation of the socio-political and psychological identity of the people. For the whole of Russian history, the central component of patriotism was sovereignty, understood as a characteristic of the political, economic, military and spiritual power of the country in the world, as well as the ability to influence international relations. But sovereignty has always been some unattainable ideal of a state system, which sometimes acquired very unexpected features, such as, for example, an autocratic republic by K.D. Kavelin.
Obviously, the nature of patriotism is determined by the historical era and the specifics of statehood. In tsarist Russia, for example, duty to the Fatherland, devotion to the tsar, responsibility to society developed from generation to generation. For imperial Russia, with its attempts to cultivate nationwide patriotism, the main content of the "theory of official nationality" was the idea of sovereignty and nationality as a reliance on their own traditions. It is no coincidence that it was history that was considered as the main subject in the education of citizenship and patriotism of the subjects of the Russian Empire.
In turn, the origins of Soviet sovereignty lie in the idea of "building socialism in one single country." The strengthening of state-patriotic principles turned out to be connected with the concept of a “new socialist motherland”. It should be noted that the formation of Soviet patriotism proceeded under the slogan "to absorb the best traditions of Russian history" and when referring to the idea of Slavic unity. The new patriotism was based on a combination of love for the motherland (patriotism in the traditional sense) and the idea of building communism and internationalism. The need to defend the socialist Fatherland was reinforced by the conviction of the superiority of socialism over capitalism and justified by the doctrine of just and unjust wars. That is, it was about protecting a more progressive social system, which served as a model for the rest of the peoples of the world (“We all know that the Earth begins with the Kremlin”).
However, an active appeal to traditional national values occurred only during the Great Patriotic War, when the question arose of the survival of not only the Soviet government, but also the nation as such. This was the reason for the appeal of the communist authorities to the Russian Orthodox Church and the reproduction in mass propaganda of the images of such national heroes as Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kutuzov, Fedor Ushakov and others.
But the content and direction of patriotism are determined, among other things, by the spiritual and moral climate of society. The freethinker A.N. Radishchev and the Decembrists N.P. Muraviev and S. Pestel, the revolutionary democrats V.G. Belinsky, N.A. Dobrolyubov and N.G. Chernyshevsky, Russian philosophers V.S. Soloviev, I.A. Ilyin, V.V. Rozanov, N.A. Berdyaev and others. It is significant that they understood patriotism not only as readiness to defend the Fatherland, but also as civil dignity. In the wake of the transformations of Alexander II, the reforms of S.Yu. Witte and P.A. Stolypin, patriotism was increasingly perceived in Russian society as a kind of school of civic education and responsibility for the fate of one's Fatherland.
So, according to I.A. Ilyin, the very idea of the Motherland implies the beginning of spirituality in a person, reflecting the characteristics of people of different nationalities. Speaking about patriotism, A.I. Solzhenitsyn saw in him “a whole and persistent feeling of love for his nation with serving it not by being obsequious, not by supporting its unjust claims, but frankly in assessing vices, sins and in repentance for them.” G.K. Zhukov wrote in his memoirs about the greatest patriotism that raised people to a feat in the days of the battle for Moscow. In other words, patriotism is not only an ideological construction, but also a value positioned in the general system of individual and social values. First of all, it belongs to the highest values, because. shared by more than half of the country's social groups. Patriotism is also a common value, due to the fact that it is supported by more than 3⁄4 of the population (or at least the dominant value shared by more than half of the citizens). Patriotism is undoubtedly a value that integrates society and is active, because involves a conscious and emotionally loaded action. And, finally, due to its dual nature, it refers to terminal (target) values and, at the same time, to instrumental values, serving as a means in relation to goals.
As a moral phenomenon, patriotism presupposes practical actions to overcome national limitations, respect for the individual, and activity that transforms the human community. The role of patriotism increases at sharp breaks in history, requiring a sharp increase in the tension of the forces of citizens, and, above all, during wars and invasions, social conflicts and political crises, natural disasters, etc. It is in crisis conditions that patriotism acts as an attribute of the viability and even, often, simply the survival of society. The current situation associated with attempts to isolate Russia can be considered as force majeure, which has always in the history of our country led to the consolidation of the population, its rapprochement with the authorities and the strengthening of state-patriotic principles.
