“The Fatherland is not in Geography...”: on the Issue of the Evolution of Traditional Spiritual and Political Values of Russian Civilization*

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of Russian traditional basic values. On the basis of the traditionalist-conservative approach, the authors investigate the origin and substantial evolution of the concept of “fatherland” in the public consciousness of the Russian people. The study of a large number of various sources on Russian intellectual history allows to conclude that the concept of “fatherland” began to appear in chronicles, literary and spiritual-political monuments relatively early – already from the 10th century, but then it had the meaning of “hereditary property”, “ancestral possession”. Meanwhile, already in the 12th–17th centuries, the use of the concept «fatherland» in the meaning of “homeland”, “native land” were found sometimes, and since the 18th century the notion “Fatherland” was finally entrenched with the value content of patriotic love and service for the benefit of one's native country. In the 19th century in Russia, the notion of “love for the Fatherland” received a variety of interpretations, enriched with new meanings and contexts, but retained its significance as one of the most important social values and civic virtues. The authors of the article conclude that despite the cardinal transformations of the social, economic and political structure of Russia in the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of “Fatherland” as a value has retained its basic significance for Russian civilization, since it is a fundamental spiritual and political ideal and is directly related to the formation of political identity.