The constitutional ban on state ideology means a ban on revising the ideological tenets of liberalism”: What the 30-year absence of a state ideology leads to

In the previous editorial “What the 30-year absence of a state ideology leads to: “The enemy is not only on the other side of the frontline’” published in the April issue of the journal Economic and Social Change: Facts, Trends, Forecast1, the facts and expert opinions reflecting current trends in the development of the situation in the country and in the world were analyzed, which determine the high and increasing degree of urgency of the problem related to the definition of the ideological vector of national development, and more specifically, the problem of the lack of an official state ideology in Russia.

The subtitle “The enemy is not only on the other side of the frontline” ² reflected, perhaps, one of the main consequences of this problem – the systemic nature of corruption in power , which is for Russia the most real “internal enemy” in the context of the ongoing war with the “external” enemy – NATO countries.

The urgency of the problem of the lack of ideology in Russia is due to external and internal reasons.

First, “the aggravation of cultural issues, preservation of the cultural code” in the context of the civilizational crisis faced by the world community in the 21st century” ³ .

Second, the fact that “the Russian Federation is facing a civilizational crisis not only at the global level (associated with a change in the form of the world order, with the transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world and the need to occupy a worthy place in this new world), but also at the national level, associated with the incipient exit from the semicolonial condition, in particular which our country found itself in after the collapse of the USSR in 1991 ... Therefore, in order to get out of the value-worldview conflict, our country will need value-worldview changes : within the elites, within the general population, within the state and public policy in all its manifestations (in economy, education, science, culture, etc.)” ⁴ .

One of the key conclusions, summarized in an April article based on expert opinions, was that “ there is no state without an ideology; if a state does not have its own ideology, then someone else will surely take its place ” ⁵ , or, as some analysts point out, “upbringing does not tolerate emptiness. It will definitely be filled in, but the question is by whom? and with what?” ⁶ .

In this issue of the journal, in the editorial, we continue to disclose this thesis, and this time attention is focused on specific empirical data from long-term monitoring sociological studies conducted by the VolRC RAS since 1996, which allow us to clearly see the negative impact of the lack of Russia’s own state ideology on trends in intellectual, creative, and moral potentials using the example of the regional community.

The headline “The constitutional ban on state ideology means a ban on revising the ideological tenets of liberalism” ⁷ reflects the general essence of the research: Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which has been in force in Russia since 1993 and which prohibits official state ideology, does not just proclaim “ideological diversity” ⁸ , but legislatively enshrines the ideology of liberalism, which contradicts the course of national development aimed at strengthening sovereignty.

First of all, we should note that, according to many experts, the situation that has developed since the beginning of the special military operation, not only around but also inside Russia, places very special and increased demands on the ruling elites responsible for implementing the objectives of the President of the Russian Federation, including ensuring sustainable growth in the standard of living and quality of life, as well as the security of territories.

And this concerns, first of all, the internal situation in the country, since the actions of the so-called Collective West (the United States, UK and NATO bloc as a whole), which is actually waging a full-scale war with Russia at the hands of the “Kiev regime”, are quite understandable and naturally fit into the logic of their publicly announced goals to

A.A. Prokhanov (writer): “Russia, which is waging a terrible war, needs a wartime army, needs a wartime economy, needs wartime industry, wartime culture, wartime ideology, wartime managers, wartime leaders. Russia needs a wartime elite capable of leading the country and leading it to Victory. Russia does not have such an elite . The Russian elite was created by the West, which conquered the country after 1991, and it is a product of the West, like Coca-Cola, jeans, or Broadway musicals” ⁹ .

R.I. Nigmatulin (RAS Academician): “…the elite itself must be rebuilt: the government elite, the state elite , all these deputies, and so on. And besides, of course, a cohort of people who are rich, who have huge wealth concentrated on themselves, who consume a lot, fly business jets abroad as before, spend their vacation there, thereby wasting our resources. All this is as it was, and it remains ” ¹⁰ .

achieve “Russia’s strategic defeat”^{9 11} , “defeat Russia on the battlefield” ¹² ; and declaring our country its enemy in official documents ¹³ . ¹⁴

As for the internal situation in the country, first, a certain number of representatives of the ruling elites, through their specific actions, which are actually revealed on a daily basis by investigative authorities (Insert 1), discredit Russia’s entire course toward strengthening national sovereignty, which includes traditional spiritual and moral values formulated in Presidential Decree 809 dated November 9, 2022 “On approval of the foundations of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”: “justice”, “patriotism”, “high moral ideals”,

“ Law 809 is a turning point. We generally live in a new era. This new era in Russia began on February 24 after the start of the special military operation, which led to huge transformations in the positioning of our country in a global context. The law “On approval of the foundations of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values” is a fundamental point…”¹⁴

“the priority of the spiritual over the material”, “collectivism” ¹⁵ and so on.

Second, these actions lead to the appearance of so-called “black swans” ¹⁶ , which occur regularly throughout virtually the entire period of the special military operation ¹⁷ and they indicate serious internal failures of the public administration system as a whole.

In recent days, such “black swans” have been a series of terrorist attacks on railway tracks in the border territories ¹⁸ and the cynical AFU Operation Spiderweb – a drone attack on Russian airfields, carried out directly from trucks, which raises many questions about the work of “all our special services” ¹⁹ . ²⁰

A. Gurulev: “Let’s be honest… By the way, this applies not only to the army, unfortunately, we will have no less in civilian life. But an army is still the price of a human life. After all, the meaning is very simple. If you’re the boss and your subordinates tell you lies, I’m sorry, they tell you lies, or you let them tell you lies, let’s put it this way, or you want to hear only the good, you’ll listen to the good, but it won’t be true . And if that’s not true, you won’t have the raw data to make decisions about the problems that exist. And without making a decision on the problems that exist, you will drive yourself into a dead end. That’s the trouble” ²⁰ .

Many experts ²¹ point to the similarity of that “Israel and Ukraine had the same source of Operation Spiderweb with the Israeli drone attack technology... and it is the West that is the scriptwriter on Iran on the night of June 13, 2025. This suggests and director of this well-planned operation” ²² . ²³²⁴²⁵

• 1.    “State Duma deputy A. Gurulev regarded attacks with trucks and drones, including in Siberia, as “ a failure of all our special services”. He said that the special services should find out how the truck, where the drones were, was able to reach its destination in the Irkutsk Region, “carry out investigation from all sides, and draw conclusions”.

• 2.    Military expert V. Shurygin, author of “Ramzai” Telegram channel, commenting on the attack, said that more than three years after the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Russian airfields, for the most part, “still do not have protected caponiers and concrete shelters for aircraft, air defense systems of most airfields remote from the SMO zone are primitive and do not meet the current threat level”²³.

• 3.    Yu. Knutov (military expert): “ It has been known for a long time that the drones attacking us are launched from the territory of Russia. Opponents could disguise as volunteers and purchase and assemble them, ostensibly to send them to the front… The containers were also made in Russia , because such cargoes coming from abroad are screened using X-ray inspection equipment, and the strange filling, of course, would have been immediately detected…”²⁴

• 4.    A. Salin (Chairman of the Presidium of the Astrakhan Regional Branch of the Officers of Russia organization): “ What happened in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions is over the top . This should not be allowed in the future… We, veterans of military operations on the ground, have long been calling for tougher actions inside the country . What is it about? We need to ask officials responsible for security and important strategic facilities more harshly ... If officials, prosecutors, and police officers do not perform their duties, they should be fired, and those who are able to fulfill their tasks should be hired instead”²⁵.