However, this does not mean that in other periods of history, patriotism is not functional. It is one of the main conditions for the effective functioning of social and state institutions, as well as a source of spiritual and moral strength and the health of society. If the French enlighteners of the XVIII century. noted the dependence of patriotic feelings on the state and its laws, Hegel associated patriotism, first of all, with a sense of trust of citizens in the state.
Unfortunately, already in the second half of the 1980s. the “foremen of perestroika” had a view of patriotism as an obsolete value that hinders the building of a new democratic society. Moreover, absolutizing the internal connection between ideology and politics, the post-Soviet elite, without suspecting it, following K. Marx, saw in ideology in general and in patriotism, in particular, a false form of consciousness. It is not surprising that in the 1990s researchers often emphasized the "unstable, amorphous, indefinite character" of Russian patriotism.
Only the “rehabilitation” of patriotism on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Victory over fascism yielded positive results. In the early 2000s, judging by the data of a RosBusinessConsulting survey, 42% of Russians considered themselves patriots, and only 8% did not consider themselves patriots. The country's leadership has matured to recognize that the new statehood should be based not only on respect for the law, but also on a sense of civic duty, the highest manifestation of which is patriotism. No less important was the realization that without a clearly formulated idea of protecting Russia's interests, it is impossible to develop a sovereign foreign policy.
The deficit (or even a systemic crisis) of patriotism in modern Russia is associated with a revision of the very concept of "patriotism" in connection with the destruction of the ideological shell of socialism. This led to the discrediting of any ideological mechanisms for the legitimization of power - this is precisely what explains the preservation of the constitutional ban on state ideology in modern Russia. In part, the “discrimination” of state ideology is caused by a lack of understanding that ideas are not only a product of the interests of certain social strata, but also values rooted in the people's mind.
It seems that the dispute over this issue between neo-Kantians and Marxists has long lost its relevance. In practice, the destruction of patriotism in Russia led not only to the weakening of the post-Soviet statehood, but also to the erosion of the social and spiritual foundations of Russian society. It is not surprising that even the concept of the Motherland has devalued and lost its essential content.
But ideology is an indispensable element of social life and a form of including people in social ties. It is difficult to agree with I. Wallerstein and his followers that only the presence of an enemy gives ideology (including patriotism) vitality and an integrating character. Of course, outside of morality and law, any ideology is potentially dangerous for society. But this is the peculiarity of patriotism, as already mentioned, that it is love for the Motherland, regardless of the presence of an enemy, that takes patriotic feeling beyond the bounds of political egoism and creates protection from ideological manipulations.
In today's Russia, the revival of patriotism by the authorities is directly associated only with the idea of restoring the status of a great power. This is understandable, because only pride in one's country, people and its history can become a constructive basis for a patriotic feeling. However, this does not take into account the fact that in Russian history, sovereignty has always been combined with other value components: the Orthodox faith in pre-revolutionary Russia or internationalism in the USSR (Fig. 2). It can be argued that the Orthodox faith played an important role in shaping the ideas of sovereignty and greatness of Russia, patriotism and devotion to the Fatherland, Russia's special path, etc., which are the most important components of the political consciousness of Russians. But it is obvious that the patriotic formula of pre-revolutionary Russia "For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland!" does not fit into modern Russian society.
Rice. 2. Components of a patriotic idea
It seems that today patriotism as a mechanism for the identity of the people, which is a basic human need, and the legitimization of power is also impossible without the second value component - the principle of social justice. Let us recall that in the archetypes of the Russian consciousness, law and law become a value only when the adjective “fair” is added to them. Justice has always been not just the preservation of traditional communal forms of social regulation in Russian life, but also a kind of moral self-defense of the individual in a non-legal state.
With this approach, patriotic sentiments are an essential factor in mobilization and socio-political activity. In other words, patriotism implies a collective national identity. Without a formed positive image of the country, in which the idea of sovereignty is present, the citizens of modern Russia will not be able to consolidate their national identity.
It should be taken into account that patriotism is an important component of the national idea, the search for which the Russian authorities have been concerned about since the late 1990s, and which should contribute to Russia's self-identification in the world community. In turn, the ideology of patriotism, as the basis of a strategy for the successful development of the country, due to its understandability, can be perceived by the majority of Russian society as a tool for overcoming the spiritual crisis and the path to gaining real sovereignty. And here you will need an effort on yourself, and not violence on others. Also, no external release will be effective without an internal release. Let's listen to the words of A.I. Herzen about the conservatism not only of the throne and the pulpit, but also of the people themselves. Or to the reasoning of S.L. Frank about conscious patriotism as an awareness of the value of national existence and its organization in the face of statehood. Today, more than ever, the “translation” of the idea of patriotism from the ethnic language into the national language is also important.
