SOVIET BEING: RELIGIOUS DETERMINANTS AND IMAGES OF MODERN TIMES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the religious foundations of Soviet life in the context of their interaction with the images of the new Soviet era. The paper substantiates the thesis that the civilizational specificity of Russia, which is based on Orthodox determinants, has become the basis for building the Soviet value-normative system. Turning to the concept of religiosity put forward by E. Durkheim, the author comes to the conclusion that Soviet society was inherently religious, based on archetypal determinants, which created the specificity of Soviet being. The author develops the ideas of P.Ya. Danilevsky to identify and analyze civilizational paradigms, traces their influence on the understanding of power, society, and man. Characterizing the civilizational determinants that existed in the cultural matrix of Soviet being, the author focuses on the peculiarities of the Orthodox world outlook, proving the idea that Soviet ideals and values are a new format of Orthodox imperatives that existed despite religious persecution and antichurch policies. The fundamental Orthodox imperative that determined the historical and cultural dynamics of Russian society, according to the author, was the conciliarity and unity of society, which was placed above the interests of the individual. For Soviet being, this imperative became decisive and was reflected in the ideas of collectivism and solidarity of the Soviet people. The paper concludes that civilizational determinants in new forms were further developed, especially in the period of 30–40s. XX century during the cult of personality I.V. Stalin.