Mythology of a bright future: the Russian state’s response to the public demand for justice

The article shows how the Russian state is trying to respond to the current demand for justice in society. Social justice, being a common value, seems to be a difficult concept to define, around which it is easy to build both various kinds of myths and popular images of the future. It is noted that the key images of the future of the country are associated with the implementation of the basic functions of the state and with the ideas about the structure of power. Using the achievements of the actor-network-theory, the author demonstrates how the Russian authorities form a version of the assembly from a complex that includes fixing existing problems and proposals for smoothing out injustices. Defining in this complex are the main faults that show failures in the functioning of the public administration system, and decisions concerning future development arise as attempts to overcome the faults. The result of such an installation is a scenario for the development of the country, which can be called the proposed mythology or the mythology of a bright future, in which myths give significance and meaning to images, making them clearer and more definite. After considering three scenarios that correspond to the demand for justice - total control, genuine democracy, a wise ruler - it is concluded that in the Russian Federation, the trajectories of creating potential images of a bright future are fixed on the heroic myth which fits into the «wise ruler» scenario, which is usually personified by a national leader. In order for the public to share the response option presented by the authorities to the request for justice, it is necessary to turn the narrative into a social myth. In the Russian state, this role is performed by a constantly circulating and appropriately shaped narrative, the central component of which is the figure of a hero (leader), demonstrating the determination to fight social injustice. It is this kind of mythology of a bright future that can take on the role of a mediator, a liaison between the state and citizens, between the past and the future of the country.