Cultural Code or the Third Way of Russia

Abstract

Such a phenomenon as the path-dependence problem occupies a special place in the institutional theory, like a kind of institutional trap which a society or a country has fallen, and inertially continues to follow this path. We very often hear about “Russia's special path”, about its peculiarities determined by historical, cultural and geographical peculiarities, but does this path really exist and isn't its “specialty” a trap itself? Or, on the contrary, our path-dependence consists in the fact that, realizing our own characteristics and capabilities, we have not realized our “life plan”? According to one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century – John Bordley Rawls, the feeling of successful implementation of a life plan is happiness, in terms of which Russia ranks 80th after Turkmenistan and Northern Cyprus. This article is devoted to finding answers to these questions and identifying those features of our country that distinguish us from other countries, but at the same time do not allow us to realize ourselves to the extent that is potentially possible. The study identifies the main characteristics of the cultural code of our country, which determine both our unique capabilities and factors that lead to a slowdown in potential economic development.