
Russia is surrounded by a many countries with a wide variety of beliefs and values.
Is there a difference between, for example, Russian values and Western values? Let’s try to find out.
Spirituality of Everyday Life
In Russia during different historical periods the main priority was always given to spirituality, and material values were secondary. If you look at the Western countries, there you will find countless examples of the search for spirituality – for example, interest in Eastern religious-philosophical practices. If in Russia spirituality is initially placed at the beginning of all, in the Western countries spirituality is often a higher step in social development, for example, let’s recall charity acts of billionaires.
Collectivism, Community
Interestingly enough, but this traditional Russian phenomenon can be transformed into personality development: society “pushes up” its leaders to the top. On the other hand the higher level of personality development in the West is considered to be interdependence, devotion.
Orientation on Great Objectives and Great Things, a Willingness to Sacrifice Yourself for the Sake of Society
Russians consider themselves not just part of a team, but participants in the process of achieving a Greater Goal, be it a space flight or a victory in unwinnable conditions. And they are willing to give up a lot for it.
In the West it is often considered that a person is a part of a complex mechanism, for example, a large company, and he must align his personal goals to the objectives of a higher order.
Tolerance
Earlier we already wrote about tolerance in Russian society, which was formed as a phenomenon in the existing historical context. Even a former enemy can be accepted by society.
In the West the ideology of tolerance is also pronounced, at least at the level of ordinary people; we are not talking about politicians and journalists, who, judging by the publications, are not familiar with this phenomenon.
It seems that when it comes to values most civilized people around the globe do not differ much from each other, unlike the forces that make money on confrontation would want.
To discover Russia with Alexey Gureev