At the meeting of the International Discussion Club “VISION 3000”, the theme of which was: “Living traditions of the peoples of Russia”, Yana Filimonova, co-founder of the Workshop of Management and Communications, a public figure, a member of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, made a report.
The online publication “Embassy Life” acted as the General Information Partner.
The topic of the report: “Traditions and customs – the connection of times and modern application”.
The current year 2024 has been declared the year of the family in our country, and strengthening the traditions, culture, and customs of our large multinational Homeland is of particular importance. Thanks to traditions, people know about their origins and feel the support of their ancestors. Our identity, the unique cultural code of our civilization, is formed from the traditions of the country, the peoples inhabiting it and each individual family.
What is the characteristic cultural code of the Russian civilization?
According to Ibragimov A.G.’s research, the cultural code of any civilization is formed from several components, as in a chemical composition. And when you replace one element with another, a new formula is obtained. So, the cultural code of civilization consists of the ideas that have developed in the public consciousness about the following categories: history, eschatology (attitude to life and death), aesthetics (canons of beauty), ethics (good and evil), attitude to man, nature, God. We can see how attempts are being made in a number of cultures to change the established codes in the public consciousness. This is most clearly seen in the example of aesthetics (which is now declared beautiful), ethics (new normality, gender diversity), rewriting history, etc. But, fortunately, there has been a turn towards traditional values in our country, which was consolidated by Presidential Decree No. 809 of 11/19/2022, including the preservation of historical memory and continuity of generations, cultural heritage, unity of the peoples of Russia and others. That is, what our cultural code leaves behind is now fixed by presidential decree. It is already clear to everyone that mores, traditions, customs – established, passed down from generation to generation – are the core that ensures both the existence and development of society. This means that a stable harmonious movement forward is impossible without relying on traditions.
The most important part of our work now, as public figures at any level, is to ensure the continuity of generations, the involvement of our children, youth, and adolescents. We must think about the modern application of traditions that have been displaced over the past few decades, albeit not completely, but significantly.
1. History. The study of traditions, history, and how our society was formed.
It is important that this movement comes from the family: you can start studying the history of your native land, family, make up a family tree together, study your city and neighboring cities together. When a person knows and loves his small homeland, he gets an understanding from childhood of who he is and where he comes from. This means self–confidence and motivation to grow.
It is important to ensure the preservation and support of craftsmen and crafts. And also, to set an example – to choose your own, to make it fashionable.
2. Aesthetics. It is important to show what distinguishes our aesthetics (and, consequently, our worldview) is its cheerfulness.
No matter what period of the country’s development we remember – pagan Russia or imperial aesthetics, Orthodox churches or aesthetics of the Soviet period – there will always be a lot of light, joy and sunshine. There will always be life, the desire to live, vitality. It becomes clear that we are always for the continuation of life. You can tell the children about it.
There are different ways to popularize traditional aesthetics. Its modern interpretation is important, it is not necessary to do it head-on, literally. The most important part of folk crafts is the preservation of the traditions of the national costume. You can choose a certain era and select an element of visual identity from there, which you can use as a basis. Some kind of element that will be modern.
3. The attitude towards nature can be seen through fairy tales in which our ancestors spiritualized the nature around them, revered it as a living being. Our fairy tales were characterized by a special attitude to their native land and nature (the image of “Mother Earth” was sung in epics, as well as the traditional heroes of Russian epics – heroes, defenders of their native land), the spirituality of rivers, lakes, forests, fields, and their special veneration. Protecting one’s land and loving nature is archetypally a value for people of Russian culture. Let’s remember our fairy tales, myths, epics: forests and rivers were inhabited by goblins and mermaids, brownies lived in houses, and animals and birds helped and guided
And one of the main points in the matter of traditions and their modern interpretation is the form of submission.
Currently, there is an increasing interest of young people in the preservation of the historical cultural heritage of the country and its peoples. It is important to provide an opportunity to get acquainted with culture and popularize historical knowledge in multimedia and digital format.
It is possible to involve young people in the work of educational or research groups, to conduct educational lessons at school. When I participated in such events last year, schoolchildren were always interested in the format used: a story about the traditional values of our country through drawing analogies and historical examples of heroes and events of past eras. Through the opportunity to reflect on themselves: “what would I do in such a situation?” Through understanding what is happening in our country now, through the prism of values and meaning. This gives the younger generation the opportunity to be involved, to grow up as patriots.
This way we will get the connection of traditions with modern formats that are interesting to our children.
At our “Etiquette and Communications Workshop” we are planning a program for teenagers, where we will introduce them not only to the rules of ethical behavior and the base of cultural skills, but also introduce them to the history and ethics of our country, talk about why serving the Fatherland has always been the highest privilege of the elite, how the Soviet code of human labor fostered respect for senior and much more.
And finally, I want to add. We are a unique civilization. We do not just have our own history, mythology, wealth of cultures and customs of our entire multinational homeland. There are very few countries in the world, literally on the fingers of one hand, that have their own music and engineering schools. We have everything.
And yet, Russian society, due to its characteristics – an extended space, a relatively small population density, a limited period of the year for agricultural work and a communal way of life – has acquired two important features: reverence for traditions on the one hand, and striving for the future, the development of new territories, research, and reflection on the other. It is not surprising that we were the first to fly into space, and that it is in our list of traditional values that the priority of the spiritual over the material is indicated. So, respect for the past and the desire for the new, for the future are already sewn into our cultural code. And to connect this today, to ensure continuity, is exactly our task.