Contemporary Russian literature (literature of the late 20th century - early 21st century)
Direction,
its time frame
Content
(definition, his “identification marks”)
Representatives
1.Postmodernism
(early 1970s - early 21st century)
1. This is a philosophical and cultural movement, a special state of mind. It arose in France in the 1960s in an atmosphere of intellectual resistance to the total attack of mass culture on human consciousness. In Russia, when Marxism collapsed as an ideology providing a reasonable approach to life, rational explanation disappeared and an awareness of irrationality set in. Postmodernism focused attention on the phenomenon of fragmentation, splitness of the individual’s consciousness. Postmodernism does not give advice, but describes a state of consciousness. The art of postmodernism is ironic, sarcastic, grotesque (according to I.P. Ilyin)
2. According to the critic B.M. Paramonov, “postmodernism is the irony of a sophisticated person who does not deny the high, but has understood the need for the low”
His “identification marks”: 1. Rejection of any hierarchy. The boundaries between high and low, important and secondary, real and fictional, author and non-author have been erased. All stylistic and genre differences, all taboos, including profanity, have been removed. There is no respect for any authorities or shrines. There is no desire for any positive ideal. The most important techniques: grotesque; irony reaching the point of cynicism; oxymoron.
2.Intertextuality (quotation). Since the boundaries between reality and literature are abolished, the entire world is perceived as text. The postmodernist is sure that one of his tasks is to interpret the heritage of the classics. In this case, the plot of the work most often does not have independent meaning, and the main thing for the author becomes a game with the reader, who is supposed to identify plot moves, motives, images, hidden and explicit reminiscences (borrowings from classical works, designed for the reader’s memory) in the text.
3.Expanding the readership by attracting mass genres: detective stories, melodramas, science fiction.
The works that laid the foundation for modern Russian postmodernism
prose, traditionally considered “Pushkin House” by Andrei Bitov and “Moscow-Petushki” by Venedikt Erofeev. (although the novel and story were written in the late 1960s, they became facts of literary life only in the late 1980s, after publication.
2.Neorealism
(newrealism, new realism)
(1980s-1990s)
Borders are very fluid
This is a creative method that is based on tradition and at the same time can use the achievements of other creative methods, combining reality and phantasmagoria.
"Life-likeness" ceases to be main characteristic realistic writing; legends, myth, revelation, utopia are organically combined with the principles of realistic knowledge of reality.
The documentary “truth of life” is being squeezed out into thematically limited spheres of literature, recreating the life of a particular “local society”, be it the “army chronicles” of O. Ermakov, O. Khandus, A. Terekhov or the new “village” stories of A. Varlamov (“ House in the village"). However, the attraction to the literally understood realistic tradition is most clearly manifested in mass pulp fiction - in detective stories and “police” novels by A. Marinina, F. Neznansky, Ch. Abdullaev and others.
Vladimir Makanin “Underground, or Hero of Our Time”;
Lyudmila Ulitskaya “Medea and her children”;
Alexey Slapovsky “I am not me”
(the first steps were taken in the late 1970s in the “prose of forty-year-olds,” which includes the works of V. Makanin, A. Kim, R. Kireev, A. Kurchatkin and some other writers.
3Neo-naturalism
Its origins lie in the “natural school” of Russian realism of the 19th century, with its focus on recreating any aspect of life and the absence of thematic restrictions.
The main objects of the image: a) marginal spheres of reality (prison life, night life of the streets, “everyday life” of a garbage dump); b) marginal heroes who “fell out” of the usual social hierarchy (homeless people, thieves, prostitutes, murderers). There is a “physiological” spectrum of literary themes: alcoholism, sexual lust, violence, illness and death). It is significant that the life of the “bottom” is interpreted not as a “different” life, but as everyday life naked in its absurdity and cruelty: a zone, an army or a city garbage dump is a society in “miniature”, the same laws apply in it as in “ normal" world. However, the border between the worlds is conditional and permeable, and “normal” everyday life often looks outwardly like a “refined” version of the “dump”
Sergei Kaledin “Humble Cemetery” (1987), “Building Battalion” (1989);
Oleg Pavlov “The State Fairy Tale” (1994) and “Karaganda Nineties, or the Tale of the Last Days” (2001);
Roman Senchin “Minus” (2001) and “Athens Nights”
4.Neosentimentalism
(new sentimentalism)
This is a literary movement that returns and actualizes the memory of cultural archetypes.
The main subject of the image is private life (and often intimate life), perceived as the main value. The “sensitivity” of modern times is opposed to the apathy and skepticism of postmodernism; it has passed the phase of irony and doubt. In a completely fictitious world, only feelings and bodily sensations can claim authenticity.
The so-called women's prose: M. Paley “Cabiria from the bypass channel”,
M. Vishnevetskaya “The Moon Came Out of the Fog”, L. Ulitskaya “The Case of Kukotsky”, works by Galina Shcherbakova
5.Postrealism
(or metarealism)
Since the beginning of the 1990s.
