Russia between East and West: On the Search for Cultural Originality
The modern world is home to a diverse range of folk cultures, each reflecting the unique development of their respective ethnic groups and nations. The uniqueness of each culture is manifested in its centuries-old way of life, traditions, accepted patterns of behavior and interaction, and distinctive character traits and mentality. Today, with the rise of globalization and multiculturalism, the issue of preserving cultural identity has become a pressing issue. This challenge is particularly acute for countries with multi-ethnic populations, where the formation of a national identity, which ensures national cohesion, occurs under much more challenging conditions than in mono-ethnic countries. For Russia, this challenge is compounded by complex historical twists and turns, often disrupting traditional values and ways of life. This leads to a constant search for one's place in the world and a recognition of the cultural identity that ensures the sustainability of this place. This article highlights the key factors influencing the formation of cultural identity and examines their impact on the development of Russian self-awareness within a historical context. In the context of Russia's "borderline" geopolitical position between Europe and Asia, the distinctiveness of Russian culture is examined from the perspective of the influence exerted on it by Eastern and Western cultures. To this end, key characteristics have been identified that allow for the dividing lines between Western and Eastern cultures: "individualism vs. collectivism," "direct vs. indirect communication," "rationalism vs. contemplation," "mono-activity vs. reactivity," and "recognition vs. minimization of status differences." A comparative analysis conducted using these characteristics of Eastern and Western cultures allowed us to establish the absence of a clear affiliation of Russian culture with either Western or Eastern characteristics. It concludes that it is an independent phenomenon with its own unique and often contradictory features, which, to a certain extent, are the result of the interpenetration of Western and Eastern ways of life.
Slinkov, A. M., Slinkova, O. K. (2025), “Russia between East and West: On the Search for Cultural Originality”, Research Result. Business and Service Technologies, 11 (4), pp.
While nobody left any comments to this publication.
You can be first.
Berdyaev, N. (2008), Russian Idea, St. Petersburg, Azbuka-Classic Publishing House, 317 p. (In Russ.).
Berger, P.L. (2020), Rethinking Religion: The Sacred in the Modern World, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
Dubrovskaya, O.G. (2010), “Context as a factor in the hybridization of communicative styles”, Izvestiya VSPU, 5, pp. 110-114. (In Russ.).
Egorov, V.K. (2002), Philosophy of Russian Culture: Contours and Problems, M., RAGS Publishing House, 656 p. (In Russ.).
Guzenina, S.V. (2012), “Cultural identity in the focus of modern scientific research”, Analytics of cultural studies, 24. [Online], available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kulturnaya-samobytnost-v-fokuse-sovremennyh-nauchnyh-issledovaniy/viewer (Accessed 09 March 2025). (In Russ.).
Gumilev, L.N. (2008), From Rus' to Russia, Moscow, “AST-MOSCOW”, 560 p. (In Russ.).
Hall, Е.Т. (1976), Beyond Culture, Garden City, New York, Anchor Press, Doubleday.
Hofstede, G. (2010), Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Third Edition, McGraw Hill Professional, New York.
Jenkins, P. (2020), The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade, New York, Oxford University Press.
Khvoshchevskaya, I.V. (2022), “The theme of “Russian morality” in the cultural identity of Russia”, Society: philosophy, history, culture, 4, pp. 186–189. DOI: 10.24158/fik.2022.4.30.
Kiselev, S.G. (2023), “Russian civilization”, Power, 5, pp. 32-37. (In Russ.).
Klyuchevsky, V.O. Course of Russian History (Lectures I–XXXII). [Online], available at: https://litlife.club/books/14502/read?page=69 (Accessed 09 March 2025). (In Russ.).
Lee, E. (2013), Cross-Cultural Management: A Knowledge Management Perspective, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, UK.
Lewis, R. D. (2006), When Cultures Collide, Third Edition, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London.
Likhachev, D. (2015), Selected Works on Russian and World Culture, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, compiled and scientific ed. by Zapesotsky, A. S., St. Petersburg, SPbGUP, 540 p. (In Russ.).
Nevleva, I.M., Serezhko, T.A. and Kokhan, Zh.S. (2017), “Traditional culture: religious and ethical foundations”, NOMOTHETIKA: Philosophy. Sociology. Law, 7 (266). [Online], available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/traditsionnaya-kultura-religiozno-eticheskie-osnovy/viewer (Accessed 09 March 2025). (In Russ.).
Report "Russia 2050. Image of the Future". [Online], available at: https://tsargrad.institute/analytics/rossija-2050-obraz-budushhego_83 (Accessed 09 March 2025). (In Russ.).
Skvortsov, I.P. (2014), “On the issue of defining the cultural and civilizational identity of Russia”, Theory and practice of social development, 8, pp. 13-16. (In Russ.).
Slinkova, O. K., Vishnevskaya, E. V. and Bogomazova, I. V. (2025), “Traditional Russian values and their refraction in the consciousness of student youth”, Research Result. Business and Service Technologies, 11 (1), pp. 97-111. DOI: 10.18413/2408-9346-2025-11-1-0-7. (In Russ.).
Slinkova, O. K. and Slinkov, A. M. (2025), “Cross-Cultural Communications: Reflections on the Origins of Intercultural Misunderstanding”, Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, Seriya Politicheskie, sotsiologicheskie i ekonomicheskie nauki, 10 (1): pp. 62–69. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-1-62-69.
The Culture of Russian Self-Government (2003), Ed. Arefyev, M. A., Osipov, I. D., St. Petersburg, Institute of Law and Entrepreneurship, 272 p. (In Russ.).
Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, Ch. (2012), Riding the Waves of Culture, McGraw-Hill Education, New York.