Today's art is our «cavalry and navy» (art as a factor of social development and national security)

This paper presumes that culture is an axiological yardstick for evaluating the facts and events, which occur within a society and a defining mechanism for the development of modern societies. The paper focuses on the social functions of art, i.e. how art fosters an individual's creative potential and national and cultural identity within the context of the societal self-organization and national security. The paper also analyzes the contemporary state of the art sphere and of the Russian cultural policy. The author concludes that higher artistic education is of a strategic importance, because it trains specialists who guarantee the realization of social functions of art.