NOTES
Fedotov G.P. Protection of Russia // Fate and sins of Russia. In 2 vols. T. 2. M .: Publishing house "Sofia", 1992. S. 125.
See, for example: Brief Political Dictionary. M.: Politizdat, 1989. S. 411; Russian Pedagogical Encyclopedia. In 2 volumes: T. 2. M .: Bolshaya ros. Encycl., 1999, p. 409; Philosophical Dictionary / Ed. I.T.Frolova. 5th ed. M.: Politizdat, 1986. S. 538.
See, for example: State ideology and national idea. M .: Club "Realists", 1997; Lutovinov V.I. Patriotism and the problems of its formation among Russian youth in modern conditions. Abstract dis... Dr. Phil. Sciences. M., 1998; Patriotism of the peoples of Russia: traditions and modernity. Materials of the interregional scientific-practical conference. Moscow: Triada-farm, 2003.
Beskrovny L.G. Russian army and fleet in the XVIII century (Essays). M.: Military publishing house of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1958. S. 147; Patriotic education of servicemen on the traditions of the Russian army. M.: VU, 1997. S. 48–52; Pushkarev L.N. The mentality and political history of Russia: turning points. // Mentality and political development of Russia. Abstracts of scientific conference reports. Moscow, 29–31 Oct. 1996. Moscow: IRI RAN, 1996. P. 6.
See, for example: Cicero. Dialogues "About the state", "About laws". M.: Nauka, 1966. S. 87.
Forsova N.K. Spiritual turn in the Soviet mentality in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War, its consequences // Great feat. To the 55th anniversary of the Victory. Omsk: Publishing House of OmGTU, 2000, pp. 35–36.
Belinsky V.G. Works. T. 4. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1954. S. 489; Revolt of the Decembrists: in 8 vols. T. 7. M .: Gospolitizdat, 1927. S. 86; Ilyin I. We were right // About the future of Russia / Ed. N.P. Poltoratsky. Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1993, pp. 333–334. and etc.
Solzhenitsyn A. Journalism. In 3 vols. T. 1. Repentance and self-restraint as categories of national life. Yaroslavl; Upper Volga book. publishing house, 1995. S. 65.
Zhukov G.K. The greatness of the victory of the USSR and the impotence of the falsifiers of history // Roman-gazeta. 1994. No 18. S. 101.
For the classification of values, see: Goryainov V.P. Empirical classifications of life values of Russians in the post-Soviet period // Polis. 1996. No 4; crisis society. Our society in three dimensions. Moscow: Institute of Philosophy RAS, 1994.
Hegel G. Works of different years. T. 2. M.: Thought, 1971. S. 70.
Krupnik A.A. Patriotism in the system of civil values of society and its formation in the military environment: Abstract of the thesis. dis. ...cand. philosophy Sciences. M., 1995. S. 16.
Novikova N. Patriotism is the willingness to sacrifice everything if it does not harm your business // Profile. 2002. No 42. S. 4.
Identity is one of the most effective mechanisms for mobilizing the population, and identification criteria, in turn, are built with the help of ideology as a set of ideas and ideals.
For more information about the mechanism of formation and activation of identities, see: Brubaker R., Cooper F. Beyond "Identity" // Ad Imperio. 2002. No 3. pp. 61–116.
Test: Matvey Vologzhanin
Patriotism is one of the almost instinctive feelings of man. The presence of this quality in us, alas, as always, is very vulgarly explained by biological laws. Here tigers would be very bad patriots, cows too, but wolves, on the contrary, would make wonderful sons of the fatherland.
The fact is that a person was originally adapted to exist in related flock groups (not very large, most likely - 6–10 people each: pairs of parents with grown children). Our methods of nutrition and self-defense were ideally suited for just such a design. At the same time, the mutual affection of members of one flock is so great with us that a person is ready to take significant risks in the name of saving relatives. And this strategy turned out to be the most advantageous for us.
