Don’t hide our valuables in banks and corners

Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, proposed that one of the federal departments be assigned control over the policy pursued in Russia to preserve and strengthen traditional spiritual and moral values. The initiative was voiced during a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and Interaction with Religious Associations under the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. The participants of the event unanimously picked up the idea, agreeing that to resist “aggressive pressure, both additional resources and powers are required.” However, no one has named which department is able to cope with such a task.

On Friday, the Federation Council hosted a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and Interaction with Religious Associations, dedicated to “topical issues of preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values ​​in the new geopolitical situation.” Participants discussed, in particular, how to counter “destructive neoliberal attitudes” in this regard.

Recall that at the end of 2022, the President of Russia approved by his decree “The Fundamentals of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values.” It says that this is a “strategic planning document in the field of ensuring national security,” and the values ​​themselves are called “the basis of Russian society.”

The officials reported on the work carried out in their departments to implement the policy approved by the head of state. Thus, Deputy Minister of Culture Andrey Malyshev said that the Kultura.rf website publishes “materials on intangible heritage that are popular among young people, among other things.” “From September 1, the number of hours for teaching history in universities has doubled,” Deputy Head of the Ministry of Education and Science Olga Petrova reported. Moreover, already 6 thousand teachers, according to the official, have been trained in the “Fundamentals of Russian Statehood” – a new compulsory course at universities. And Andrey Korneev, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, added that in the new academic year, the position of “adviser on education” to the directors of educational institutions will appear everywhere.

Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, however, drew attention to the fact that in the departments “there is a spread and duplication of functions.” “In order to ensure the effective implementation of the state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional values, it is necessary to create organizational and legal mechanisms for interdepartmental coordination of activities to protect these values,” Mr. Kosachev said. “I propose assigning to one of the state bodies the authority to coordinate such activities.” He added that “opponents, no longer embarrassed, are pursuing a course of erasure, a ban on Russian cultural and historical heritage”: “In order to withstand such aggressive pressure, additional resources and powers are required for those structures that are engaged in this work.”

“An interdepartmental body that coordinates the policy being pursued is necessary, since the departments themselves cannot objectively evaluate their work,” supported the director of the Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage. Likhachev Vladimir Aristarkhov. Also, such a department, in the opinion of a public figure, will have to harmonize regulations on the topic. “Only 12% of federal documents correspond to the national security strategy, and in the rest we don’t have any values ​​- both democratic and humanistic, both basic and non-basic,” Mr. Aristarkhov complained.

Senator from Tatarstan Alexander Terentyev agreed with this: “Strategic documents have been developed for several years, but only questions are raised, and there is no center of responsibility. Therefore, there is no analysis of the problems and no conclusions are drawn.” The senator insisted on the need for finer regulation, especially in the information environment: “Prohibitions on various forms of information are increasing, but it is necessary to work with meanings. This is possible only with interdepartmental interaction and a separate body that controls all this.”

However, none of the speakers suggested which agency could take on the role of a locomotive in promoting “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values ​​in the new geopolitical environment.” The proposals made will be combined in the final document based on the results of the event and sent to legislators and representatives of the executive branch.

Meanwhile, Stanislav Bedkin, deputy head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, told the audience that the development of a new version of the strategy for the state national policy of the Russian Federation had already started. The focus will be on “strengthening unity and preserving traditional spiritual and moral values,” he assured.

Polina Yachmennikova