This is a literary movement, an attempt to restore integrity, to attach a thing to meaning, an idea to reality; the search for truth, genuine values, appeal to eternal themes or eternal prototypes of modern themes, saturation with archetypes: love, death, word, light, earth, wind, night. The material is history, nature, high culture. (according to M. Epstein)
“A new “artistry paradigm” is being born. It is based on the universally understood principle of relativity, dialogical comprehension of the continuously changing world and the openness of the author’s position in relation to it,” write M. Lipovetsky and N. Leiderman about post-realism.
The prose of post-realism carefully examines “the complex philosophical collisions unfolding in the daily struggle of the “little man” with the impersonal, alienated chaos of everyday life.
Private life is conceptualized as a unique “cell” of universal history, created by the individual efforts of a person, imbued with personal meanings, “stitched” with the threads of a wide variety of connections with the biographies and destinies of other people.
Post-realist writers:
L.Petrushevskaya
V. Makanin
S. Dovlatov
A. Ivanchenko
F. Gorenshtein
N. Kononov
O. Slavnikova
Yu. Buida
A. Dmitriev
M. Kharitonov
V. Sharov
6.Post-postmodernism
(at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries)
Its aesthetic specificity is determined primarily by the formation of a new artistic environment - the environment of “techno-images”. Unlike traditional “text images”, they require interactive perception of cultural objects: contemplation/analysis/interpretation are replaced project activities reader or viewer.
The artistic object “dissolves” in the activity of the addressee, continuously transforming in cyberspace and becoming directly dependent on the design skills of the reader.
Characteristic Features The Russian version of post-postmodernism is new sincerity, new humanism, new utopianism, a combination of interest in the past with openness to the future, subjunctiveness.
Boris Akunin
P R O Z A (active lecture)Leading themes in modern literature:
Autobiography in modern literature
A.P. Chudakov. “Darkness falls on the cold steps”
A. Naiman “Stories about Anna Akhmatova”, “The Glorious End of Inglorious Generations”, “Sir”
L. Zorin “Proscenium”
N. Korzhavin “In the temptations of the bloody era”
A. Terekhov “Babaev”
E. Popov “The True History of the Green Musicians”
New realistic prose
V. Makanin “Underground, or Hero of Our Time”
L. Ulitskaya “Medea and her children”, “Kukotsky’s incident”
A. Volos “Khurramabad”, “Real Estate”
A. Slapovsky “I am not me”
M. Vishnevetskaya “The month has emerged from the fog”
N. Gorlanova, V. Bucur “Novel of Education”
M. Butov “Freedom”
D. Bykov “Spelling”
A. Dmitriev “The Tale of the Lost”
M. Paley “Cabiria from the Bypass Canal”
Military theme in modern literature
V. Astafiev “The Jolly Soldier”, “Cursed and Killed”
O. Blotsky “Dragonfly”
S. Dyshev “See you in heaven”
G. Vladimov “The General and His Army”
O. Ermakov “Baptism”
A. Babchenko “Alkhan – Yurt”
A. Azalsky “Saboteur”
The fate of Russian emigration literature: the “third wave”
V. Voinovich “Moscow 2042”, “Monumental Propaganda”
V. Aksenov “Island of Crimea”, “Moscow Saga”
A. Gladilin “Big running day”, “Shadow of the rider”
A. Zinoviev “Russian destiny. Confession of a renegade"
S. Dovlatov “Reserve”, “Foreign Woman. Branch"
Y. Mamleev “Eternal Home”
A. Solzhenitsyn “A calf butted an oak tree”, “A grain landed between two millstones”, “Opening up your eyes”
S. Bolmat “On our own”
Y. Druzhnikov “Angels on the tip of a needle”
Russian postmodernism
A. Bitov “Pushkin House”, V. Erofeev “Moscow-Petushki”
V. Sorokin “Queue”, V. Pelevin “Life of Insects”
D. Galkovsky “Endless Dead End”
Y. Buida “Prussian Bride”
E.Ger “The Gift of the Word”
P. Krusanov “Angel Bite”
Transformation of history in modern literature
S. Abramov “A quiet angel flew by”
V. Zalotukha “The Great March for the Liberation of India (Revolutionary Chronicle)”
E. Popov “The Soul of a Patriot, or Various Messages to Ferfichkin”
V. Pietsukh “Enchanted Country”
V. Shchepetnev “The sixth part of darkness”
Science fiction, utopia and dystopia in modern literature
A. Gladilin “French Soviet Socialist Republic”
V. Makanin “Laz”
V. Rybakov “Gravilet “Tsesarevich”
O. Divov “Culling”
D. Bykov “Justification”
Y. Latynina “Draw”
Contemporary essays
I. Brodsky “Less than one”, “One and a half rooms”
S. Lurie “Interpretation of Fate”, “Conversation in favor of the dead”, “Advances of clairvoyance”
V. Erofeev “Wake for Soviet Literature”, “Russian Flowers of Evil”, “In the Labyrinth of Damned Questions”
B. Paramonov “The End of Style: Postmodernism”, “Trace”
A. Genis “One: Cultural Studies”, “Two: Investigations”, “Three: Personal”
Contemporary poetry.