For example, in ruminants that graze in large herds (buffalo, antelopes, gazelles), the “die, but protect your own” strategy turns out to be losing. James Gordon Russell, who has long studied the behavior of wildebeests in the Serengeti, repeatedly noted cases when individual animals, instead of running away from the lions that hunted them, went on a frontal attack. Two or three antelopes, each weighing a quarter of a ton, could well trample down a predator with sharp hooves and injure him. If the whole huge herd would join the actions of the “wrong” wildebeest, only a dark spot on the dusty land of the savannah would remain from the arrogant cats. However, the herd rushed at full speed away from the place of the fight. And even if the daredevils prevailed over the lions, they paid too dearly for it. Russell marked antelope fighters and saw that the wounds received often led to the depletion of the animal, its death, or, at least, to a complete fiasco on the love front. Cowardly and swift-footed selfish individuals lived much longer and multiplied much more abundantly. Therefore, patriotism is unprofitable for ruminants, just as it is not suitable for large predators, who need a large area for hunting in sole possession to feed.
In our country, those who survived and won were those who knew how to fight shoulder to shoulder with members of their flock, ready to take risks and even sacrifice. Groups grew, turned into tribes, into settlements, into the first proto-states - and in the end, we profited and won to such an extent that we created a civilization.
The one who is not with them, the one who carved us!
Children are the best patriots.
Adolescents aged 8–18 are most receptive to the ideas of patriotism. At this age, a person already has an instinct to protect the pack, but there is still no family or children, the responsibility for which makes parents be more careful and selfish. A teenager is much stronger than an adult is inclined to be guided by the concepts of "one's own" - "alien". An interesting study on this topic was published by American sociologists who studied the 10 million audience of the online game World of Warcraft. In this game, participants can choose one of two factions - "Alliance" or "Horde". Players of different factions cannot communicate with each other in the game, but they can attack members of the opposite faction. According to surveys, the majority of players under the age of 18 rate those who play for the opposite faction as "stupid, evil, mean, dishonorable and disgusting" and players on their side as "smart, friendly, interesting, decent and good".
The older the respondents were, the greater the proportion of their responses was occupied by statements like "both factions play in general the same people" and "behavior depends on the person, not on the faction."
Greek beginning
“Patriotism” is a word of Greek origin, “patria” literally translates as “fatherland”, and the concept itself arose just in the era of the Greek city-states. Why did it not exist before, when, as we have seen, the phenomenon itself is a thing as ancient as the human race? Because there was no need. Before the Greeks, the idea of patriotism was tied by the then ideologues mainly to symbols (usually to the symbol of their god or king) as the official embodiment of a deity, or, with a weak influence of religion on public life, as among the northern peoples or in China, to the idea of "blood", that is, a sense of community with members of one's own tribe, people who speak the same language and belong to the same people.
The Greeks, who created a civilization of city-states, desperately butting heads with each other, had a complete seam on this ideological front. All of them - and the Spartans, and the Athenians and the Sybarites, and the Cretans - were Greeks. All had the same pantheon of gods (although each city chose one or two favorites who were considered its special patrons), and as a result, Greek mythology turned into a description of endless skirmishes between the gods: Apollo and Ares, Aphrodite and Hera, Athena and Poseidon etc. As for the kings, they simply did not exist in most cities, and where they did exist, the democratically minded Greeks were least of all inclined to deify them.
Therefore, they had to look for a different ideological base. And they very quickly found it, proclaiming patriotism as the first human virtue - the willingness to sacrifice one's interests not for the sake of sunny Mitra, not for the glory of the great Ashurbanipal, but simply for the sake of their fellow citizens, their city, their beloved sunny Athens with their silvery olive groves and old a mother sitting in a modest tunic at a spinning wheel and waiting for her son with a victory ...
This type of patriotism is now called "polis patriotism." (By the way, when the Greeks began to fight regularly with the Persians, their polis patriotism was temporarily, but very quickly replaced by national patriotism, and the then speakers, all these Herodotus, Thucydides and Ctesias, very quickly learned phrases like “great Hellas”, “stinking Persians” and “in unity is our strength.”)
The greatest patriots are the Romans
Hellenic ancient norms of ethics, as we know, were taken by the Romans at times more seriously than they were taken by the Greeks themselves. From the point of view of the Greek, a patriot is one who regularly pays taxes, participates in public life, does not violate the laws and exposes cavalry and foot soldiers from his home to the army in case of war. In the era of the Roman Republic, patriotism was synonymous with the word "glory" and was revered above personal valor.