  Insert 1

  
  

• V. Shurygin (military expert): “The situation requires extraordinary measures from the country’s leadership and special services. It is necessary to create a powerful special service on the basis of the main directorate for counterterrorism, modeled on Stalin’s Smersh during the Great Patriotic War, with the broadest powers ” ²⁶.

• O. Nilov (State Duma deputy): “Only capital punishment can somehow prevent and minimize the threat of terrorist attacks. Smersh must be returned, especially at such a time ”²⁷.

A. Gurulev (State Duma deputy): “ It’s time to recreate Smersh. We need to pick up the documents, register everything. The State Duma is able to pass a law in a day ”²⁸.

• I.    Korotchenko (editor-in-chief of Natsionalnaya oborona magazine): “ We need a new SMERSH . The functions and powers of the FSB in the border and new regions of the Russian Federation need to be expanded to counter the intelligence and sabotage activities of the Kiev regime ”²⁹.

The facts presented in Insert 1 clearly show that some of the ruling elites still live according to the liberal paradigm of the past decades, in which material gain and personal success are more important than traditional spiritual and moral values. And the ongoing terrorist attacks and the continuing questions among experts about the work of the management system as a whole are a logical consequence of connivance, negligence, and in the worst case, direct sabotage of the instructions of the head of state by such representatives of the public administration system. ^2627282930

Obviously, this is a matter of culture, worldview and values of the ruling elites responsible for the practical implementation of the goals and objectives of national development formulated by the President.

“ It is important to note that the ruling elite de facto controls all branches and authorities. It can adopt any laws and interpret those already in force as it sees fit... It is difficult to recall that new norms were blocked by any institution, including the Constitutional Court. It is also difficult to recall that the provision of the Basic Law actually prevented the introduction of a new ban” ³⁰ .

“The fact that the Security Council has raised the issue of preserving traditional values suggests that they are under serious attack” ³¹ .

This is largely why the head of state pays special attention to the systematic implementation of state policy aimed at protecting traditional values and strengthening the moral foundations of Russian society ³² . On June 10, 2025, in its continuation, the President held a Meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the agenda of which included “issues of improving state policy in the field of protection of traditional spiritual and moral values ...” . As Vladimir Putin noted, this is “an extremely significant and relevant topic , directly related to ensuring Russia’s sovereignty and national interests ” ³³ .

During the meeting, as some experts emphasized, the President actually “ demanded legislative protection of traditional values ” ³⁴ . Vladimir Putin noted that Russia needs not only to “ resist attempts to impose attitudes that destroy our values on our citizens, especially young people... ” but also to “ consistently and actively promote our values, form our humanitarian and cultural meanings that are in demand both in the country and in the world ” ³⁶ .

“In the modern world, the value and semantic space is subject to fierce competition... neoliberal, so-called neoliberal, and essentially, in practice, totalitarian models are being pushed through. Moreover, they are not only being persistently introduced in a number of Western countries, they are actively trying to export them all over the world and impose them. And it’s clear why. Because by depriving peoples of their value base, depriving them of sovereignty, it is easier to subjugate them, turn them into vassals” ³⁵ .

Indeed, as the results of monitoring management decisions show, the President, the Government, and the State Duma are actually taking measures on a daily basis aimed not only at improving the safety and socio-economic support of the general population, but also at improving the spiritual and moral atmosphere in society – to combat the negative influence of foreign agents, to introduce educational elements in the educational process, the gradual replenishment of management personnel by former members of the SMO, etc. ( Insert 2 ).

Insert 2 The monitoring of regulatory legal acts (laws, decrees) signed by the RF President in the period from April 21to June 21, 2025³⁷

X и

S О О

Pi Н ел Р Q X НН

Й

Й К

я о

я X Й Ф

О

д

д

я о

я ел

а

д

8 со £

д

о

о

я ф N

й о

я

U g

я

й 59

S

о

о

о

и ел

§ о X

Й

Р Й

(Д Pi И м S и S И

X

ь

X

о И

Pi

ci

ь

СЙ НН Й к

X

2 § Pi И

g с?

g*

N Й Я 2? о

с?

й о й Й

Й о о

о

о

й о

д

Й о

о

й о

д

й о х Й О

X и я ел

S

g

о х й о

й Й ,о

я

2 ф -о

Ф й я я

Pi

о

о ел я я

я

N

О й

Й

о ф й о

Я 5

я я я g я я

о

Я а я

я я

а

о

я

о

й о

о

й H

-й о

я

2 ф -я й я я

Pi

«

я g

й Й

о

о

й

о

о й О

2 о

Я я

,2 Ф Я ф ад я я ф S я 5-I ад

2 ф ■я £ ф S

g а

о

2 о о

о

2 я ад р

я о

я

о

а

я

я я

.о

й о

ф

5?

о

й

2 о

S ф ф я я

ад й

ф а £ га

й Й

я й1

я я й о

8 ф

а

g

д

д

g а

g о

я о

1-Д я

я

2 ад

я

о

о

о © 5

р

д

о

я

о

-о ф

Pi

я

о

я

S

¥ Я

®

ф ф я я

V

сл

я я ф

S ф

ад й I g*

ад й о

я ф

U g

й о

а

о

я U ф

-я

й я я

а й1

я я

Й о

о X Й О

■д

Pi о

я

1-Д я

®

я сх ОО

я

X

я ф

ф

8 и а

о Г)

Й

я

2 ф -о ГФ й я я

S

я

д

й ф £

Я

я о

я я

я

О

оо

Я и g

5 ел н i НН о НН й

ел

р со

ел

СР О

S

И

5 И в н X

’ад ф й я ’я

ф

о

о

я

о

а

Я Я

я

Й я ад

О я я

S 'С О

ш

р

■Д

g

£ о

£ о й о

00 я

Я

я

я

й о

2 й

й

я

ф А S ф S

О в

й я 2? о

о

я я о

а

g я ■д

о га Я

00 я g а

n я я 2? о

S

Й о я й

я

о

о

и я © i

2 ф -я й ф

я и g Я

я и g

о

я

Й й о

2 ф -я й я я

e

«

Й

ф

£

я

й 2 и й

о ад

а я

я и Я

Pi о>

О о>

я U ф "Я ГФ й я я

о

я и g

X

'2

я

Й о

я

я

о

о

i j

ф

о>

Pi

о ф 2

и Pi ел И Pi й

я ф S ■я я ф

с

£ я

я 5-ф -о ГФ й

о

о

о я

о

о

я я я g я я

о

й

о ф й о N

Й

й

о

о

й й о

й о о. х й

с?