Poetry at the turn of the 20th and early 21st centuries was influenced by postmodernism. In modern poetry, there are two main poetic movements:
CONCEPTUAL ISM
m e t a r e a l i s m
Appears in 1970. The definition is based on the idea of a concept (concept - from the Latin “notion”) - a concept, an idea that arises in a person when perceiving the meaning of a word. The concept in artistic creativity is not just lexical meaning words, but also those complex associations that every person has in connection with the word, the concept translates the lexical meaning into the sphere of concepts and images, providing rich opportunities for its free interpretation, conjecture and imagination. The same concept can be understood different people differently, depending on each person's personal perception, education, cultural level and specific context.
Therefore Sun. Nekrasov, who stood at the source of conceptualism, proposed the term “contextualism”.
Representatives of the direction: Timur Kibirov, Dmitry Prigov, Lev Rubinstein and others.
This is a literary movement that depicts a deliberately complicated picture of the world around us with the help of detailed, interpenetrating metaphors. Metarealism is not a denial of traditional, customary realism, but an expansion of it, a complication of the very concept of reality. Poets see not only the concrete, visible world, but also many secret things not visible to the naked eye, and receive the gift of insight into their very essence. After all, the reality that surrounds us is not the only one, meta-realist poets believe.
Representatives of the direction: Ivan Zhdanov, Alexander Eremenko, Olga Sedakova and others.
Modern dramaturgy
L. Petrushevskaya “What to do?”, “Men’s zone. Cabaret", "Twenty-Five Again", "Date"
A. Galin “Czech photo”
N. Sadur “Wonderful Woman”, “Pannochka”
N. Kolyada “Boater”
K. Dragunskaya “Red Play”
Revival of the detective
D. Dontsova “Ghost in Sneakers”, “Viper in Syrup”
B. Akunin “Pelageya and the White Bulldog”
V. Lavrov “Grad Sokolov – detective genius”
N. Leonov “Defense of Gurov”
A. Marinina “Stolen Dream”, “Death for the Sake of Death”
T. Polyakova “My favorite killer”
Literature used:
T.G. Cucina. Modern domestic literary process. 11th grade. Tutorial. Elective courses. M. "Bustard", 2006.
B.A. Lanina. Contemporary Russian literature. 10-11 grade. M., "Ventana-Graf", 2005.
at the end of 1991, a new state emerged on the international political scene - Russian Federation(RF), which includes 89 regions, including 21 autonomous republics. State power consisted of a two-tier system of representative power - the Congress of People's Deputies and the bicameral Verkhovna Rada. The president was elected head of the executive branch by popular vote. Yeltsin.
at the end of October 1991 the economic reform plan was announced at the Congress of People's Deputies by President B.M. Yeltsin. Although the economic reform program was proclaimed by the president, its adoption and implementation began to be linked to the Is.T. Gaidar, who took the place of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and then Prime Minister of Russia. The radical economic reform included the introduction of free prices from January 1992, which was supposed to determine the market value of goods and eliminate the commodity shortage. Trade liberalization was supposed to speed up the exchange of goods and create an infrastructure for the sale of the maximum possible volumes of domestic and imported products. Finally, the widespread and rapid privatization of housing and state-owned enterprises was supposed to turn the masses of the population into owners, create for them labor, savings and other economic incentives for activity. As before, the people were promised that liberal reforms would not worsen, but improve their well-being. It would only get worse, the reformers insisted, for six months, but by the end of 1992 the economy would stabilize and prosperity would gradually increase.
However, prices immediately increased 10-12 times, and salaries and pensions increased only by 70%, which led to the fact that the majority of the population found themselves below the poverty line. Over the year, prices increased 26 times. Payments to citizens' savings have stopped.
Radical reforms, the so-called “shock therapy,” caused not only discontent among the broad masses, but also quite broad opposition in the Verkhovna Rada, which adopted a resolution condemning the reforms and recommended that the president change the composition of the government. The way out of this crisis was found through bilateral concessions.
Another crisis between radical reformers and conservatives arose as a result of industrial lending. The Verkhovna Rada, in order to stop the economic collapse of entire industries and a possible social explosion in the event of mass unemployment, insisted on financial assistance to enterprises. Central Bank He provided such loans to Russia. This was a blow to reforms. In the second half of 1992, the average monthly growth rate of the money supply increased from 11.4 to 28%. The ruble exchange rate fell sharply. High inflation made financial and monetary stabilization and minimizing the budget deficit impossible.
Resistance to reforms received fairly broad support in society, primarily in the branches of the military-industrial complex and public sector sectors, where the majority of the population was employed. Therefore, adjustments were made to the reform course. One of the main government ideology was the concept of quickly creating broad support for reforms by forming a middle class of owners and shareholders of privatized enterprises. 24 thousand enterprises were privatized. Thus, the public sector has lost its leading role in the industrial sector. However, the reforms did not receive widespread social support because the middle class had not grown very much.