For the Romans, the absolute hero was not Hercules or some other Perseus who would have amused himself by spending his life in various interesting exploits, but Curtius. This semi-mythological character was a fifteen-year-old youth who, having learned that the smoking bottomless crack that crossed Rome after the earthquake, can only be got rid of by throwing there the most expensive thing that is in Rome, shouting: “The most expensive thing in Rome is its patriotic sons. !" - jumped into the crevice along with the horse (the horse, according to the myth, was a so-so patriot, because he tried weakly to recoil before the abyss, but his trick didn’t pass). Blind obedience to the law, renunciation of one's own "I" and readiness to give everything in the name of Rome, including one's own children, is the ideal program of Roman patriotism. This ideology turned out to be the most successful for the aggressor nation: tiny Rome subjugated all of Italy, and then three-quarters of Europe, the Mediterranean and a large part of Asia and Africa. (And then the Romans had to change their national patriotism to imperial, much weaker and unreliable.)
Until now, the patriotism of the era of the Roman Republic is considered a commodity of the highest grade, and many ideologists of statehood today dream in the depths of their souls that the capricious, selfish and lazy idiots called their people would go somewhere, and in return millions of true Romans*.
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Probably, I am also an ideologue of statehood. Moreover, without millions of Romans, I would have completely managed - the first point of the program would already suit me enough. Although I may just be moping: winter, lack of vitamins ...
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Christianity is unpatriotic
At first, Christians were active opponents of patriotism in any form. At best, they agreed to give to Caesar what is Caesar's, that is, to pay taxes, but they were still deeply convinced that there is no Greek, no Jew, no Scythian, no barbarian, but only the kingdom of God, in the presence of which any earthly states - dust and ashes. "Any foreign country is a fatherland for them, and any fatherland is a foreign country." There was no question of a Christian going to serve in the army, for any murder is a sin, this is quite clearly and clearly stated in the Gospel. Of course, the Roman Empire did its best to fight Christianity, because such an infection is capable of cutting through the iron foundations of the state in a matter of years.
But, as it turned out, Christianity turned out to be a very plastic thing. Firstly, it broke up into several directions, which were not a sin to fight with each other; secondly, it turned into an excellent weapon for inspiring peoples to fight against the filthy non-Christs, of whom, thank God, there were still in abundance in all Asias, Africas and Americas. As for “Thou shalt not kill,” this issue was also elegantly circumvented: after all, one cannot seriously take ideal, but unattainable norms (although any early Christian would have had enough of a relative if he saw a modern priest busily consecrating an anti-aircraft missile system ). As for the Orthodox Church, which initially staked on proximity to secular authorities, here patriotism is a virtue not only not discussed, but simply obligatory.
Critics and the flirtatious state
In the pair "patriot - country" the latter behaves like an inveterate coquette. You must love her and be ready to sacrifice yourself in her name. For her, you are nothing. Moreover, the more insignificant cog you feel yourself, the more patriotic your essence (“Let me die, but my death is nothing compared to the prosperity of the motherland”). You are a booger, you are zero, you are a trifle, "the voice of one is thinner than a squeak" *).
* - Note Phacochoerus "a Funtik:
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Mayakovsky wrote this when he compared the individual and the party. They say that when he first rumbled these lines with his thunderous bass at a poetry evening, people crawled out of their chairs there.
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The Fatherland has every right to melancholy crunch, chew and digest you, and all other patriots will only welcome this if they consider that what they eat has benefited the body as a whole. This skewed relationship was very clearly expressed by James Joyce in his famous phrase: "I will not die for Ireland, let Ireland die for me!" (For this phrase, IRA supporters now dislike James Joyce very much.)
Patriotism manifests itself most dangerously where power in the popular imagination is a kind of quintessence of the state. Republican Romans, who perceived their elected bosses as hired servants, were in little danger in this case: they endlessly argued about what was most beneficial for Rome, and, in general, kept power in a tight grip. But where power was traditionally hereditary, despotic, where the king-priest was a symbol of the country, there the loyal patriotism of the majority of the population allowed rare outrages to occur, often dangerous not only for the inhabitants of the country, but also for the fate of the state itself.