й

й

й й о

■д

Я

я а -д

й

й

о

N

О

Й

Й

Я

Й ад

я

я ф S ■о я ф

Й

я О

я л ад й

й

Й

Й

i

й

о

й

Ф Ф

Я 2 Я я ад

я

о

®

о

о й о

й

я з

я

о

о

й о

Я с

с

о

Я о

о

Ин

я о я о

5Р

я ф S ■я я ф

я и ф X

О

я О

о

о g

я о

я

я

g р

о

ш

2 ф -я

й

о

й

я о

о

2 я о

59 ч-» О

о

ф 2 ф ф

га g

ф ф

£9

■д .я 'я'

я о

о

i

о g

о

о

оо

я

я я р

й ф N

й я ад й

о

о

о 00

Я

2 ф -я

й

га S

й й о

О Г)

£

я? я

о

я

й

g о

я

о

Й о х Й О

ф

S

ф

О

о b

i

g я

Я о

о

д

2 ф -я

й

га £

И ф ф Е ф со

2 й

ф

S

ф

« я О

я

я

X ш

ф

М

.Л

я я U ф

ф .5 £ ф со ф ф Е ел

ф

S ф

я я £

ф

ф

-о Я Я

Й

.2 i

£

ф

я я я''

2 ф -я ГФ й

ад о о й

Я

о

й

ад й о

ад © й

й © й ф X

й

2 ф й о

Й

о g

Я и g

³⁷ The insert is a continuation of the monitoring of the most important regulatory legal acts signed by the President of the Russian Federation, which we have been conducting since June 2022 (the first issue of the monitoring is presented in the article: Ilyin V.A., Morev M.V. (2022). A difficult road after the Rubicon. Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast , 15(3), 9–41).

Continuation of Insert 2

и н X И о

X о НН и ей

ь ь

и

и в

и

°Й

Р О и ей

и в

ей

и

X

и

о

и

РЙ

ь

X

^

X НН ей рр

Рн

о и

ей

(Д и ей

н £ Ъ о 5 ^ Я ел ы ” © .а а а © н t" о ^ я 2 я £ 1 •а &  о ел С SP © 2 ■® й ^ X) п h S я га О .2? я S ж га и 2 ■3 и 2 й “ М» ГФ х fe ф ф й £ £ 4м О © X ^ Я © 2 1 2 х ел <*-1 S3 ° © © © ■* м о г ; о £ § 1 § и я 2 3 Ф Ф — Я N ^ 7= Х^ 35

3 Й О 1 2 • I—1 и Й ‘о ТЗ О й .о Й о X о о м» й и .х 'х и 35 Й О а 35 Й Й (X Й Он) 35 Й .59 35 X св ТЗ Ф .N "й О 2 X & 2 1 <2 нЙ о й о Д .9 ТЗ Й Й X • I—। •а га С д' X

Й .2 'х X о +J 'о .2“ д о X О я +J М» X .Я 59 35 тз о М» о ■5 о 8 о +J X ■ 2 'о Й О ад 35 2 © д ад й .59 '8 о ^ 3 'о св а g Й X О -а й .2 35 0) тз Ф Рн й .2 'х X о Я +J й 2 3 £ й X Й .2 3 'я св £9 о

В     i £  к 2  ^ X     *- О      4м X   © ■;     ф 5    I х   £ 2    а U   — >    я °   2 "2 ©    4м О с О с й S 2 с Ti ф     ф Рн    " О   м я 2 •2     § X      .Я 5     2 а -с ^    с >»      (Я ^   X Hi       X .О     3 X ^ 2 « 2 2 5 >      «И- 2 2е & га ® .2 ° G ■±в X й « Я р> я ф й ’С £ св G й 59 ■я .S — X О О § * 8    2 S 5 2 ° Е Д 2 = § 3 | 5 = § -S ? .2 х Р й ® 3." ^ ° 8 и ф д — .2 х = 2    = © © •< Ь Д

! s' ! 3 i <2 I Н 1 ° ' х ’ 1 2 i 2 ’ га : s । ц й i 1 । д ’ о ( св ' -о 1 Uh ' 2 1 "ел ' ел ' 3 1 Й 1 U ' X с 1 X : $ 1 Uh : х 1 2 ! Й ! И-' 1 С 1 о 1 й 1 © < X > н» ► ад I й ' 2 । й । "Д ' <2 > .2 ! 2 1 й 1 X ’ S ; д i <2 1 X ! 3 ; a м»

X Й "св • м й Св 29 о Й о 1 2 • м X Й .о ‘о тз о й .2 3 й .1 ДЗ © св 'х X св 35 Й .2 О) тз Рн Й 'х X Р) гй м» X Й ^ й .2 й св X О Й .2 ‘х й 2 Р) о й .2 -§ о 2 н <2 X 3 о

й 'х X Р) й м» О X ■2 ■й о -й о ■д a о X 'о о <о й .2 Й X О a 3 й 8 о -й й о X ■ м 'о й 2 © д ! ад й .59 £ о рГ 3 .е о 2 св a о Й X О тз й .2 S (D ТЗ Рн Й 'х X Р) 4Й о i д ■ м

х” 2 О й Й X о й .2 'х X 8 8 о о Р) -й м» О м» 3 X св X св ТЗ ,Й 3 ■ £ з д 5 о я "св С Рн ^ .35 м ■5 2 ° д © с 5 2 ~ 2 i5 х С х У а м 2 X X *" X а -о й © м» д д О ел ■о S Uh га

© О О 1 и 2 ь ф 6 4М ^ -о св X -о : 2 ■ ф 1 ь ' я о св ! ф 1 -я 1 я 1 ® 1 ; ы I я । ^ 2 1 ь 1 ф 1 -Я : © : 5/5 0 Ф : S : 3 ф ? е , в : J 1 ф i 1

S 2 ■й ■& <2 « й S Св Й 8 3 £ ■? ^ св ^ с? а Я 2 2 © о С ^ н ° св О е д © “ £ о £ « 3 £ х Й эд 59 £ > © S 8 £ 8 3 м 3 35 ^ Ф X Й ТЗ м 1 s X ^ 2 К ' й a я й ф НН НН Й 59 £ > й £ ад ф 'ф 1 <2 я н X Ф я ТЗ © й х в X 4м © £ й ■М X м

ф й м» ■ 1 Ф Й ф 8 о тз ф м» -Я о a 2 св X Я Ф 59 та Я .59 'ф £ я” .2 8 тз св я НН X 1 св ТЗ я св X О Я 8 й g й о м» Я .2 £ я X .2 м» О Св 3 я .2 св -§ ф з тз я св X Я .2 3 'я св £9 о 3 я .2 3 -§ ф

g I   Е X  Ф      5 Я    О О —1    м ф Я   £ ф ад тз ад 2 я   - м    .г 'S       га — га     © "5 2   - ? t  - о а 2»   Е Ф X    М х >,     Я 2 е   ® я а    ф 8^  & Св    5-и ° a   = Я Ф © X   « га О      pi S1  ^ Ям  © Я и     ф й §   £ 2 е   £ S3   2 эд £ й й   и 2 а   ф ад  £ й b    *s ° 2   с й 2     t- ®^  3 м»  х -2 й    < ди   С .8      £ 5 X X S 3 ТЗ •£ с й О S X — 2 С 2 сл *8 О S © Н-& х а ® О св х . ° - X | © Д См ’ й   о “ 5 “о м — ^ о § 2 ^ м ■ Т ф о 3 3 Ф ^ й 2 ^ § 1 О Я Я - ^ - ” ос й a N 2 х 2 т LW S) о 2

! © : 2 1 ОО ! 2 1 2 ; в । © ' д : й ! Я : X 1 м 1 '^ ф ' Я ' X i -5 1 ел 1 См 1 -га i й ! 2 : х ' © 1 2 i 2 , й : © ' 2 : я ; । ф 1 Ё 1 и ' S । ф 1 тз ■ 2 1 й I ® ! В : 2 ! Д > 2 ! 8 i й и 1 ф 1 св I и Я > ТЗ 1 ф ■ о 1 д 1 о ; u ! ©’ ! ^ । я св о

2   ® .-д        1/3 м    2 ^    -с 2   й £  3 X 2    fe ■д     5 ©    © ТЗ     в ©    2 д   © —  X ТЗ Д     Ин й 2   ® 2 Uh     См й    2 св        4м 'х     Ф И     Ф ^  < й    Я й   X £*    8 'Я й      "Я м    я ©      га 2    и _L      сл X   Я Й   ^ Я    © ■^   2 2  ^ св       "М & та     х О     Я “ня ь р д а оо й £-5 о X ® ■2 1 2 2 й £ о    о 2 2 а я ста Й ° ® ° й 2 х 2 Р° О Uh 1 ? 5 2 Д 5

X ф О Й О X Я .59 ф £ тз X о 2 гй X м» 'й О 2 ф 3 3 £ 'х Я О а X X ф £ о X Й о X О а ф -Я ф «м со я .59 ’ф £ X Я .2 3 ’я св ад «м О -о я св X 3 я 3 3 я НН

। .2 ь

! я ' Гм 1

1 х : £ ц Ф 1 ф ' и О а

.2 3 ’я я S

д о

n

'2

2? о

о

о

о

я

о

к

о

д

о

д

I

д

д

О

д

д о

й1

я

д я?