To reduce social tension, a reform was carried out in the summer of 1992 wages in the public sector. A tariff scale of 18 sections was introduced, which took into account the complexity of labor, qualifications, and educational level of workers. The arena of intense struggle between reformers and conservatives was the VII Congress of People's Deputies, held in December 1992. The President oriented the congress towards establishing a political respite for at least a year and a half. However, the congress remained deaf to these calls. The climax and finale of the congress were full of drama. The congress aimed to overthrow the government. The President called the congress "a stronghold conservative forces and reaction" and addressed the citizens of Russia with a proposal to urgently hold a national referendum with the question: who do you instruct to lead the country out of the crisis: the congress and the Supreme Council or the president?
the head-on collision between the president and the congress also ended in a compromise. The congress recognized the right of the president to have his own candidacy for the post of chairman of the government, and the president agreed to propose not one, but three candidates to the congress for voting. B. S. Chernomyrdin was entrusted with forming a new government.
Reforms associated with the name of Gaidar lasted one year. Their results were contradictory. The ideologists of the reforms argued that as a result of their implementation, the mechanism of market formation of supply and demand was moved from a dead point, the banking, intermediary, sales and other infrastructure of the market economy began to form, an increase in prices and trade liberalization filled the shelves with goods inaccessible to most citizens. A wide layer of businessmen, bankers, and traders emerged, and the entrepreneurial mentality became part of the public consciousness.
Critics of the reforms saw their results in a completely different light. They emphasized the prohibitively high social costs of reforms. Real incomes of the population decreased by 44%. The share of food expenses in the family budget averaged 60%, and in families of pensioners - 80-90% of cash receipts. Funding for science, culture, education, and medicine has sharply decreased.
1992 brought serious changes in the balance of political forces in Russia, which can be briefly summarized as follows: the democrat camp is increasingly split, and the conservatives are closing their ranks more closely. At the end of 1992, there was practically not a single political party left in Russia that would unconditionally support the previous reform course.
The new government already in its first document stated the catastrophic state Russian economy. However, government policy priorities for 1993 largely repeated Gaidar's approaches. The main ones were the strengthening of the ruble, financial stabilization and the fight against inflation. Russian President took the new government under his wing, and invited legislators to make a choice: either enter into an agreement with the executive branch on the basis of recognition of its right to conduct a preliminary course, or hold a popular referendum, which should decide who - the president or the legislators - should be given power.
However, legislators were not going to make government concessions on the issue of separation of powers. The shaky compromise that was recently reached, and Vlad's antagonism quickly became even more acute. One of the main reasons for the conflict between the executive and legislative branches, which ended in a bloody battle in October 1993, was differences in the issue of socio-economic and political policies. Among legislators, the majority were supporters of a regulated economy. Defenders of radical market relations found themselves in the minority. Another important reason for the antagonism was the lack of experience in interaction within systems of distribution of power, which Russia practically did not know. Legislators tried to push power to the margins of government. The Russian president, in turn, has shown a tendency to ignore the will of obstinate legislators. They agreed to the referendum, but formulated the question themselves. The first three among the four were directly directed against the president: do you trust the president, do you approve of modern socio-economic policies, do you consider early presidential elections necessary, do you consider early elections of people's deputies necessary. The referendum brought success to Yeltsin, strengthening his legitimacy. 58.7% of voters were in favor of trusting the president, and 53% of voters were in favor of the socio-economic policy of the president and the government. However, this did not ease the tension between the two authorities. Moreover, the parliamentary and presidential groups began an open psychological war. The intense struggle between the legislative and executive powers continued throughout the summer.
By the end of the 90s, radical changes took place in the economy and social structure of Russian society.
According to domestic economists, a market economy has developed in the country, not much different from the economies of moderately developed capitalist states.
The existing socio-economic system was not effective enough. There was no legal protection of property rights and domestic producers. A plan for social protection of the population was not developed. The size of external debt did not decrease; annual payments on it exceeded half of the federal budget.
Deep and contradictory processes in the socio-economic sphere, coupled with the depressed state of production and insufficient management competence, led to a financial crisis in August 1998. The crisis, which dragged on for many months, shook all sectors of the national economy. The losses of the banking system amounted to 100-150 billion rubles in mid-2000 prices; the state budget received a shortfall of over 50 billion. Only in the second half of 1999 were the negative consequences of the crisis overcome. A slow rise in production began.
The financial and economic crisis has had a hard impact on the situation of the broad masses of the Russian population. In many parts of the country, delays in payment of wages and pensions have become commonplace. In 1999, there were 8.9 million unemployed, which accounted for 12.4% of Russia's working population. To alleviate the situation, the government took measures to preserve jobs and introduced public works.
The crisis had a negative impact on the demographic situation of the country: the population decreased - by mid-1999 its number fell to 145.9 million, having decreased by almost 2 million people over the decade.