Therefore, since the Enlightenment, there have been thinkers who have tried to modify the idea of patriotism - undoubtedly the most useful for the survival of society, but fraught with the most unpleasant complications. Kant, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Hobbes, Henry Thoreau - dozens and hundreds of smartest minds tried to develop the norms of a new patriotism. And as a result, they all came to the conclusion that a true patriot not only does not have to be blind and obedient, but his first duty should be to look for spots in the sun. In order to bring your fatherland to the ideal, you need to watch him more strictly than a teenage girl - instantly stopping, albeit at the risk of life, any of his attempts to behave dangerously, stupidly or erroneously. This is how the phenomenon of “critical patriotism” arose, in which a person not only does not praise his country, but, on the contrary, meticulously examines it under a magnifying glass and yells in a loud voice when he notices some kind of filth. One of the programmatic works of this direction was the work of the American writer Henry Thoreau "On the duty of civil disobedience", in which he called the categorical refusal to comply with "wrong", "disastrous" laws for the country the primary duty of a citizen and patriot.
Critical patriots are always in favor of maximum freedom of the press. For the vigilant supervision of society over the work of officials at all levels. For the honest teaching of history, no matter how vile the role of the fatherland may look in some cases, for only such knowledge will give society immunity from repeating mistakes.
Usually the authorities, and indeed the majority of the country's inhabitants, do not like critics of patriots and call them enemies of the people. They are sure that love should be blind and unreasoning and perceive criticism as a humiliation of their ideals, as a betrayal.
It is not necessary to hope that both these types of patriots will ever come to an agreement.
Not a patriot means a schizophrenic
In the USSR, where, as we know, there were no political prisoners, psychiatrists developed the most interesting concept that any person who criticizes his state is mentally ill. This theory was recognized as the only correct one, and there are still psychiatrists who share these beliefs in every possible way. Here is how, for example, a well-known psychiatrist, a representative of the “old school” Tatyana Krylatova, explains the situation: “Love requires a lot of emotional costs. And the schizophrenic has big problems with emotionality. And they begin to reject what is most energetically costly for them - love. This internal conflict causes aggression. The same thing happens in relation to the Motherland. Here, again, there is rejection, a person ceases to include his macrosociety in the category of “mine” and treats the Motherland negatively.”
Modern patriots
In the modern world, the attitude towards the concept of "patriotism" has changed a lot since the time of the Romans. Painfully close to him hang such unpleasant words as "chauvinism", "Nazism" and "xenophobia". Nevertheless, it is not necessary to argue that the time of the patriots has passed: they still have a lot of things to do on this planet.
Even in Europe, which is still shaking at the memory of Schicklgruber, there is an increase in patriotic sentiment. Either in Austria Jörg Haider comes to power, then in France the ears of Le Pen proudly rise in the elections, then Pino Rauti seduces the Italians with a promise to clear Milan and Parma from gypsies and Moroccans. This is Europe's answer to two factors: to globalization and to the mass emigration of people from Asia and Europe there.
“Immigrants are uneducated, they work for pennies, they claim our benefits, they bring an outdated culture alien to us, they rape our daughters and eat our baby sons!”
“Multinational corporations are choking small entrepreneurs, they are destroying our identity, they are turning our fields and gardens into asphalt-filled sites of dull progress, they are lobbying for their idiotic laws and feeding us with their rotten McDonald’s!”
Cosmopolitan from a barrel
The main opponents of the patriots are cosmopolitans, those who believe that all of humanity is a single people, and this planet is entirely our Motherland. The earliest cosmopolitan known to us was the Greek Cynic philosopher Diogenes. Alas, this remarkable philosopher badly damaged the reputation of cosmopolitanism by the fact that, while ardently denying statehood, he also denied culture, civilization, family and comfort. In an ideal world, Diogenes believed, people should live like animals, in nature, with a minimum of amenities, without wives or husbands, be completely free and not invent any nonsense like writing, reading and other unnecessary tedious inventions.
National patriotism as a rejection of alien influence is certainly appropriate in a world that wants to remain consistently diverse. Therefore, no matter how decent people frown, looking at Tymoshenko in wheat braids and Haider in an Alpine hat, it is worth understanding: as long as patriotism of this kind remains in the position “from below”, as long as it is not supported by laws, as long as it does not call for cannibalism and pogroms - its role cannot be called exclusively negative. It is far more dangerous when national patriotism begins to walk hand in hand with state patriotism.
