The spirituality in the views of the Soviet and post-Soviet man. Part 1

Abstract

The main objectives of this article are to consider the various meanings of the concept of spirituality, religious (Christian) and non-religious. The authors analysed scientific literature, including such authors, who was directly involved in the study of the spirituality of the Soviet person (L. N. Kogan), and many others who devoted themselves to the study of youth in the USSR, including various aspects of its spirituality (V. T. Lisovskii, S. N. Ikonnikova, V. G. Mordkovich, L. Ya. Rubina, M. Kh. Titma, V. I. Chuprov, V. N. Shubkin). As a result of the analysis, a model was developed that makes it possible to talk about the spirituality of the Christian, Marxist, modern new age movement, with the allocation of basic values, the desired ideal, subjects of the process, etc. Correlation with this model should allow us to solve the main goal of the article – to identify how spirituality (in a religious or non-religious context) is understood by the current generation of student youth, what definitions are given to it, and whether there is continuity in this sense with Soviet ideas about spirituality. The authors came to the following conclusion: the meanings of the spirituality of the Soviet period corresponded to the humanism of the Marxist philosophy of «active man», «creator of culture», transforming not only religious tradition, but also various spheres of private life to suit their ideological needs – family and marriage relations, work, leisure, friendship, set the meaning and purpose of the Soviet man.