The crisis of power became more and more clearly evident in political life. The authority of President B.N. Yeltsin was falling, his role in the life of the state was declining. Personnel changes in the government, ministries and departments have become more frequent. From April 1998 to March 2000, 5 people were replaced as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation: S.V. Kiriyenko, V.S. Chernomyrdin, E.M. Primakov, S.V. Stepashin, V.V. Putin1. The change of government leaders did not change the situation in the country. There was no strategy for developing reforms in economics and politics. There were no clear rules for the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government. In the subjects of the Federation - republics and regions - laws were adopted that contradict federal legislation. In mid-1999, the situation in Chechnya deteriorated again. The separatist movement, led by President Aslan Maskhadov, has intensified. Terrorist acts by Chechen militants against representatives of the federal government and civilians have become more frequent. Chechnya has become a center of attraction for terrorists from many neighboring countries. In a short time, the republic, which is a subject of the Russian Federation, turned into a stronghold of international terrorism. All this became the reasons for the anti-terrorist operation of federal troops in Chechnya, or more precisely, the reasons for the second Chechen war (August 1999).
In December 1999, regular elections to the State Duma took place. The election campaign caused a significant increase in the social activity of the population. Many well-known associations and parties from previous elections took part in it: “Our Home is Russia”, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party and “Yabloko”. New political movements have appeared on the political arena: “Fatherland - All Russia” (leaders - E. M. Primakov, Yu. M. Luzhkov), “Union of Right Forces” (S. V. Kiriyenko, B. E. Nemtsov, I. M. Khakamada) and the pro-government association “Unity”, which was headed by the highly respected Minister of Emergency Situations S. Shoigu. As a result of the elections in the Third State Duma, the leading factions became Unity and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
On December 31, 1999, the first President of the Russian Federation, B. N. Yeltsin, announced his early resignation. He appointed V.V. Putin, the head of the government, as acting president. In the elections of March 26, 2000, V.V. Putin was elected President of the Russian Federation.
The last period of B. N. Yeltsin’s stay in power was marked by important foreign policy actions of the Russian Federation.
In April 2000, M. M. Kasyanov became the new head of government.
Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the CIS member states continued to deepen. However, the development of integration processes was hampered by a number of factors. Among them, instability of leadership in some Commonwealth countries occupied an important place. In addition, the established Commonwealth did not always meet the interests of all its member countries.
By the end of the 90s, the CIS accounted for 22% of Russian trade turnover. The main partners of the Russian Federation remained Belarus and Ukraine.
In the international arena, Russia's main trading partners remained the states of the European Union. In June 1999, the leaders of the EU member countries adopted the document “Common Strategy of the European Union towards Russia.” The document became the basis for cooperation between states. However, the outbreak of hostilities in Chechnya caused a serious conflict in relations between them.
In March - April 1999, in connection with the so-called Yugoslav conflict, relations between Russia and NATO became complicated. Under the pretext of protecting Kosovo Albanians from Serb oppression, the NATO military command launched a military operation against the Republic of Yugoslavia. In response to NATO’s aggressive actions, Russia abandoned previously developed cooperation programs with them.
Change of leadership of the country at the turn of 1999-2000. completed a certain stage in the life of post-Soviet Russia and became a kind of milestone in its socio-political and economic development. New state leaders, relying on the previous historical experience of Russia, directed their efforts towards consolidating society, strengthening its stability and economic growth, and increasing Russia's role in the international arena.
Began in the 90s of the XX century. Liberal-democratic transformations in all spheres of society continue intensively at the beginning of the new century. A number of complex problems must be solved to stabilize the political system and economy, to strengthen Russia’s foreign policy contacts and increase its role in the international arena.
By the beginning of the 21st century. The borders of the Russian Federation and its territory were finally determined. The 2003 All-Russian Census showed that in terms of its area it ranked first in the world. The population was 145.2 million people - 1.8 million less compared to the 1989 census. Among the Russians, there were 106.5 million urban residents and 38.7 million rural residents. Russia remained one of the most multinational countries in the world: representatives of over 160 nationalities lived on its territory; more than 80% of the population were Russians.
The state symbols of Russia were approved: a tricolor (white-blue-red) flag and a coat of arms in the form of a double-headed eagle. The red flag remained with the country's Armed Forces. The words of the anthem to the music of the former USSR anthem (composer A.V. Aleksandrov) were written by the poet S.V. Mikhalkov.
International relations of Russia.
International relations of Russia. At the beginning of the new century, Russia's foreign policy intensified noticeably. Political, economic, and cultural ties were restored with the leading countries of the world - the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy. Specific issues of cooperation were discussed at meetings of President V.V. Putin with the heads of foreign countries, as well as during visits abroad by Foreign Ministers I. Ivanov, then S. Lavrov and delegations of the State Duma.