There are only a few countries in the world in which state patriotism is one of the obligatory components of the ideology carefully planted by the authorities. These are, for example, the USA, Russia and Japan.
In the United States, a country with an exceptionally diverse population, it acts as the cement that holds together all that motley company that is the American people. At the same time, ethnic patriotism in the United States, as everyone understands, is practically excluded.
In Japan, national patriotism and state patriotism are one and the same. For the Japanese, it is a way to preserve their specific way of life (nevertheless, it erodes from year to year: modern Japanese are already much closer psychologically to representatives of post-Christian cultures than their grandparents). And since the Japanese live almost exclusively in Japan, and there are very few other peoples there, then the harm from “Japan for the Japanese!” A little. Of course, for the Japanese! Please, no one mind, eat your tofu and be healthy.
As for Russia, national Great Russian patriotism, which swelled up like a mushroom in the rain after the collapse of the USSR, is now joining forces with state patriotism, which is assiduously spread by official ideology. Here the task is to concentrate power in the hands of the ruling elite and keep the country from the influence of centrifugal forces. Historians on this occasion again began to lie a lot, on TV they endlessly talk about evil beeches sitting around the state border, and in the evenings young people go to slaughter Kalmyks and Uzbeks as defilers of the holy Russian land. The fact that national, ethnic patriotism in a multi-ethnic country is a suicidal phenomenon, the ideologists, of course, guess, but so far they cannot think of anything to eat the state-patriotic fish and avoid the popular performance of "Horst Wessel" to the balalaika.
So the time of patriotism is far from over yet. It is even possible that it will not pass in the distant future, when the entire planet will be a conglomerate of small atomized countries united in free unions and inhabited by people who choose their citizenship not by birth, but guided solely by personal sympathies. Still, as we wrote above, patriotism is an instinctive feeling of a person, and each of us feels the need to divide people into “us” and “them”. Even if in fact we are all our own.
- Patriotism can be both true and false
- A true patriot will not dare to betray his homeland even under the threat of death.
- Patriotism is manifested in the desire to make the native country better, cleaner, to protect it from the enemy
- A huge number of vivid examples of the manifestation of patriotism can be found in wartime.
- The patriot is ready for even the most reckless act, which can bring people even a little closer to saving the country
- A true patriot is faithful to his oath and his own moral principles.
Arguments
M. Sholokhov “The fate of man”. During the war, Andrei Sokolov proved more than once that he deserved to be called a patriot of his country. Patriotism manifested itself in the tremendous strength of will and hero. Even under the threat of death during interrogation by Muller, he decides to preserve his Russian dignity and show the German the qualities of a real Russian soldier. Andrei Sokolov's refusal to drink to the victory of German arms, despite the famine, is direct evidence that he is a patriot. The behavior of Andrei Sokolov, as it were, summarizes the fortitude and steadfastness of the Soviet soldier, who truly loves his homeland.
L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". In the epic novel, the reader is faced with the concept of true and false patriotism. All representatives of the Bolkonsky and Rostov families, as well as Pierre Bezukhov, can be called true patriots. These people are ready to defend the Motherland at any moment. Prince Andrei, even after being wounded, goes to war, no longer dreaming of glory, but simply defending his homeland. Pierre Bezukhov, who does not really understand anything about military operations, like a true patriot, remains in Moscow captured by the enemy to kill Napoleon. Nikolai and Petya Rostov are fighting, and Natasha does not spare the carts and gives them to transport the wounded. Everything suggests that these people are worthy children of their country. This cannot be said about the Kuragins, who are patriots only in words, but do not back up words with deeds. They talk about patriotism only for their own benefit. Consequently, not everyone from whom we hear about patriotism cannot be called a true patriot.
A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter" Pyotr Grinev cannot even allow the thought of swearing allegiance to the impostor Pugachev, although this threatens him with death. He is a man of honor, true to his oath and his word, a real soldier. Although Pugachev is kind to Pyotr Grinev, the young soldier does not seek to please him or make a promise not to touch his people. In the most difficult situations, Petr Grinev confronts the invaders. And although the hero more than once turns to Pugachev for help, he cannot be accused of betrayal, because he does all this for the sake of saving Masha Mironova. Pyotr Grinev is a true patriot, ready to give his life for his Motherland, which is proved by his actions. The accusations of betrayal that are presented to him in court are false, therefore, in the end, justice wins.
