Whither, then, are you speeding, O Russia of mine? Myths in culture and politics

Abstract

The article attempts to define the role of a myth and mythical thinking in the society. It shows a relationship between a socio-political myth and ideology, politics, and historical remembrance. Based on the myth about the progress, the article discusses an issue of choice faced by Russia of the 20th c., namely national development or European advancement? It describes interpretations of economic, socio-political and cultural aspects of Russia’s backwardness, as presented by representatives of various trends of Russian thought of the 19th c. It lists examples of a paradoxical agreement among conservatists and revolutionaries that a move “forward and up” is not always progressive, whereas the development should always be “national”. Therefore, Russia should not copy all forms of development that have taken place in European countries – from lower to higher. It argues that there is a possible historical explanation of the myth of progress. Namely, attempts to explain diversity and originality of national variations of development (“Whither, then, are you speeding, O Russia of mine?”) have proved historical differences of the Russian path, as an independent Russian-Orthodox civilisation, towards a better understanding of the “vicious circle” of the modern civilisation: “We are poor because we’re stupid, and we’re stupid because we’re poor.”