On November 1, 2017, the plenary session of the XXI World Russian People's Council was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Representatives of all branches of government, leaders of parties, public associations, representatives of law enforcement agencies, the highest clergy of traditional religions, scientists, educators and cultural figures, delegates of Russian communities from near and far abroad took part in the work of the VRNS.

This year, the topic “Russia in the 21st century: historical experience and development prospects” has been placed on the agenda of the Council. Analyzing the experience of the state and the people over the past 100 years since the October Revolution, the speakers drew disturbing parallels with the present. At the same time, many pointed to the obvious fragility of that “stable development” that officials from high tribunes are enthusiastically declaring today.

At the beginning of the 20th century in Russian Empire stable economic growth was also noted, but the ensuing First World War, geopolitical provocations, active revolutionary propaganda within the country, decay in the ranks of the intelligentsia and the state elite, the rapid disunity of society - all this soon led the state to the catastrophe of 1917.

Echoes and consequences of the October coup, further civil slaughter, brutal repression and spiritual and cultural deformation, Russia is still experiencing. The population, like a century ago, is disunited: people, government, elite, business, culture - often the vectors of their existence are multidirectional.

"New Dialogue of Nations"

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia also spoke about the danger of the observed trend, when the "elite" begins to actively distance itself from the people.

“I think the image of the future is the image of the people and the image of the elite that have reached complementarity. The elite are not those who have risen above the people, the real elite are those who have assumed responsibility for the fate of the country, who identify personal interests with national and state interests,” the patriarch noted.

At the same time, the main conflict of the 21st century, in his opinion, is not at all in the clash of states, cultures, religions and nations, but in the trend of a global change in consciousness, aggressive dehumanization.

“In my opinion, the most acute conflict of our time is the “clash of civilizations”, not declared by the American philosopher Samuel Huntington, not the struggle between religious and national cultures among themselves, as they often want to imagine powers of the world this, and not even the confrontation between East and West, North and South, but the collision of a transnational, radical, secular globalist project with all traditional cultures and with all local civilizations,” Patriarch Kirill said.

According to him, the true alternative to this process is "not a war of all against all, but a new dialogue of peoples."

“This is a dialogue aimed at restoring value unity, within which each of the civilizations, including ours, Russian, could exist while maintaining its identity. Only within the framework of such a dialogue will we be able to find answers to questions about how to defeat terrorism, how to protect the traditional family and the right of unborn babies to life, how to ensure migration balance, defeat hunger and epidemics, how to respect each other's beliefs, understanding that freedom there must be moral restrictions,” the Patriarch concluded.

The topic of public unity was also supported by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. In his speech, he urged "to draw conclusions from the past in order to move forward more confidently and effectively solve the problems of the country's development."

V. Volodin expressed confidence that, since the structure and features of Russia were formed as a result of thousand years of history coexistence of hundreds of peoples with different cultures and religions, it is extremely important for the country "is sustainable and evolutionary development based on dialogue and mutual understanding."

National Question and Intercultural Dialogue

During the meeting of the ARNS, much attention was paid to the development of interethnic and interfaith interaction and the prevention of conflicts on this basis. As emphasized in his speech federal agency for Nationalities Affairs Igor Barinov, speculations in matters of national politics are unacceptable, since "national politics in our country is an extremely sensitive area, affecting the most personal and intimate that is in each of us."

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin spoke on Wednesday at the opening of the XXI World Russian People's Council (VRNS) and identified the basic values ​​that ensure the "inviolability" of the Russian state. Mr. Volodin also called the romanticization of revolutions and the glorification of those who carry them out unacceptable. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill supported the criticism of the revolutionary path. He expressed the hope that Russia “will not stumble and fall into the abyss”, as it did a century ago, but will remain an “island of stability” away from the “dehumanization” and “hypertrophied individualization” that societies that rely on technological progress are subject to.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev sent congratulations to the ARNS delegates who gathered at the conference center of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. At the opening of the cathedral, the secular authorities were represented by the speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin. “We must learn to value and protect the existing way of life and understand how this way of life expresses our basic values: family, faith, solidarity, Motherland and, of course, justice,” he said. According to the speaker, the lack of justice "may cause a split in society, create ground for the activities of revolutionary outcasts and, ultimately, destroy the seemingly unshakable foundations of statehood."

Viacheslav Volodin emphasized the need for social consolidation based on mutual respect and the preservation of traditions, as well as the danger of a revolutionary path: “Today, only those who appreciate, know how to accumulate and preserve what has been achieved move forward.” Despite the public controversy that unfolded in connection with the centenary of the 1917 revolution, some of the lessons of history “are obvious to everyone,” the speaker of the State Duma believes: “Revolutions are, first of all, a violent seizure of power. It is unacceptable to romanticize revolutions and glorify people who overthrow legitimate governments and doom their peoples to suffering.” He urged that when adopting laws, take into account the opinion of “people with different cultural traditions and religions”, maintain a dialogue with the expert community, civil society institutions and confessions, and also noted the importance of political compromise, consolidation of society and freedom of self-realization of each person.

