The Question of Traditional Russian Values in the Perspective of Ontological Hermeneutics

Abstract

The National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, adopted in 2021, underscores the critical importance of safeguarding traditional Russian values. While a detailed enumeration of these values was provided in Presidential Decree No. 809 in 2022, a comprehensive academic and philosophical understanding of the concept of traditional values remains underdeveloped. This article argues that the notion of traditional values is not inherently contradictory; rather, the evolution of the theory of value within neo-Kantian epistemology enables an exploration of non-modern traditions through a methodology of value attribution. This epistemological framework posits that values are rooted at the subjective level. In response, the article proposes an interpretation of traditional Russian values informed by Heidegger’s appeal to themes of world and being. However, it diverges from Heidegger’s focus on death, instead emphasizing the value of life through the turn to phenomenology of the past, memory, and the recollection of birth. This shift facilitates a conceptualization of Russia as a constellation of historical and spatial perspectives, which, drawing on Leibniz’s ontology, are understood not merely as subjective but as real perspectives that constitute a shared reality. Within this framework, the empirically observed dimension of traditional values among Russians can be enriched by the common political level conceived through the principle of patriotic consensus. This stands in contrast to the overlapping consensus model, which tends to be indifferent to common values. The article highlights the relevance of engaging with history of Russian philosophy to address the mediation between intra-religious and common dimensions of traditional values.