Sergey Karaganov: It's time to abandon the ban on state ideology in Russia

Russia will not survive without a unifying national idea, a dream idea, which should become a state ideology. But its development is hampered, including by the President of the Russian Federation, because of the ban in Constitution of the Russian Federation. Sergey Karaganov, a well-known Russian political scientist and economist, writes about this in the report "The Russian idea is a dream and the Code of the Russian citizen in the XXI century."

According to the author, one of the reasons for the lack of a national idea in Russia is "unpreparedness so far of the country's leader (and in A lot depends on him in Russia) to abandon the illusions of the past — the 1980s and 1990s, his belief that ideology is prohibited by Article 13 of the Constitution."

If so, the article can be edited, suggests Karaganov. Since the wording of the Basic Law is rather vague and allows, with appropriate work and implementation, to oblige at least those who want to enter the governing class to follow the Russian Code to move the country forward.

"The Constitution says: "No ideology can be established as state or compulsory." But this does not mean that there cannot be a SUPPORTED ideology. At least the government supported by the party. The party not only can, it MUST have its own ideology, otherwise it is not a party, but a club for personal interests. And further: "Public associations are equal before the law." Before the law — please. And before conscience?" — asks Karaganov.

He emphasizes that this idea is a dream, a kind of code "should not be mandatory for everyone, but mandatory for those who seek to join the cohort of leaders of the Russian state."

At the same time, Karaganov notes that the tools for promoting ideology are a separate topic that can be entrusted to motivated political strategists.

"But some urgently needed changes in state policy are quite obvious. Among them is a long—overdue question not only about the promotion of Russia's dream idea. The state should not continue to neglect the promotion and persistent proposal of such a dream idea, the Code of the Russian, constantly modified in public discussion, promoted from infancy, but mandatory only for those citizens who are ready to follow it and occupy leading positions in society and the state," insists Sergey Karaganov.

In this regard, he proposes to create in the framework of AP or SB or even outside their separate Worldview Policy Directorate under the leadership of a trusted presidential aide.

"Other organizational options are also possible, but the ideological agenda should become the core of state policy," the author points out. "It is also necessary to create a Human Institution — a Russian person who preserves and promotes the best in him. Who, together with the churches, answers the question: "For what?“ exploring man in all his guises. This Institute will be designed to unite the thinkers of the SCO, BRICS, the remaining morally healthy intellectuals of the West, ready to serve the preservation and revival of the human in Man."

The full report can be read at the link, it is available on several sites. Karaganov points out that the project itself was launched and continues to develop under the auspices of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy and the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Representatives of the academic community from various scientific branches, civil servants, military, masters of art and literature, as well as businessmen took part in the preparation.

According to the author, the report is the root text, on the basis of which other scientific and journalistic materials planned during the continuation of the project will be prepared in the future.