Seeking untranslated Russian translation,

They not only have the concept of state, advocate absolutism, but also long for freedom and anarchy. They advocate violence, sometimes bordering on cruelty, but they are kind and gentle, not without humanity; They abide by the canon and doctrine, but they always keep looking for the truth; Their souls are saturated with individualism and strong personal consciousness, but they are full of individualistic collectivism; They like to brag and advocate nationalism, but they also have a sense of universalism and humanity; They are sometimes humble and obedient, and sometimes rude; They are servile, but there is no lack of rebellious spirit.

When discussing Russian national character, we will all notice one of the characteristics, and we are always attracted and moved by this characteristic. This feature is that Russians will show extraordinary patriotic passion, courage, endurance and courage, tenacity, perseverance and sacrifice at the critical moment when the country is facing life and death. For example, in the Great Patriotic War of 18 12, in the face of the powerful Napoleon army, Russian soldiers and civilians were fearless and bravely killed the enemy, eventually driving the invaders out of their homes; 194 1 ~ 1945 several world-famous defense wars: Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. Through these defensive wars, we can easily find that this nation has super cohesion and patriotism when it encounters foreign aggression and defends its homeland. However, in a quiet daily life, some Russians don't even want to work for their country and unit for one more minute, so they can't rest and get off work. Is it reliable to go on holiday? Quot rule "

Another feature of Russian national character is also closely related to Russia's geopolitical conditions. According to Berdyaev, a Russian religious philosopher, "There is a connection between the vast land of Russia and the soul of Russia, and between physical geography and spiritual geography." [10] Russian historian Klyuchevski once said: "Nature often frustrates the most cautious calculations of Russians; The unpredictable climate and land often deceive those who have the slightest expectation of them, so Russians who are used to this kind of deception and conspiracy immediately make the most hopeless decision without careful consideration: use the willfulness of nature to fight against their brave willfulness ... Russians know that they must cherish the sunny working hours in summer, and nature gives them little farming time. Moreover, Russia's short summer will be shortened due to abnormal rainy weather. This forces Russian farmers to seize the time to do farm work, do more work in a short time and harvest crops in time. After that, waiting for Russian farmers is idle autumn and winter. " [1 1] Here, Klyuchevski pointed out that Russians are willful, reckless and hardworking (we would rather say that the "label" of diligence is more suitable for Russian women. Russian women play the role of "Optimus Prime" no matter when the country is in crisis or in peaceful daily life. They work hard and selflessly. There are many descriptions about this in the works of Russian writers and poets.

Russians can mobilize all their potential to strengthen labor, which is the characteristic of Russians, and laziness and negativity are also the weaknesses of Russian character. Some researchers believe that the reason for this phenomenon is that no matter what they do, Russians want to be perfect. However, once something goes wrong and fails to achieve the expected goal, they will become extremely sensitive, indifferent and passive, and they will be "idle". Finally, they will give people an impression and excuse of laziness: Russians "don't know and don't like work".

The two factors we are talking about here are precisely one of the most puzzling aspects of Russian culture: Russians are considered to be hardworking and lazy.

Russians' preference for anarchy and riots is well known. They not only succumbed to the regime and the country, but also "gave birth" to such peasant uprising leaders as Racine, pugachev and Bolotnikov. In the Russian consciousness, there is always a difference between "country" and "land" and "world". The "world" is a commune, which exists because of the inner truth, which is not always consistent with the truth of the country. Even serfdom failed to turn Russians into slaves. Spiritual freedom and the pursuit of absolute goodness make Russians embark on the road away from the quiet lifestyle. "The Russian people have strong natural forces and weak forms. Russians don't have cultural advantages like western Europeans. They are a more sincere and inspiring people. They don't understand the rules and tend to go to extremes. " [12] Cha Adayev wrote in the first letter of Philosophical Letters: We look like hikers in our own houses, and the indigenous people in the permafrost are attached to their humble homes, just as we love spacious rooms.

Swing is also an important feature of Russian national character. The vacillation of some Russians is reflected in every aspect: whether it is political life, economic life or daily life. Russian writers accurately capture this feature of their own nation and show it in their own works, such as sholokhov's Silent Tang. Another example is the repeated attitude of the current Russian regime towards the construction of oil pipelines. On the question of vacillation, Likhachev also expressed his own opinion: "The Russian people are vacillating greatly between good and evil. The Russian nation is an extreme nation, which quickly and suddenly turned from one end to the other, so it is an unpredictable nation in history. " [ 13]

Four characteristics of Russian culture

At present, the theory of "marginal culture" has appeared in the field of culturology. Scholars who put forward this view explain it this way: marginal culture refers to the culture on the edge of a stable and powerful civilization, which crosses its own boundaries and interacts with other cultures. Russian culture can be regarded as a "transitional zone".

Berdyaev pointed out the characteristics of Russian culture in Russian thought. He believes that there are periodic "faults" in the development of Russia; It is not good at its own development, but it is always intertwined with cultural phenomena from ancient times to the present, and often "flexibly uses" ancient phenomena. His character is extensive, he is not good at dynamic development, and he has a pathological phenomenon for anything modern.