д о

д

■д о

д

д

д д

д св д

д

д о

д

8 о

ад 35

X

End of Insert 2

However, all these efforts are largely designed for attention to the growing disagreements and the future, and in the present, experts are paying contradictions in the ruling elites.

“ The economic differences between the government and the Central Bank manifested themselves like never before, in 2025 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). At the same time, both the leadership of the Central Bank and the ministers relied on their theses that clearly contradict the facts of the current economic reality. Head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina stated the need to create a new economic model in Russia, which the ministers loudly objected to. In addition, the ministers suggested that the Central Bank reassess its faith in the 4% annual inflation targets…

There were also contradictory assessments of the current situation in the Russian econom y at the SPIEF. “In terms of numbers, we have cooling. But for us, all our figures are a rearview mirror . According to the current business sentiment, we already seem to be on the verge of going into recession”, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development said. However, the head of the Central Bank claims that the economy is “cooling down”…

Observers may also have questions about the arguments of the participants in the discussion. Thus, Nabiullina claims that in the Russian Federation “the production capacities and the capital reserve of the banking system are really exhausted”. But what kind of exhaustion of production capacity can we talk about if factories are shutting down in the country, production is declining and the number of facilities starting construction is falling? What kind of exhaustion of the “capital of the banking system” can we talk about if lending is restrained manually due to the so-called macroprudential prohibitions?

Siluanov’s claims that “Russia is growing by 4% plus” also raise questions. The planned GDP growth rate this year is 2.5%. The current GDP growth is about 1.4%. According to the Central Bank’s forecast, GDP growth in the last quarter of 2025 could reach zero percent” ³⁸ .

And in this regard, there are more and more calls for the head of state to amend Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which bans official state ideology. Moreover, we should note that these calls were made even before the start of the SMO, and they come not only from reputable experts, but also from representatives of the public administration system (including the Presidential administration).38

For example:

• 1.    May 12, 2021 – I. Volynets (Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Tatarstan) on the shooting at the Kazan school on May 11, 2021: “The main reason for what happened is the absolute absence of state ideology in the country”³⁹.

• 2.    May 16, 2021 – A. Sergeev (President of the Russian Academy of Sciences): “Serious problems remain in school education in Russia, and one of them is the lack of ideology”⁴⁰.

• 3.    June 20, 2022 – S. Novikov (head of the presidential office for ensuring the activities of the State Council), at a meeting with classroom teachers, urged “not to be shy about the word ‘ideology’”, which Russia was urged to abandon in the post-Soviet period: “Now it is clear that it was a technique. We were told that your country should not have an ideology. And as a result, we got a whole generation completely de-ideologized, which drew these ideological attitudes from other parts of the world. As a result, we have people who are ideologically lost”⁴¹.

• 4.    May 11, 2023 – K. Chuychenko (head of the Ministry of Justice): “Of course, we will have to resolve the issue with the article of the Constitution, which states that we have neither a state nor a mandatory ideology (Part 2 of Article 13 of the Basic Law of Russia)... in principle, no country in the world has such provisions in its Constitution. Only Russia at one time, on the advice of our so-called partners, assumed these increased obligations”⁴².

• 5.    November 22, 2023 – Aleksandr Bastrykin (head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation): “It is necessary to formulate the state ideology and goals of Russian society and consolidate them in the Basic Law of the country… Of course, it should be a slow job. But to go... along the path of defining the prospects for our development without enshrining these prospects in the Constitution.… I think it is necessary.… You can’t just dismiss it”⁴³.

• 6.    June 7, 2024 – S. Karaganov (Doctor of Sciences (History), political scientist, economist, public figure): “... a great state cannot exist without a national ideology, without a great idea. States that lost their national idea and national ideology inevitably collapsed. The world is littered with the graves or shadows of such states... Why are we afraid to introduce a unified state ideology, mandatory for all those who want and are ready to serve the state and society...?”⁴⁴

^39401234 “The lack of ideology”, as many analysts point introducing new amendments to the text of the out, “is very beneficial for some segments of Basic Law is blocked at the discussion level.

society” ⁴⁵ . Perhaps that is why, in part, the issue of

• 1.    D. Ayatskov: “ The elites cannot abandon the liberal ideology, because only manipulations with so-called liberal values ensure their position in power and the preservation of acquired property .… As long as there is a possibility of redistributing the remnants of property between different clans within the elites ... the sustainability of the political course toward national revival is questionable ” ⁴⁶ .

• 2.    State Duma deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said that the amendments made to the Basic Law in 2020, in his opinion, are unlikely to be the last. The deputy suggests taking into account “the circumstances in which our current Constitution was written” . Tolstoy believes that the new changes may be “much more significant than those that we discussed five years ago” .

Some have raised objections to what the deputy speaker said. Senator Andrei Klishas said that he respects colleague Tolstoy, but urges him to “live under the current version of the Constitution” . Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov agreed with Klishas: in his opinion, the Basic Law meets the realities of the time and is “written well enough” ... Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, also had to react to Tolstoy’s words. He stated that new amendments “were not on the agenda”⁴⁷ .

N.S. Mikhalkov, a well-known Russian film director and public figure, showed in his speech at the plenary session of the State Duma on June 17, 2025, how initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s cultural sovereignty are blocked “effectively” and unnoticeably on the sidelines of the government.4647

Excerpt from N.S. Mikhalkov’s speech at the plenary session of the State Duma on June 17, 2025:

“I want to give you one example. Here’s just an example. My fellow filmmakers have urged me to ask the President for quotas for American cinema in defense of our cinema.…

What was in this letter that I wrote at the suggestion of my comrades? The letter proposed quotas for Hollywood movies. The entrance fee for reviewing the submitted film in Russia costs 5 million rubles, and 10% of the rental goes to refinance the national cinema. In addition, it was proposed to organize the principle of a “single window” for entry into the Russian film distribution market, created by Presidential Decree 378, dated June 28, 2021. In addition, in order to avoid the penetration of unnecessary content onto the screens through insignificant private film distribution companies, such companies as Gazprom Media Holding and the National Media Group, controlled to some extent, to varying degrees by the state, should be identified as the largest film distributors. Why? Because the market share of these two companies was 47.2% by the end of 2024.

This letter was written on March 1, 2025. It received the following resolution: “Please support the idea. We need to take measures to protect the market in advance, even before competitors start returning. Work it out and report back”. This is written to Vladimir Medinsky .