The events of September 11, 2001 had a significant impact on the development of international relations. On this day, terrorists from one of the international organizations, having taken possession of several passenger planes, sent them to the buildings of the World Trade Center in New York. Buildings were destroyed and over 3 thousand people died. The US response was to eliminate the bases of international terrorism and to unite the countries of Europe and Asia in the fight against terrorism. In 2002, the United States launched a military operation in Iraq. Iraq has been declared the home of terrorists involved in the events of September 11 and the main producer of weapons of mass destruction. Russia did not support the US attack on Iraq. The State Duma called on countries to peacefully resolve the conflict based on norms international law. At the same time, the idea of uniting the efforts of states in the fight against terrorism received support from the Russian leadership. Russia has ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of International Terrorist Bombings. An agreement was reached with the European Union on joint anti-terrorist cooperation. An agreement was concluded with NATO, providing for the joining of efforts of countries in the struggle to ensure international security.
In May 2002, in Moscow, during a meeting between V.V. Putin and American President George W. Bush, a declaration was signed aimed at expanding comprehensive cooperation between the countries. Issues of strengthening the US-Russian partnership were discussed at several subsequent meetings of heads of state. However, the policy of strengthening cooperation did not prevent the United States from announcing a unilateral withdrawal from the Air Defense Treaty (ABM) and continuing the construction of military bases in the territories bordering Russia.
Multilateral and bilateral treaties linked Russia with the states of Western Europe. Germany, Italy and France have become the country's largest partners in the field of foreign trade. Cooperation was carried out with international economic organizations. Thus, Russia agreed with its partners’ proposal on the need to write off debts from Iraq due to its difficult situation caused by the fighting.
Russia's relations with the states of Central and Eastern Europe, which in their foreign policy were increasingly oriented toward the United States and Western European powers, did not develop effectively enough.
Foreign economic relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, primarily with India and China, deepened. Russia, as before, provided assistance to India in the fields of energy and metallurgy. With the participation of Russian organizations, work was carried out at the metallurgical plant in Bhilai. Mutual investment has developed in relations with China. Over 400 enterprises with Chinese capital operated in Russia. At the same time, there were about 1,200 companies in China with Russian participation (mainly in the chemical and nuclear industries). Ways to expand political and economic contacts between Russia and some Latin American countries were identified. Agreement on specific actions in this area was reached during President V.V. Putin’s trip to Brazil and Chile.
As in previous years, the country's leadership sought to expand relations with members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In accordance with bilateral agreements, the volume of trade and economic relations increased, and supplies of Russian gas and oil to the CIS countries grew. Measures were taken to deepen integration processes in the economies of states. At Russia’s suggestion, negotiations were held with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine on the creation of a single economic space with common trade, tax and monetary policies. At the same time, contradictions and unresolved issues remained in the relations of the Russian Federation with some of the former Soviet republics. Relations with Georgia and Ukraine became especially complicated, where deep internal conflicts arose in connection with the parliamentary (in another case, presidential) elections.
Socio-political development.
Socio-political development. Primary focus in the area domestic policy was aimed at strengthening the foundations of Russian statehood. In 2000, to improve the strengthening mechanism, the country created 7 federal districts. Northwestern, Central, Volga, Ural, Southern, Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts.
The districts were headed by authorized representatives of the President, who were called upon to coordinate the work of local authorities on the basis of the Russian Constitution. There was a reorganization of the Federation Council - the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. The place of regional heads in the Council was taken by persons appointed by them with experience in the legislative sphere. Former members of the upper house of parliament formed the basis of the advisory State Council under the President. In the fall of 2004, another reform was carried out in the system of state power - the transition from the popular election of governors to their approval by federal parliaments on the proposal of the President of Russia.
One of the central places in the activities of the State Duma was occupied by the problem of delineating responsibilities between federal, regional and local authorities. Ways of interaction between all three levels of government were determined on the basis of the Russian Constitution and federal legislation.
Work continued on a political settlement of the situation in Chechnya. In 2003, a referendum was held on the Constitution, which approved Chechnya as a subject of the Russian Federation. The former mufti and then head of the administration of Chechnya, Akhmat Kadyrov, became the president of the republic. Republican institutions of power were created. The federal program for the restoration of the economy and social sphere, adopted in January 2001, was being implemented. However, separatist tendencies in the republic have not disappeared. With the participation of international extremist organizations, Chechen militants organized several major terrorist attacks (the explosion of the Government House in Grozny, an attack on Ingushetia, the taking of hostages at the Moscow Theater Center on Dubrovka, the seizure of a school in Beslan, etc.). Terrorist actions against representatives of the local administration continued. In May 2004, the president of the republic was assassinated. Alu Alkhanov, who previously headed the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, became the new head of Chechnya.
The Law on Political Parties of Russia (2001) should have contributed to the development and strengthening of the new political order in the country and the improvement of the multi-party system. The law provided for the transformation of parties into federal organizations. During subsequent re-registration, some of them ceased to exist. At the same time, new political associations were created. The largest and most influential among them was the United Russia party, which arose as a result of the merger of the socio-political movements “Unity” and “Fatherland - All Russia”. It was this party that was the main support of the ongoing political and economic transformations.