In this way, the marginal culture is looking for its own uncertain and utopian identity in the future, and "roaming" between eastern culture and western culture. There is always uncertainty and locality in reality. Anti-traditional and modern factors are always divided. In Russia, will and thinking are not "patterned". Russian writer Dostoevsky wrote in his "Pushkin's Words" that the typical feature of Russian national character is that he is good at accepting the characteristics of any nation. In this regard, lermontov, a Russian poet and writer, also expounded his thoughts in the chapter Bella, a Contemporary Hero: "I am surprised that Russians are good at adapting to the customs and habits of the people they live in. I don't know whether this ability should be condemned or praised, but it is enough to prove that they have incredible flexibility and reasonable thinking, that is, once they see that evil is inevitable or cannot be eliminated, they will forgive evil. " [14] In addition, let's take a look at Russia's brilliant ballet art, which enjoys a high reputation all over the world. As we all know, "the modern form of ballet originated from the court dance in the Italian Renaissance" [15]. Russian ballet was introduced to China at the end of 17. Since then, ballet has taken root and blossomed in Russia, bearing numerous fruits and creating the world's highest level ballet dance, which no one can surpass. Since then, ballet has become a symbol of Russian culture. Russians have greatly satisfied their strong sense of self-esteem and solemnity because of their ballet. At the same time, ballet also satisfies the Russian people's ultimate pursuit of culture from one side. Through the perspective of Russian ballet art, we can see that Russians attach importance to and pursue spiritual life. Anyone familiar with Russia knows that the spiritual life of this nation is quite high: they have musical works, literary works and paintings that can be called world treasures.

But at the same time, we should also note that Russians in daily life do not pay much attention to higher-level material culture. Once upon a time, they even destroyed the existing cultural treasures. In this regard, we can recall that 19 17 In the early days of the October Revolution, farmers cut down the century-old towering trees in the landlord's manor and burned the ancient aristocratic manor; Tear down churches, kill monks and priests, etc. Of course, this is closely related to the specific historical period and historical conditions. Looking at the current low level of light industry and home appliance industry in Russia, we will be more convinced of this view.

The lessons about good and evil left by Russian history are extremely profound: on the one hand, it is sacred and good in the highest sense, on the other hand, it is evil like a devil. The reason why there is such a big contrast, as Dostoevsky said, is because the Russian talents and talents are too high to find the exact form of their actions. Indeed, only when we choose one from many possibilities and concentrate all our efforts on this point can we have a fixed and specialized form. Russians must restrain their will and thinking; Otherwise, the Russian may become a helpless visionary, anarchist, adventurer and corrupt person, even though he is still kind at heart.

Berdyaev once said that Russians are extremists: they want everything or nothing. On this point, as mentioned earlier, Likhachev also has the same view. He also believes: "The Russian nation is an extreme nation, and it suddenly turns from one end to the other. So it is an unpredictable nation in history. " [16] After carefully studying the words of the two masters, we can understand that the crux of Russia's material civilization and cultural level is either ultra-high or ultra-low, lacking middle-level material culture; We understand why Russians are so fickle. This extremism also implies Russian culture. In other words, Russian culture is also extreme. It has no intermediate links and no transitional stages, and it is either "North Pole" or "South Pole". So, what are the reasons for Russian extremism? Besides geopolitical factors, are there any internal factors? We boldly put forward a view, which is related to the original belief of Russians-polytheism, which we can prove from the polytheism myth handed down from generation to generation.

Russians always think that they belong to Europe and the West, just as Likhachev said, "Russia has never been the East" [17], but objectively Europeans and Westerners do not fully agree with this view? Quot The West is used to attributing Russia and its culture to the East. "[18] and they always inadvertently reveal this attitude. At this time, sensitive Russians will have extreme reactions. Later, they will blame the resulting unpleasant "guilt" on the orientals, dig up the root causes of the abuses in Russian society from the orientals, and then show their violence to the orientals. In this regard, it is enough to look at the "skinheads" and rogue police in Russia today, and then look at the fact that most of the people who are beaten in Russia are orientals.

The significance of discussing Russian national character and its cultural background is self-evident, and some domestic scholars have also paid considerable attention to this issue and put forward their own views. For example, when Mr. Liu gave a lecture in Peking University, he analyzed some characteristics of Russian national character: sensibility; Go to extremes; Swing; This paper points out the contradiction and division of Russian national character, which is coarse and fine, magnanimous and narrow. He also believes that there are two main reasons why Russians have such a character: first, the contradiction between East and West in geography; The second is the contradiction between the upper and lower levels in the social structure [19].

At present, quite a few Russians are used to using Russian national character and mentality as a shield. For example, once they find something inexplicable or embarrassing in Russia, they will habitually put the blame on it. We read this view in Gudjinke's book Russian mindset [20].