February 02, 2023

In Search of "Cultural Sovereignty"


In Search of "Cultural Sovereignty"
An orthodox procession in St.Petersburg Kora27, Wikimedia Commons

On January 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin amended the Decree on the Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy. The new version of this decree introduces the idea of "cultural sovereignty," and it states that Russia must "avoid dependence on external influences," while adhering to traditional "spiritual and moral values." 

According to the decree, Russia must combat the "excessive use of foreign vocabulary," "protect and support the Russian language," protect the "institution of marriage as a union of men and women," and educate children based on traditional values, while supporting various cultural initiatives aimed at the "spiritual and moral" education of citizens.

The documents also list threats that can destroy Russian "spiritual and moral values" and weaken the "unity of its multinational polity." Among these are "unfriendly states," transnational corporations, foreign NGOs, extremists, and terrorists.

But this is not all. According to the decree, the idea that "Russia is developing as a country uniting two worlds, East and West" has disappeared. Instead, the decree says that Russia's historical path has determined its cultural identity, the peculiarities of its national mentality, and the society's value foundations.

In addition, the tasks of economic and social modernization of Russia have disappeared from the amended decree. Now, instead of modernization, the aim is to preserve the "fundamental values and principles on which the unity of Russian society is based." 

The Decree on the Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy of Russia was first approved in 2014 and has not previously been revised. But it is far from the first change in Russian cultural policy in the past few months: in October 2022 the State Duma decided to review a law to restrict the use of foreign loan words in official Russian communications.

You Might Also Like

The Threat from Abroad
  • December 28, 2022

The Threat from Abroad

Putin has issued a call to hunt down spies and saboteurs. The State Duma has prepared new “anti-sabotage” laws.
Spelling Reform: Who Gets the Credit?
  • October 10, 2018

Spelling Reform: Who Gets the Credit?

In Soviet times the Bolsheviks got all the credit for simplifying Russian spelling in 1918. Who really pushed that simplification through - and what did the Bolsheviks actually do to help?
The Wrong Kind of Patriotism
  • November 30, 2022

The Wrong Kind of Patriotism

A student in Karelia was reportedly disciplined for wearing a sweatshirt with an American flag on it.
A Director Detained
  • October 31, 2022

A Director Detained

Russian playwright Alexei Zhitkovsky has been detained for suspicion of engaging in "extremism."
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955