What happens next? A day later, this letter ends up on Medinsky’s desk. A week after any meetings, a document is prepared. The Presidential Administration and the Ministry of Culture approve this document, this idea, and it is sent to the Government, to the structures in charge of culture. What happens next? Then this document is sent to eight different organizations for consultation. But the most interesting and most important thing is that this document is being sent without the first page of my letter, which contains the President’s resolution. And this document ceases to be supported by the President. It becomes a private initiative of some people due to the fact that “some movie”, “something like that”. Why? What for? This resolution says: “I ask you to do it faster, before the competitors come”. Today is June 17th. And it just kind of hung like that…

It is wrong to deprive this idea of the President’s support that has already been received. But this is wrong. That is, for anyone who received this paper, it is insignificant, because they do not know that it is supported by the President ”⁴⁸ .

As the experts emphasized, it is very important that people like N.S. Mikhalkov, who “was not afraid to tell the truth to the deputies of the State Duma” ⁴⁹ , they have the opportunity to speak in Parliament. But the fact remains that the above example clearly demonstrates a situation where the motives of “personal gain” turn a “correct understanding of strategic prospects” into an “imitation”, which hinders the course of national development toward strengthening sovereignty.

The above examples and facts allow us to agree with the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G.A. Zyuganov that neoliberalism in the public administration system “continues to creep out of all cracks” , leading to hidden crises in the party of power and hidden socio-political tension in society. And this situation has a long history, going back to the era of the 1990s. ⁵⁰⁵¹

• O. Belikov: “The well-known director Nikita Mikhalkov was not afraid to tell the truth to the deputies of the State Duma , raising hot topics, starting with the thievish privatization of the 1990s and ending with the extinction of Russians, abortions, and the return of the death penalty. He drew the attention of the people’s deputies to the fact that the fighters who returned with a Victory will start asking questions – and it’s better if we have the necessary answers ” ⁵⁰ .

• S. Mikheev: “Nikita Mikhalkov addressed the deputies in the State Duma. It was a conversation between a respected person and other respected people who somehow look at life differently …

Mikhalkov spoke to the deputies: “Why don’t you do it? Don’t you see or don’t you notice?”... It’s good that he was allowed to make such a speech in the State Duma. The answer to Mikhalkov’s question is simple: when there is nothing in the soul, when there is no true faith and conviction in the truth, then two factors remain. The first: personal gain; the second: the command “from above”. This is a question of imitation and proper understanding of strategic perspectives” ⁵¹ .

Excerpt from the report of Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation G.A. Zyuganov on June 18, 2025:

“Socio-political tension is largely hidden from view. It is hidden like an electrical wire under a protective coating. But the load is increasing, and the control mechanisms are wearing out…

The crisis of the ruling party is not obvious to many. But it is hard not to see it, being vigilant. Then the demagogic approach to state affairs will become visible. And the unpredictability of the results in the implementation of many initiatives. And the outright destruction of the electoral system. The unhealthiness of the situation is manifested in the clash of oligarchic groups, in the discrepancy between the patriotic and comprador “towers”. It is clearly visible in the scale of corruption, in the cynicism of officials who express the interests not of the country and the people, but of large financial and industrial groups. All of this has the potential of enormous destructive power, and it is becoming a national threat. This is the reality behind the facade of imaginary “solidity”…

The criminal acts of the Yeltsin-Chubais-Gaidar comprador clique were inspired by this ideology [neoliberalism]. It is still used today by her cynical outspokenness. Neoliberalism continues to creep out of all cracks. It makes itself felt in calls for new privatization, in the mocking rate of the Central Bank, in our cultural and educational losses. All this is a continuation of a long-standing dispute in Russian history” ⁵² .

Indeed, those representatives of the ruling elites who pose an immediate threat to national security do not appear out of nowhere. It is a “product” of society and social development “originally from the 1990s”. And if they continue to exist today, it means that appropriate favorable conditions have been created for this in the public administration system and in the country as a whole.

In this context, we should recall that the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 (in which Article 13 on the prohibition of ideology first appeared) was developed and adopted in very special conditions for the country – after the collapse of the USSR, which symbolized the end of the Cold war, the disappearance of Soviet communist ideology, and the establishment of a new era of a unipolar world with a dominant position of the winner, the United States of America. ⁵²⁵³

The adoption of the first RF Constitution cannot be considered outside the context of these global geopolitical changes , since the Basic Law of the

Russian Federation, in fact, has become one of the tools for the Americans to implement the “soft power” method , applied in order to prevent the global “red project” from ever returning to the world stage.

An excerpt from the book Autopsy on an Empire by J. Matlock, U.S. Ambassador to the USSR: “If we were to attribute the collapse of communist rule in the Soviet Union to one person, we would have to name Mikhail Gorbachev.... However, the script was written in Washington ”⁵³.

It is no coincidence that there is currently a lot of evidence that Americans (or rather, specialists from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)) were directly involved in the preparation of the text of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993…

• 1.    “USAID-funded executors helped develop the Russian Constitution, Part I of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Russian Tax Code”⁵⁴.

• 2.    “The basic code of laws of Russia was created in 1993 at a difficult time for the country. It is founded on the constitutions of other Western countries, which is the norm for new, developing countries. The consultants were foreign experts and companies”⁵⁵.

• 3.    “In the volumes of the official transcripts of the working group on writing the Constitution, there is not a single mention of Americans and their participation in writing it.… However, there is a large section on the foundation’s website: “USAID in Russia”. We are now talking about “past achievements”. So there we quite openly read: “The USAID-funded Rule of Law implementers helped draft the Russian Constitution, Part I of the Russian Civil Code, and the Russian Tax Code”. “USAID funded the observance of legality in the work of the executors involved in the drafting of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Part I of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the Tax Code of the Russian Federation”⁵⁶.

Article 13 of the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation stated that “in the Russian Federation ideological diversity shall be recognized. No ideology may be established as state or obligatory one”. However, according to experts, the allegations about the absence of an official state ideology in the country have always been and are “crafty”, since ideology is “an indispensable attribute of the existence of the state as a form of life of a political nation”. Therefore, the constitutional ban on state ideology, established in Russia in 1993 (no matter how correct and convincing the motives were), in fact meant “a ban on the revision of the ideological postulates of liberalism” or, in other words, the consolidation of the ideology of liberalism in latent form in the Basic Law of the country.54555657

• I .V. Radikov (Doctor of Sciences (Politics), Professor, St. Petersburg State University): “... the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 13), consolidated the course toward de-ideologization: it proclaims that no ideology can be established as state or mandatory... At the same time, the presence of ideology as a system of socially significant ideas and values, both in official and latent formalization, is an indispensable attribute of the existence of the state as a form of life of a political nation; therefore, statements about the absence of a state ideology have always been and still are very crafty…

Obsessed with the idea of rapidly entering the Western world, the authors of the Russian Constitution, by including in it a ban on the establishment of a generally binding and state ideology as a political and philosophical doctrine, actually allowed the values of liberal ideology to be introduced into the structure of the Constitution as generally binding, ignoring other ideological guidelines... As a result, the “new”, “hidden” ideology becomes a real, state ideology without being called official ”⁵⁷.