XXI World Russian people's cathedral, which opened in Moscow on Wednesday, November 1, is dedicated to the topic "Russia in the 21st century: historical experience and development prospects." The VRNS was founded in 1993, the head of the VRNS is the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Since 2005, the cathedral has been granted special consultative status with the UN. Representatives of higher authorities, leaders of parties, public associations, representatives of law enforcement agencies, the highest clergy of traditional religions, scientists, education and culture, delegates of Russian communities from near and far abroad traditionally take part in the work of the cathedral.

The limits of forward movement and human self-realization were outlined by Patriarch Kirill: in his opinion, blind faith in the limitless possibilities of technology is a quasi-religion and can lead to the destruction of society. "Voices are heard modern technologies able to create artificial intelligence and artificial organs that will soon be able to modernize our mind and body so that new creatures will arise. Faith in technology today is the same as faith in progress, it is a kind of quasi-religion, - said the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. - The source of improvement is inside a person, not outside. All this leads to dehumanization, hypertrophied individualization, and hence to the destruction of society and the end of history.”

The Patriarch expressed concern about the development of medical and genetic technologies against the background of social inequality: “Futurologists already predict the imminent stratification of humanity into two races. One predicts the greatness of superhumans, and the other - the fate of subordinates.

Such a prospect contradicts the Christian view of man, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church noted: “It is necessary that advanced biotechnologies first of all serve not those who are ready to pay, but those who risk leaving the world too soon.”

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church believes that Russian society per last years became more consolidated and acquired "immunity against all kinds of political radicalism." “Despite the fact that the number of conflicts, wars and revolutions in the world is growing rapidly, Russia has the strength to remain an island of stability in this dangerous stream, to follow its own historical path,” he argues. “In our society there is no tragic civil split that divided the people in half. On the contrary, today we are once again learning to rejoice in national unity and reconciliation.” The patriarch expressed confidence that "the country and society will not stumble and fall into the historical abyss, as happened at the beginning of 1917."

MOSCOW, 1 November. /TASS/. The meeting of the XXI World Russian People's Council (VRNS) was held on Wednesday in Moscow. Participants - religious leaders, leaders of political parties, government officials, public figures and creative intelligentsia - discussed the key topic of the meeting: "Russia in the 21st century: historical experience and development prospects."

As Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia noted, the society, having gone through the splits and conflicts of the past century, is beginning to realize the value of national reconciliation and unity. "This unification and reconciliation gives us confidence that the country and society will not stumble and fall into a historical abyss, as happened at the beginning of 1917," he said.

According to the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, revolutionary events begin from the moment when the ruling elites cannot adequately respond to current challenges and tasks. The patriarch stressed that "the elites and the people must be inseparable, one whole."

The topic of public unity was also supported by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. In his speech, he urged "to draw conclusions from the past in order to move forward more confidently and effectively solve the problems of the country's development."

Volodin expressed confidence that, since the structure and characteristics of Russia were formed as a result of the thousand-year history of the coexistence of hundreds of peoples with different cultures and religions, it is extremely important for the country "is sustainable and evolutionary development based on dialogue and mutual understanding."

The future of the country belongs to educated people

The participants of the VRNS could not but touch upon the issues and problems facing the Russian education system. Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, head of Rosobrnadzor Sergey Kravtsov expressed the opinion that Russian universities need a mandatory examination teaching aids and suggested paying more attention to the moral education of students.

"Obviously, it is necessary to deal with this issue, based on the values ​​that unite multinational peoples Russia, based on historical development our country, family values. I want to emphasize that moral education students, youth is an extremely important task for sustainable and effective development our country," he said.

In turn, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia noted that the development of our own scientific and teaching schools, taking into account global trends, will help preserve the country's independence in the 21st century and called for "restoring and developing our own scientific and pedagogical schools, promoting our methodological developments."

“This will cause resistance from the supporters of global education standards, but there is no need to be afraid of this, because at the same time it will attract a lively international interest. Russian education can become a model, just like Russian science or Russian literature," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church added.

"Reliance on one's own cultural developments and on one's own way of thinking, taking into account global trends and achievements in science and technology, will help preserve sovereignty in the 21st century," he stressed.

National Question and Intercultural Dialogue

During the meeting of the World Russian People's Council, much attention was paid to the development of interethnic and interfaith cooperation and the prevention of conflicts on this basis. As the head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, Igor Barinov, emphasized in his speech, speculations in matters of national policy are unacceptable, since "national policy in our country is an extremely sensitive sphere, affecting the most personal and intimate that is in each of us."

He added that the unifying force for the inhabitants of the country today is the concept of a common Russian identity. "A feature is a multi-level identity - national, religious, cultural. But in strengthening peace and harmony, the all-Russian identity is still leading, allowing a person throughout the vast territory from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok and from Chechnya to Chukotka to feel like a citizen of Russia," Barinov emphasized. .

Unified moral system of values

“When I listened to speeches today, I realized that with all the difference of views, we are all like-minded, because we start from the same single moral system of values. Now, if, God forbid, we cease to have this common moral basis, if we have different value systems, then the people will lose their unity and the country will not be held by any laws and no force," Patriarch Kirill said, finishing the session of the XXI World Russian People's Council.

According to the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the main significance of the Russian People's Council lies in the fact that, with all the diversity of views, approaches, points of view, we can clearly demonstrate that our people are united in the deep foundations of our being."