On December 7, 2003, elections to the State Duma of the fourth convocation took place. 450 deputies were elected to parliament. The overwhelming majority of them belonged to the United Russia party (350). The Communist Party of the Russian Federation received 52 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party - 36, Rodina - 36. The group of independents consisted of 23 deputies. Representatives of the opposition parties “Union of Right Forces” and “Yabloko” did not enter the State Duma because they did not receive the required number of votes. B.V. Gryzlov, who previously held the post of Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, became the Chairman of the Duma.
Socio-economic development.
Socio-economic development. The first years of the new century were turning points for the Russian economy. The severe consequences of the economic crisis (default) of 1998 were overcome and a gradual revival of the entire economic system began.
Priority in the economic development plans for the period up to 2010, developed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was given to the further formation and improvement of market relations. To this end, the privatization process continued, albeit slowly. In 2003, almost 3.9 thousand enterprises and organizations operated in the country, of which 76.8% were in the non-state sector. Large monopolies have taken strong positions in the gas and oil industries and in the electric power industry. The companies LUKOIL, Sibneft, Gazprom, YUKOS, Norilsk Nickel, and RAO UES (Unified Energy System) created in the 90s have become widely known not only in Russia, but also abroad. In an effort to obtain unlimited profits, some entrepreneurs (oligarchs) tried to use lawmaking for these purposes and introduced their representatives into government bodies. Tax laws were violated.
The structural transformations taking place in the economy required the streamlining of relations between government and private business. Measures were taken to prevent abuses by large industrialists and companies. The State Duma of the third convocation approved the Law “On Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activities in Product Markets.” Regulation of the activities of monopolies in the electricity sector has been strengthened. To prevent the merging of business and security forces, the intelligence services were prohibited from unnecessary interference in the work of enterprises. Tax legislation was improved, and strict measures were taken against violators. In 2003-2004 were prosecuted for tax evasion large sizes executives of the oil company Yukos. The main production enterprise of Yukos, Yuganskneft, was sold. It later became part of the largest state monopoly, Gazprom.
New legislation was adopted aimed at improving the operating conditions of medium and small enterprises. In 2003, there were over 280 thousand small enterprises, of which 47% were in trade, 12% in industry, and only about 2% in the agricultural sector. Particular attention was paid to the situation in the agricultural sector. In 2001-2003 significant changes were made to the Land Code. Ownership of land was secured. Preferential loans were established for agricultural enterprises. Measures of state support for personal subsidiary plots were developed. Opportunities for the development of agricultural cooperation and private farms expanded.
Economic reform proceeded slowly, but its positive results were obvious. In 2004, the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) was more than 6% (in 2001 - 5.1%); the increase in industrial production exceeded 6% (in 2001 - 4.9%). Inflation decreased by 12%. This meant that there was a certain turn in the development of the national economy. High prices on the world market for Russian exports, primarily oil, also played a big role in this. At the same time, many problems of the developing market economy remained unresolved. In particular, it was necessary to create effective market mechanisms and structures capable of successfully managing the entire system of the national economy.
Under the influence of economic transformations, changes in the social structure of society continued. The number of new social groups has increased: entrepreneurs (large, medium and small), farmers, individuals engaged in self-employment. The number of public sector employees has decreased in all areas of the economic system.
Changes in the economy have become the basis for positive changes in the social sphere. Only during 2001-2003. The minimum wage for public sector employees was increased four times. Delays in the payment of wages, pensions and benefits became less frequent. Pensions were increased. From 1999 to 2003, household incomes increased, according to official data, by one and a half times. At the same time, social differentiation in society deepened; tens of millions of Russians remained below the poverty line.
Radical transformations of the political system and economy, multilateral mutually beneficial cooperation with states of the world contributed to the strengthening of Russia’s internal position and its position in the international arena.
One of the most important factors influencing the development international relations at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries was the process of NATO expansion. The military-political bloc, once created to confront the USSR and its allies, did not cease to exist after the end of the Cold War, as many expected. Remaining the only superpower after the collapse of the USSR and the Soviet bloc, the United States began to dominate many issues in world politics. One of the key directions of American policy has become the idea of expanding its zone of influence. The NATO organization led by them began a confident advance eastward, into the former Soviet “zone of influence.” The bloc has included many former members of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, as well as the Baltic countries, and is negotiating the accession of Ukraine and Georgia.
The leading role in international relations that was temporarily in the hands of the United States was not to the liking of many states. At the beginning of the 21st century, the world began to return to multipolarity. Ending " cold war", the collapse of the former Soviet bloc, the increase in the number of Third World states and the strengthening of their influence made the discussion around the future development of the United Nations, created after the Second World War, inevitable. Initially, the cessation of inter-bloc confrontation led to an increase in the influence of the UN, which sought to play an active role in resolving a number of conflicts. At some point, it seemed that the UN Security Council was acquiring the functions of a “world government”, deciding the issue of sanctions, establishing temporary administrations in various territories, etc. But it quickly became clear that this was not enough. Many countries do not see the opportunity to influence UN decisions and demand reform. At the same time, the permanent members of the Security Council, using their veto power, regularly block decisions on key issues on which they were unable to agree. This gives many economically influential states—Japan, Germany, India, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, etc.—new arguments in favor of the idea of expanding the Security Council at the expense of “newcomers.”
