Traditional Values: Abstraction or Truth?

This article analyzes the concept of “traditional values” and their practical embodiment in contemporary social and political life. In Russia’s current political governance framework, active efforts are being made to develop various institutions aimed at implementing Presidential Decree No. 809 and at specifying the meanings of the notions of “traditional values” articulated in it. The author interprets the concept of traditional values through the ideas of Orthodox Christianity, arguing that other attempts to define values represent a departure from the context of Russia’s historical development and from Orthodox ethics as its foundation. The article identifies the idea of human dignity as the key concept of Orthodox ideological thought that should be reflected in the system of public administration. Through an analysis of Russian legislation, the study highlights tensions between liberal conceptions of life and the human person and the Orthodox understanding of human existence, expressed in the opposition between the notions of rights and dignity. Recognizing Orthodoxy as the value basis of Russia’s tradition and of its “society of the future” is thus interpreted as a genuine departure from the ideological framework of Western liberalism. The author concludes that the development of Russian society within the framework of traditional values is possible only through a shift away from the liberal concept of “rights” toward the Christian concept of “dignity”, which, as the foundation of human existence, should serve as the prism through which the entire system of public administration is viewed. The article further emphasizes that building a Russian society unified by a coherent system of traditional values, grounded in Orthodox thought, is the mission of the younger generation. However, the author argues that this mission can be realized only if the traditional Orthodox understanding of the human being as created in the image and likeness of God, embodied in the notion of human dignity, is accepted by this generation as the natural and sole foundation of social and state life. The current Russian educational system excludes the very concept of Truth, presenting all aspects of life as relative. Therefore, the reintroduction of Truth must be placed at the center of contemporary Russian education, serving as the principal guiding aim of current domestic policy decisions.

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