The mentality of the Russians in the cultural and civilizational space of 20th century Russia: from a churched traditionalism to a qasi-religious modernism

In this article, the author presents various religious and cultural traits that have determined the mentality of the Russian nation and Russian society at the turn of the 20th century and led to the development of the Russian Revolution. With references to the views of leading Russian religious philosophers (whose political views were ofen quite varied), a connection is made between Russian Orthodox religiosity and the spiritual and historical specifics of the Russian Revolution. The author also raises the question of the connection between a traditionalism that is churched in its ritual atributes but remains largely pagan in essence, and a quasi-religious chiliast modernism, which determined the transformation of Marxist social democracy in Russia into Communist totalitarianism. Te role of the Russian intelligentsia in this process is identified. The author notes that by the beginning of the 20th century, the views of the Russian radical intelligentsia had moved through a process of intense secularisation and had assumed, as a fundamental and religiously held cultural and worldview paradigm, a form of socialism viewed as a “light” version of Communist quasi-religion