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UN peacekeeping force
The old competition between the two superpowers (USSR and the USA) is a thing of the past, replaced by the desire of the only remaining superpower - the USA - to “bring order” to a world that has become more complex and chaotic. The terrible threat of global crises like the Caribbean has disappeared, but local crises in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Haiti, Ruanda, Bosnia, Taiwan, Kosovo follow one after another.
The “North-South” conflict has intensified, where a bloc of developed Western countries, on the one hand, and poor third world countries, on the other, actually oppose each other. Residents of African, Asian and Latin American countries, suffering from a huge number of economic problems and political turmoil, often blame “civilized capitalism” for their troubles and point to repeated interference in their internal affairs. There are no open military clashes between countries in this conflict, but it does not eliminate the growing hostility towards the United States and European states. In the countries of the “South,” extremist-minded forces, often resorting to terrorist methods, enjoy considerable influence. New leaders have emerged among Third World countries, particularly Iran and Venezuela, who publicly criticize “American imperialism.” Russia, which finds itself in a difficult position, can play a special role in this conflict: some states in the “South” count on its help in the fight against the “North,” while others consider it one of the representatives of a hostile civilization. Material from the site
At the turn of the millennium, the number of peacekeeping operations carried out by the UN increased significantly. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Jordan and Ghana play a particularly active role in them. A number of the founders of the UN, including Russia and France, also participate in the activities of peacekeepers. The Blue Helmets helped partially restore peace in East Timor and Lebanon. Peacemakers are not always successful. In 1993 a complete failure The UN mission in Somalia ended, having failed to stop civil war, in 1994, peacekeepers were unable to prevent genocide in Rwanda, they failed to cope with the armed conflict in the Balkans and the Congo. The main weakness of peacekeepers is their excessive sluggishness (they are obliged to wait for UN decisions and cannot actively use weapons) and excessive dependence on political considerations. At the same time, a number of countries, primarily the United States and its NATO allies, have repeatedly demonstrated their readiness to act bypassing the UN (for example, in Iraq and Kosovo). This caused discontent among many third world countries and Russia.
Trends in the cultural development of Russia until the 90s of the 20th century
Monument to the Motherland Calling on Mamayev Kurgan
A number of current trends in culture at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century owe their appearance to the 60s of the last century. It was then that “scientific motivation”, “scientific justification” for all phenomena, both in culture and in worldview, came into fashion. Religion was finally relegated to the category of bourgeois propaganda and a relic of the tsarist past. As measures to combat the “influence of religion,” the journal “Science and Religion” began to be published, and Houses of Scientific Atheism were opened. In addition, the Institute of Scientific Atheism was created at the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee.
The fight against religious views was also carried out in universities. So in most cases educational institutions a new discipline “Fundamentals of Scientific Atheism” was introduced. Against this background, the circulation of anti-religious literature increased. All these measures, according to the authorities, were supposed to contribute to the education of a scientific-materialistic worldview among Soviet people.
Decisive impact on development artistic creativity in the post-war years was influenced by the victory of the Soviet country in the Patriotic War. The military theme occupied a large place in literary works. Such significant books about the war were published as “The Tale of a Real Man” by B.N. Polevoy, story by V.P. Nekrasov "In the trenches of Stalingrad". On topic Patriotic War writers of the “front-line generation” addressed – G.Ya. Baklanov, V.V. Bykov. The events of the war years were the main theme in the works of many film playwrights and film directors ("The Exploit of a Scout" by B.V. Barnet, "The Young Guard" by S.A. Gerasimov, etc.).
In the literature of the 50s, interest in man and his spiritual values increased. From everyday life with its collisions and complex relationships between people, the heroes of D.A. came to the pages of novels. Granina ("The Searchers", "I'm Going into the Storm") and Yu.P. German (“The Cause You Serve,” “My Dear Man”) and others. The popularity of young poets E.A. grew. Evtushenko, A.A. Voznesensky, B.Sh. Okudzhava. The literature has been replenished with interesting works about the life of the post-war village (essays by V.V. Ovechkin “District Everyday Life” and “Notes of an Agronomist” by G.N. Troepolsky). The novel by V.D. received a wide response from the public. Dudinpev "Not by Bread Alone", where the topic of illegal repressions in the Soviet state was first raised. However, this work received a negative assessment from the country's leaders. Solzhenitsyn, who ended his life in the USA, also made a name for himself on pseudo-facts about repressions. It is not without reason that his works about the Gulag contain much more fiction than was fashionable in the 80s and 90s of the last century. One way or another, the “patriot” Solzhenitsyn ended his days in America.
Post-war architecture is remembered for the grandiose projects of the times of Stalin, the dull, standard buildings of the times of Khrushchev and the development of metro construction. In the period from 1949 to 1953, several high-rise buildings were built in Moscow, including the Moscow state university them. M.V. Lomonosov (architects L.V. Rudnev, S.E. Chernyshev, P.V. Abrosimov, A.F. Khryakov).
Moscow State University building in 1965