The core of the cultural code of the Russian people as a deterrent to ressentiment

In recent decades, the idea of recognizing resentment as a characteristic feature of the Russian people has been strongly implanted in a collective consciousness, producing a negative impact on the formation of the image of Russia, the people, and undermining the country's authority, both in the world community and in the eyes of its own citizens. In this regard, the paper looked to determine the validity of such a statement. To meet this objective the author involved an extensive material on Russian culture and specifics of the Russian people`s character in a cultural and historical context: from Ancient Russia to the modern stage of civilizational development. The character of the Russian people and its cultural code have been formed over the centuries, enriched by their own and world experience under the influence of various factors. It was determined that, as in any other country, ressentiment emerged at crucial moments in the state`s history: during wars, revolutions, crises accompanied by the transformation of the value system, the crisis of culture. Russian culture is characterized by tolerance, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, mercy, compassion, which gives grounds to the following idea: envy, hatred, meanness, and revenge, which contribute to the formation of ressentiment, are not characteristic for a Russian person, therefore, ressentiment is not a characteristic feature of the Russian people. The paper articulates the idea that any position that asserts ressentiment as a characteristic feature of a nation or ethnic group, is a delusion. Resentment is formed in the presence of unfavorable socio-economic and cultural conditions in individual individuals, groups, marginal communities outside of belonging to a particular nation or ethnic group. Still the modern society gives shelter to the factors that contribute to the formation of ressentiment and its dissemination through information and communication technologies. The paper comes up with methods of preventing ressentiment.