Moreover, we should emphasize that this “latent” ideology of liberalism was adopted by the elites (political, economic, cultural), but was never accepted by the broad strata of Russian society. ⁵⁸

“The latent ideology adopted by the reformist “elite”, which ignores Russian traditional values and morals and is based on the recognition of the idea of consumerism and money as the leading values in the lives of people, measures and things of an individual, the understanding of benefit as the only driving force of social development , has spread rapidly among the vast majority of officials and entrepreneurs. It was received with approval by a significant part of show business… In fact, the constitutional ban on state ideology means a ban on revising the ideological tenets of liberalism” ⁵⁸.

This is evidenced, for example, by the significantly more convincing support by Russian voters for patriotic and state-oriented amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 2020, compared with the results of the all-Russian referendum in 1993: on December 12, 1993, 32 million voters voted for the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and on July 1, 2020, 57 million voted for its amendment ( Tab. 1 ).

In addition, the fact that liberal ideology, by and large, has never met the needs of the population and has never become part of the Russian “cultural code” is evidenced by the fact that throughout virtually the entire post-Soviet period in Russia, attempts were repeatedly made to formulate the foundations of state ideology, and not only by experts and public figures ⁵⁹ , but also by representatives of the public administration system ⁶⁰ .

Table 1. Main results of the all-Russian referendums on the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on December 12, 1993 and amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation on July 1, 2020

Indicator	% of voters			In absolute terms (people)
	December 12, 1993	July 1, 2020	Dynamics (+/-)	December 12, 1993	July 1, 2020	Dynamics (+/-)
For	58.43	77.92	+19.49	32937630	57747288	+24809658
Against	41.57	21.27	-20.30	23431333	15761978	-7669355
Turnout	54.80	67.97	+13.17	58187755	74215555	+16027800
Total number of voters	100	102.84	+2.84	106170835	109190337	+3019502

Source: database of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

Nevertheless, all the proposed projects of ideology, in fact, remained and remain nothing more than projects: discussed, criticized, supported, but having neither legal force nor the possibility of a large-scale impact on the life of society . Therefore, the “latent” (as I.V. Radikov calls it) ideology of liberalism for more than three decades since the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 continued to be the only ideology in Russia in the 1990s and in the 21st century.

And what was its essence? What was the basis of this instrument of “soft power” introduced by the Americans into the Russian Constitution with the aim of imperceptibly and covertly “enslaving” Russian society?

By and large, it was based on the scrapping of the system of moral principles of the “Soviet person” and their transformation into a “Service person; in fact, a consumer deprived of any identity, self-awareness, passionate energy, and instead completely dependent on comfort and digital technologies created (and therefore, controlled) by global elites and multinational corporations.

As Vladimir Putin noted later (on November 7, 2024) during his speech at the Valdai Forum in Sochi, “it was a hidden, veiled intervention against our country” ⁶¹ . And, unfortunately, it must be admitted that this “intervention” turned out to be very successful… ⁶²

The results of sociological research show exactly what changes took place in society during the period when it was (and continues to be) under the influence of the “latent” liberal ideology of the “consumer society”. For example, the data from

M.V. Kovalchuk: “The dream of the elites who rule the world has always been to bring out a certain subspecies of “service” people who would have limited self-awareness… Today, for the first time in the history of civilization, the technological possibility of breeding a “service” person has appeared…

What is needed for this? To do this, first it is necessary to fool you: simplify your system to the Unified State Exam of education so that you answer the tests ..., fool you to the maximum, then give you iPhones and provide satellite connection. And what then? That’s it! Any thing is the application of cognitive technologies for mass consciousness management. You can counteract this in a very simple way – a switch. Turn it off and nothing works ... it is, in fact, like fascism, but you and I must understand that this is the ideology of the modern world, of our dear colleagues and partners.

The most important thing is to break down the system of basic moral principles and introduce alternative norms of morality to universal human values. This is happening everywhere… You’ve broken the basic system and the person has already been removed… And then you do whatever you want with this… In fact, the technological basis for creating “service” people and ensuring their livelihoods is convergent technologies”⁶².

one of the most long-term monitoring conducted by Vologda Research Center: “The monitoring of labor potential quality” ⁶³ .

The methodology of this study ⁶⁴ helps, when analyzing “qualitative characteristics of labor resources” ⁶⁵ , to pay attention to a wide range of human properties and characteristics and to interpret the results obtained from the broadest positions: a person “ as a subject of public relations” and only “in particular , social and labor relations”.

The results of the monitoring show that over the period from the mid-1990s to the present:

despite a significant increase in the level of trust in all state and public institutions ( Tab. 2 ); ⁶⁶

“The methodology integrates qualitative components of labor potential that characterize the energy capabilities of an employee ( health, intelligence ) and socio-communicative properties ( cultural and moral level, entrepreneurial and communicative abilities ) that distinguish a person as a subject of social, in particular socio-labor, relations ”⁶⁶.

Table 2. Dynamics of the level of trust in state and public institutions, %

Institution 1996–1999* 2018–2024 Dynamics (+/-), p.p. Institution 1996–1999* 2018–2024 Dynamics (+/-), p.p. President 26.5 55.1 +29 Court 19.8 43.0 +23 Prosecutor’s office 18.2 46.1 +28 Region’s administration 14.2 37.7 +24 RF Government 18.5 45.1 +27 RF State Duma 14.8 32.4 +18 Police 14.1 44.4 +30 Mass media 15.4 30.9 +16 Army 34.2 43.3 +9 Political parties 6.8 23.0 +16 *The data for 1996 are presented. The survey was conducted in 1996 and annually since 2000. Source: VolRC RAS data. Ranked according to the average annual data for 2018–2024. despite the fact that, according to selfassessments, the proportion of people who classify themselves as “poor and extremely poor” has significantly decreased, and their level of material security, on the contrary, has noticeably improved (Tab. 3);

and despite the fact that there have been radical positive changes in the dynamics of social mood (psychological well-being) during this period ( Figure )…

...there are mainly negative trends in the dynamics of self-assessments reflecting people’s attitudes toward Creativity, Knowledge, and moral norms and principles. Moreover, this applies not only to people’s attitudes toward Creativity, Knowledge, and moral norms, but also to specific forms of behavior and actions that they perform in real everyday life.

Inserts 3–5 provide detailed empirical evidence to prove this thesis. Here, for example, we will cite only some, most convincing, monitoring results,

Table 3. Dynamics of self-assessments of living standards, %

Indicator of self-assessment of living standards	1996–1999	2018–2024	Dynamics (+/-), p.p.
Proportion of people subjectively classifying themselves as …
“Poor and extremely poor”	64.0	45.3	-19
“Rich and middle-income people”	27.6	43.5	+16
Manufactured goods that the “poor and extremely poor” people have (self-assessment)
TV-set	36.0	56.8	+21
Vacuum cleaner	36.6	48.9	+12
Furniture	35.8	48.4	+13
Motor vehicle	8.2	21.7	+14
Source: VolRC RAS data.

1996-1999

2018-2024

—^ Normal condition, good mood

• ■ I feel tension, irritation, fear, sadness

Dynamics of social mood, % of respondents

Source: VolRC RAS data.

reflecting typical trends in public opinion on average presidential term) to 2018–2024 (Vladimir Putin’s for the period from 1996 to 1999 (Boris Yeltsin’s last fourth presidential term) ⁶⁷ :

Block 1. Dynamics of self-assessments reflecting people’s attitude toward Knowledge and Education (Insert 3)

/ proportion of people who believe that it is important to «have a good education» decreased by 22 percentage points (from 86 to 64%);

^ proportion of people who agree that «one should make full use of one’s learning abilities» decreased by 20 percentage points (from 87 to 67%);

^ proportion of people who believe that «knowledge beautifies a person’s life and makes them happier» decreased by 10 percentage points (from 77 to 67%);

^ proportion of people who are interested in or read anything about the problems of «family, relations between a man and a woman» decreased by 15 percentage points (from 75 to 60%);

^ proportion of those who are interested in the topic of «parenting and education of children» decreased by 13 percentage points (from 72 to 59%);

^ proportion of people who are interested in the topic of «morality, morals, rules of human behavior in society decreased by 12 percentage points – (from 68 to 56%); proportion of people who are interested in «the life of society, the state; history» also decreased by 12 percentage points (from 75 to 63%).

