New middle ages in the culture of the 20th century Russia

The New Middle Ages is currently a popular socio-political and cultural concept, which, in our opinion, most fully explains the processes in society, politics, culture and art of the 20th and 21st centuries as a manifestation of a new religious consciousness. Basing on it as a scientific foundation, the author shows that the main channels of influence on the mentality and life choice of people, on the formation of values and value orientations in this era are visual media and visual arts. The author makes a brief historical review of the algorithms for the formation of ideological images in Russian art over the course of a century, dividing them into three stages, and of replacing with them ancient national archetypes; demonstrates the creation of new narratives that influence the basic archetypes and structures of national character, historical consciousness, and that promote new socio-political and cultural values.