The National Idea of Russia

Valery Alexandrovich Tishkov (born 1941) is an outstanding scholar-historian and ethnologist, an Honored Figure of Science of the Russian Federation, a two-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science, scientific director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology named after N. N. Miklukho-Maklay of the RAS, author of numerous academic works, and the most-cited Russian scholar of the humanities in Russia and the world. There are long-standing questions that concern many people—and for which scholars and politicians seek answers. What is a nation, how is it created, and what role does it play in the lives of people and in states? What is Russia as a country and as a people: is it a nation-state or a civilization? Finally, who are we—Russians—and how do we imagine our country and the form we want it to have?

Issues of building national statehood and preserving the unique ethnocultural diversity of Russians determine our domestic and foreign policy. Civic solidarity, shared historical and cultural values, a sense of belonging to Russia as our homeland, and patriotism—these are the foundations that make our country and its people sovereign and influential in the modern world. The idea of Russia as a historical and socio-political community, formed as the result of shared lived dramas, victories, and outstanding cultural achievements, is justified in the book by academician Valery Tishkov in all its fullness and complexity.