Russian Civilization and Global Culture: Alternative or Coexistence?

The Russian civilization embodies the cultural codes of the Byzantine civilizations, East Slavic tribes, and Orthodox Christianity. The church doctrine of the divine monarchy became the main spiritual foundation of Russian statehood which is characterized by a “symphony of powers,” namely, a synergy of sacred and spiritual powers as well as the theocratic principle embodied in the Byzantine model of the state. The ancient, medieval, and contemporary Russian political traditions have been grounded on the same notion of political power: a strongly centralized power personified by the supreme autocratic ruler, a rigid hierarchy of power and a domination of the executive over the legislative branch. The dominant cultural archetypes of the Russian civilization have always been Christocentrism, conservatism, patriarchalism, love for the good, patriotism, sobornost, and tolerance. Russian civilization has nourished different interpretation of such important concepts as freedom, justice, progress, and meaning and purpose of life and at the same time has perpetuated a tradition of dialogue and cooperation with the Islamic civilization. This historical experience establishes Russia as a multicivilizational model for the global world where inter-civilizational dialogue ought to provide the basic framework and the propeller for international communication, coexistence, and cooperation.