Pichugina Miroslava,

Founder Member,

ANO “Youth Association for International Cooperation Development”

What is a «culture code»? According to the American psychoanalyst Clotaire Rapaille, this phrase means «the cultural unconscious, which determines the set of images associated with a concept in our consciousness». It is not something that we say or clearly realize; it is something that is hidden even from our own understanding, but it is manifested in our actions. In other words, the culture code is the unique cultural characteristics inherited by peoples from their ancestors; it is information encoded in some form that allows us to identify a culture. Culture itself is the essence of a people’s life, its soul, its mind and heart, its past, present and future. Therefore, the culture code of a country helps to understand the behavioral reactions of its people, determines the people’s psychology.

Russian national and civic identity is based on the preservation of the Russian cultural dominant characteristic of all peoples inhabiting the Russian Federation. Modern Russian society is united by a single cultural (civilizational) code, which is based on the preservation and development of Russian culture and language, the historical and cultural heritage of all peoples of the Russian Federation. This code contains such fundamental universal principles as respect for the original traditions of the peoples inhabiting the Russian Federation and the integration of their best achievements into a single Russian culture. Many scholars consider Russia not as a nation-state, but as a state-civilization. Indeed, despite its multi-confessional, multi-ethnic, discrete evolution of political systems, Russia nevertheless remains a stable subject of world historical development. This suggests the presence of a unified civilizational core, which is the basis of historically changing domestic politics. Civilization passes through the upheavals of political history, remaining true to itself. Nowadays, the integral components of the cultural code of a Russian resident are mostly national culture and art figures of the past. A joint study by the NAFI Analytical Center and Russian Creative Week identified the most famous compatriots who have made a significant contribution to the development of the Russian culture and are known to the majority of Russians.

 

According to the survey results, the majority of respondents named Pushkin (80%), Leo Tolstoy (16%), Lermontov (13%), Dostoevsky (12%), and Yesenin (11%) as the most famous writers.

Russian music for the majority is primarily associated with the names of Tchaikovsky (23%), Shostakovich (6%), Mikhail Glinka (5%), and Viktor Tsoi (5%).

Of all artists, respondents identified Repin (23%), Shishkin (16%), Aivazovsky (16%), and Viktor Vasnetsov (13%).

Movie directors Nikita Mikhalkov (13%), Eldar Ryazanov (5%), and Leonid Gaidai (5%) were also part of the Russian cultural code.

In addition, according to respondents, among the figures that do not need an introduction were ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, actress and TV presenter Yulia Vysotskaya, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

It also became known that the most significant achievements in the field of architecture participants of the survey consider the Moscow Kremlin, in gastronomy – pelmeni, blini and okroshka, in the field of modern media – social networks «Odnoklassniki» and «VKontakte».

Culture plays a special role in the humanitarian sphere as an effective tool for smoothing out contradictions between states and shaping a unifying international agenda. Therefore, the most important part of Russia’s humanitarian policy is the attraction of foreign youth. The most obvious way to attract young foreign citizens is to offer them educational services. Russia makes great efforts to popularize domestic education abroad.