Block 2. Dynamics of self-assessments reflecting people’s attitude toward Creativity (Insert 4)

• ^    proportion of people who believe that the process of creating new things brings joy in everyday life decreased by 25 percentage points (from 63 to 38%);

• ^    proportion of people who believe that «creative abilities should be fully realized» decreased by 18 percentage points (from 81 to 63%);

• ^    proportion of those who believe that «creativity beautifies human life» decreased by 12 percentage points (from 75 to 63%);

• ^    proportion of people who are positive about being the author of creative work decreased by 14 percentage points (from 64 to 50%);

• ^    proportion of people who engage in creative activities in everyday life decreased by 6 percentage points (from 58 to 52%);

• ^    proportion of people who believe that a creative person is distrusted by others has increased by 6 percentage points (from 14 to 20%).

Block 3. Dynamics of self-assessments reflecting people’s attitude toward the norms of morality (Insert 5)

• ^ importance of such qualities as “mutual assistance and mutual aid” decreased by 8 percentage points (from 86 to 78%), as well as “kind-heartedness toward others” (from 84 to 76%);

^ proportion of people for whom «decency» is important decreased by 6 percentage points (from 91 to 85%);

^ proportion of people who value «self-esteem» decreased by 5 percentage points (from 89 to 84%), «respect for other people’s views» (from 83 to 78%), «respect for the team» (from 84 to 79%), «performance of official duties» (from 84 up to 79%).

^ proportion of people experiencing remorse in the case they “break a promise” (from 74 to 58%) or “hurt someone” (from 82 to 66%) decreased by 16 percentage points;

^ by 14 percentage points — in case they show «insufficient attention to parents» (from 61 to 47%);

^ by 12 percentage points — in case they commit an «unfair act» (from 73 to 61%).

Insert 3

-о =   c ® c a g, “ § a "O co с СЛ _Q о о о В = c о .5 а о S о ° 0=0“ о га >. с -° >. и о о ; Е га ~ ® " о °§ » g -о : о га 0^ = ₽ о £ “ ® Й^£ с о =g £ ^ “-£ S о g 2 S’ о Q. 2 ф ф о о з о. ф с   о CL ф со Ф 3 О) ф о. ^-- ?- о 09 С ф О ё - ^ о> g а 05 3

ф &

g 3 £Е

ОО

СО оз см

из 00

оо ом

оо

2

со +

03 см +

2

ом а со

ф К>1   — ф ф  ф ° тз    -° s I   8 03 ф    Й ф _   с £ Ъ  ° ел 2   К Й ^   ° £ та х -а    § аз _     ел ° \ _ = "    03 то аз Ф ф     4—< ел О)    “ та та СЛ ~ Ф ^   О § >, о С Е   В “ _ ф с 3     с Я Ё сл 9 с оз .2 о i° 1 ел' ”    ° ■ф -С    Ф р “ Sc   га та ф    2 СЛ Е .03 _ ф '  °- ё Е 8 га ~ ^ ф "ел ““ сл та сл ф -о >> В = о — СЛ О 4-. ~ —. -С  Ф к   '—-'• и С 03 „ „ ф С Ф оз - . ф ф    аз ф 1—     Ф -Q 1— О и_ Ф з Н Ф

я ^

о

о

СО со 03

оо

00 со СО

СО СО

из

5

03 со 00

со

оз

ом

СО со

03

03

оо

2

ом

5?

« 3 £Е

О

2

ом см

ОО

°?

оо ом

СО +

см +

со +

ом а со

я ^

со со

со

2

из

из из

со 00

со

со ом

ом

ел аз та ел .и та ° езз аз аз > *= й Е 10 = Ui ^ 1 < о 1—

03

со со

СО со

Ср

00 из

°?

Ср 5

°? см

ом ом

со

03 Е 03 СО

03 5° ел 03 ф ел 03 и ф 03 03 ■о с ^ 5 Е

ф с ф о "та ф 03 — ф

та о о о ОЗ та ф та с ■^ о ° ф ф ф п ° ^ о ±± с

S О О О ■о □) 12 ф О "ф 5 о - о ф > ф ° S = ел >> ° Е 4-, О) ф .Е то С? о Ф ~ 8 “ | — о -о ^ ТО ф

ф Е Е о о ел ф ф ОЗ со

в 'оз ел ф □ ф °.! О ф' О СП СП те Ф О 05 V S га га О ф О >- ел О.

СП ф “ 8 п ^ S 8 ел С Ф "оз S? "оз Е ъ Н s s О’ -о .Е ^ ф Е В “ S с ° _1 о Е

_с ел СП ф ел ф ф Ф ел О о Е £ Ё 05 .Е Е £ Ф -с та £ “ 5

£ Ё 5 Н 9 "та ел о >1 О- ф я еЕ и СО ^ О о ^ В ел -.ЕЕ ■° "та ° с “ Ф ел О о >> о ел та ха Ф     та О .2 Ё

> ф ■° СП "ф 'ф "ел -° □ ел ф Й ел ^ ТЗ ф ел 'аз С Ф О CL ф — О- ф то СО 03 "ф "о ф -С ф "О СЛ U 5 о“

The average annual data for the last presidential term of Boris Yeltsin (1996–1999) and the fourth presidential term of Vladimir Putin (2018–2024) are presented. Ranked in descending order according to the data for 2018–2024; 1,500 people of working age are interviewed in each round of the of monitoring.

Insert 4

The average annual data for the last presidential term of Boris Yeltsin (1996–1999) and the fourth presidential term of Vladimir Putin (2018–2024) are presented. Ranked in descending order according to the data for 2018–2024; 1,500 people of working age are interviewed in each round of the of monitoring.

Insert 5

The average annual data for the last presidential term of Boris Yeltsin (1996–1999) and the fourth presidential term of Vladimir Putin (2018–2024) are presented. Ranked in descending order according to the data for 2018–2024; 1,500 people of working age are interviewed in each round of the of monitoring.

The presented empirical data clearly demonstrate the negative trends that have developed and continue to develop in Russian society under the conditions of the “latent” liberal ideology of the “consumer society”: it can be said that since the mid-1990s, the process of intellectual, creative and moral decline has been going on at the systemic level.

And this process, stretched over time, went almost unnoticed, since it did not actually affect people’s self-assessment of their external condition; how they look, communicate in a team, express their thoughts, organize recreation, etc. Thus, with the identified negative trends in the dynamics of intellectual, creative and moral level, during the period under review there has been an increase in the proportion of those who are characterized by the ability to:

^ “speak well, express one’s thoughts beautifully” (by 19 percentage points, from 33 to

52%);

^ “look good” (by 15 percentage points, from 44 to 59%);

^ “engage in a conversation” (by 13 percentage points, from 50% to 63%);

^ “express one’s thoughts competently on paper” (by 13 percentage points, from 41 to 54%);

^ “organize one’s leisure time” (by 10 percentage points, from 49 to 59%), etc. ( Tab. 4 ).