V. Kondratiev "Sasha". Sasha is a man who fights selflessly, in full force. And although he beats the enemy with hatred, the sense of justice makes the hero not kill the captured German, his peer, who unexpectedly found himself in the war. This, of course, is not a betrayal. Sasha's thoughts at the sight of Moscow, not captured by the enemy, confirm that he is a true patriot. At the sight of a city in which almost the former life is in full swing, the hero realizes how important what he did on the front line. Sasha is ready to defend his native country, because he understands how important it is.
N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba". For the Cossacks, the protection of their native land is the basis of existence. It is not for nothing that the work says that it is difficult to resist the power of the angry Cossacks. Old Taras Bulba is a true patriot who does not tolerate betrayal. He even kills his youngest son Andriy, who went over to the side of the enemy because of love in a beautiful Polish woman. Taras Bulba does not consider his own child, because his moral principles are unshakable: betrayal of the Motherland cannot be justified by anything. All this confirms that Taras Bulba is characterized by a sense of patriotism, like other real Cossacks, including Ostap, his eldest son.
A.T. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin". The image of Vasily Terkin serves as an ideal embodiment of a simple Soviet soldier, ready at any moment to perform a feat for the sake of approaching victory over the enemy. It costs nothing for Terkin to cross the icy river, covered with ice, in order to transmit the necessary instructions to the other side. He himself does not see this as a feat. And the soldier performs similar actions more than once throughout the work. Without a doubt, he can be called a true patriot, fighting for the bright future of his country.
Patriotism in our time.
Respect for one's state, for its history, the desire to change one's country for the better, to make it more beautiful, to protect and appreciate the homeland - usually this shows the patriotism of every person. But it would be interesting to know what kind of patriotism is in our time, if the same schoolchildren are ready, if something happens, to act like their great-grandfathers, who, being ordinary teenagers, rushed to the front to defend their fatherland.
In dictionaries, one can often find the definition of patriotism as love for the native language, for the land, nature and for the authorities that protect their people. Nationalism and patriotism are not identical, but close concepts. They have a number of differences and common characteristics. In addition, patriotism is a derivative of nationalism.
Consider a clear example of the manifestation of nationalism and patriotism. For example, each family loves both their home and their relatives and friends. But this love is different. If the family moves to another house, they will not grieve so much if someone close to them dies. That is, patriotism is an extension of the definition of human love for one's home, and nationalism is for relatives.
In patriotism, the main thing is the state, and in nationalism, love, sometimes too fanatical, for one's own people. According to a survey among school-age children, the formation of patriotism occurs in:
Knowledge of one's history, respect for the experience of older generations, its historical past. Loyalty, both to one's country and to one's own cause, ideas, views, family. Protection of state values, respect for age-old traditions.
It is worth noting that patriotism is manifested both in a respectful attitude towards the cultural values of one's country, and in respect for compatriots. It is believed that the upbringing of love for one's Motherland should be laid down from early childhood, but, alas, patriotism is such a free concept that it can easily turn into racism or nationalism. In recent years, one can notice the wide popularity of various neo-fascist and other organizations. It is in this situation that the problem of patriotism manifests itself. Each person should be aware that the manifestation of patriotism is not a fanatical, wild love for both one's country and its population, but also respect for others. Showing respect for other nationalities, cultures of other countries, a person thereby shows that he is capable of true patriotism, true devoted love for his fatherland.
True and false patriotism - differences
It also happens that a person only strives to pretend that with all his heart he is ready to stand up for the values of his state, that he is a true patriot. Its main goal is to achieve personal goals or such a game for the public in order to have a good reputation. This is false patriotism.
It is worth noting that true and false patriotism differ in that the former is based on true love for the motherland. A person does not seek to inform every passer-by about this, he simply knows that he is able to stand up for his state at the right time. At present, sometimes one can come across such a concept as a “crisis of patriotism”, caused by the low standard of living of the population and ineffective policies in the field of education and upbringing.
To avoid the emergence of new organizations with pronounced nationalism or to reduce the number of existing ones, it must be remembered that the feeling of patriotism should be born from the family, friends of a person, from his memory of his older generation, who gave their last strength for the good of their homeland. And it must be remembered that the traditions laid down by them must be multiplied by each person.
So, patriotism must be nurtured in oneself, in one's children from birth. Indeed, due to inept patriotic education, society receives people with pronounced anti-human views.