Table 4. Proportion of those who possess certain positive qualities of existence and interaction in society, % of respondents

Characteristics of human interaction in society	%			People
	1996–1999	2018–2024	Dynamics	1996–1999	2018–2024	Dynamics
Politeness, courtesy, good manners, knowledge of etiquette (how to behave at a table, at a party, in a theater, at a banquet, etc.)	55,1	69,3	+14	827	1040	+213
Friendliness	72,3	68,9	-3	1085	1034	-51
Ability to do your job well	64,5	66,1	+2	968	992	+24
Ability to keep up a conversation in any company	49,9	63,3	+13	749	950	+201
Aability to listen to the interlocutor, to understand the meaning of his/her statements	62,8	61,7	-1	942	926	-17
Ability to behave oneself in society, company	48,2	61,4	+13	723	921	+198
Tact, ability not to hurt other people’s self-esteem	60,4	61,4	+1	906	921	+15
Ability to organize one’s own leisure time, rest	49,2	59,4	+10	738	891	+153
Ability to always look good	43,5	58,7	+15	653	881	+228
Ability to maintain one’s own health	36,9	58,2	+21	554	873	+320
Ability to compromise with other people, to give in	44,3	58,0	+14	665	870	+206
Ability to dress with taste	41,9	57,8	+16	629	867	+239
Ability to restrain oneself in any critical situation, “not to lose face”	42,8	57,1	+14	642	857	+215
Ability to express your thoughts competently and well on paper	41,2	54,7	+13	618	821	+203
Ability to convince others that you are right	44,4	53,6	+9	666	804	+138
Extensive knowledge, erudition	31,5	53,1	+22	473	797	+324
The ability to speak well, express your thoughts beautifully	32,8	51,9	+19	492	779	+287
TOTAL: Total number of negative changes / no changes / positive changes			2 / 0 / 15			2 / 0 / 15
The average annual data for the last presidential term of Boris Yeltsin (1996–1999) and the fourth presidential term of Vladimir Putin (2018–2024) are presented. Ranked in descending order according to the data for 2018–2024; 1,500 people of working age are interviewed in each round of the of monitoring. The question was asked in tabular form. Wording of the question: «Not all people have the same qualities, it is natural and normal. The various qualities of a person are listed below. Which of them are characteristic of you and to what extent?» The respondents were asked to give a self-assessment of the manifestation of each of the 17 listed qualities (either “Little, not enough”, or “Generally enough”, or “Sufficiently”, or “Fully”). The table shows the combined options: “Sufficiently”, “Fully”.

We should note that the results of the study conducted on the territory of the Vologda Region reflect the picture typical for many regions of Russia. For example, experts from the Institute of Sociology – Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IS FCTAS RAS) based on sociological research conducted in 2003–2020 in Moscow, Pskov, Omsk, Smolensk, Saratov, Bryansk, Kirov, Vladimir, came to the conclusion that there is an “ emerging tendency to blur ideas about qualities-virtues and moral qualities ”, which “ may lead society in the opposite direction from traditional spiritual and moral values ”. ⁶⁸

Thus, the negative trends in the dynamics of people’s attitudes toward knowledge, creativity, education, and a decrease in the importance of moral standards identified in the Vologda Region are quite typical and in themselves pose a threat to national security, since “ the ability of the state to

“The level of the spiritual and intellectual potential of the people, the level of their spiritual forces and the ability to solve strategic tasks of state building directly depends on how much the cultural basis of their development and cultural continuity is preserved. The ability of the state to maintain continuity in state building directly depends on this ”⁶⁸.

maintain continuity in state-building ” largely depends on this .

And it is quite natural that such trends in society as a whole could not contribute to the “recovery” of its elite part. Rather, on the contrary, they consolidated in it the key tenets of liberal ideology – “ the ideas of consumerism and money as the leading values in life... the understanding of profit as the only driving force of social development ” ⁶⁹ . ⁷⁰

“…In general, the direction of the dynamics indicates an emerging tendency to blur ideas about virtue qualities and negative moral qualities , as a norm and a departure from it. This negative trend requires attention. It seems that with the further weakening of religious feeling, such a dynamic of moral meanings can lead society in the opposite direction from traditional spiritual and moral values…

The results of the analysis show that the semantic guidelines bear the stamp of a somewhat distorted understanding of the main moral meanings of human life, the spread of which has not been suspended ... there is a sharply negative trend – “... literally a collapse of the qualities traditionally inherent, and perhaps (judging by these data) attributed to Russians – benevolence, cordiality, sincerity, selflessness . The weakening of such qualities was noted by 59–61% of respondents. At the same time, according to the overwhelming number of respondents, there was an increase in aggression and an increase in cynicism . Although it should be noted that there is a slowdown in such trends in the mass consciousness” ⁷⁰ .

Excerpt from Vladimir Putin’s speech on February 9, 2012 at the congress of the Union of Russian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs:

“…what happened in the 1990s. We’ve talked a lot about this, when business was often reduced to a simple division of the state pie... of course, we need to turn this page, too... we need to end this period ... so that society really accepts these options for closing the problems of the 1990s: unfair, frankly speaking, privatization, all kinds of auctions....I think that society as a whole and the entrepreneurial class are primarily interested in this. This topic should be closed ”⁷¹.

Excerpt from Vladimir Putin’s speech on June 20, 2025 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum:

“During the privatization [in the 1990s], of course, a lot of injustice was committed. For one ruble, something worth maybe millions was privatized. All this is understandable. And from the point of view of social justice, these were far from the best decisions... Therefore, in my opinion, it is necessary to finally develop a regulatory framework for the limitation periods of all events of this kind and close this topic once and for all ”⁷².

In conclusion, we should note that the President of the Russian Federation has repeatedly drawn attention to the influence of liberal ideology on the economic foundations of the state, “when business was reduced to a simple division of the state pie”, and that it is necessary to close this issue “once and for all”.

He first identified this problem on February 9, 2012 at the congress of the Union of Russian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and raised it again on June 20, 2025 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. But the question remains: 13 years have passed and it is still unclear when real steps will be taken in this direction. ⁷¹⁷²

Returning to the headline of the article – “ The constitutional ban on state ideology means a ban on revising the ideological tenets of liberalism ” – we would like to emphasize that now experts are raising the question “What kind of state are we building?” in forums and in the media more and more often.

External conditions, especially after three and a half years of the special military operation, require Russia (as the Hero of Labor writer A. Prokhanov writes) to “ mobilize, put an end to flabbiness, laxity, fearfulness, timidity”. And for this, according to political scientist S. Karaganov, “ we need to have our own new humane state ideology ..., which should be promoted at all levels, starting from school ” ⁷³ . ⁷⁴

“ If what we encounter in life is in stark contrast to the ideological model, the best theoretical endeavors

A. Prokhanov: “... And again, for the umpteenth time, events ... confirm the need for modern Russia to mobilize, to put an end to flabbiness, laxity, fearfulness, timidity. A demobilized Russia is a tasty morsel for hostile intelligence services… ”⁷⁴

will be criticized and perceived negatively . In recent years, the state has done a lot for people, despite its efforts, but the most sensitive issue of social justice has not been resolved and it is not clear how it will be resolved... If we are trying to formulate an ideology, then the mechanism of its execution must be truly spelled out. Procrastination is fraught with the most unpredictable consequences” ⁷⁵ .