Ways to overcome spiritual and moral degradation of the individual. The moral state of modern Russian society

student at the Academy of the Prosecutor General's Office Russian Federation

Annotation:

Preventing the decline of ethical and moral principles and cultural traditions is an urgent task of the modern Russian state. The Constitution of the Russian Federation fixes the foundations of justice, thereby defining the democratic content and embodying the requirement of the idea of justice and humanity. At the same time, the concepts of morality and morality are not enshrined in the legislation, as a result of this,Issues of a spiritual and moral nature are outside the legal field. Based on the Basic Law of the country, in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education”, it has been developedThe concept of spiritual and moral education of Russian schoolchildren, which spells out the basic values: patriotism, social solidarity, citizenship, family, work and creativity, science, those moral principles that would ensure the successful development of the state.

Key words:

justice, humanity, democratic state, rule of law, morality, social solidarity, spiritual and moral education, moral degradation, axiological chaos, state family policy.

The age of high technology has opened up vast opportunities for development in the field of medicine, education, culture, and politics. People in modern world can communicate while being thousands of kilometers away from each other, visit best museums world in virtual space, read any books that interest them, and solve everyday issues in a few minutes. It would seem that technological progress has created all the conditions for the spiritual development of society, however, unfortunately, we can state the fact that in Russian society recent years there was a sharp decline in moral and value attitudes. Society is rapidly losing cultural traditions, which are a kind of lifeline. The life guidelines of most people (according to the results of a 2014 survey) are: power, high financial and social status, the ability to achieve their goals by any methods and means. Crime statistics eloquently testify to the moral and spiritual state of society in the Russian Federation: according to the legal statistics portal of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, in 2014 the number of registered crimes was 2,166,399, Russia is at a critical level and is among the top five in terms of the number of offenses:

Based on this situation, one of the main goals of the state and legal policy of the Russian Federation is the prevention of moral degradation. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone is guaranteed “freedom of conscience, freedom of religion”, “freedom of thought and speech”, “ideological diversity is recognized...”, “no ideology can be established as state or mandatory...”. The Constitution of the Russian Federation fixes the foundations of justice, thereby defining the democratic content and embodying the requirement of the idea of justice and humanity. At the same time, the concepts of morality and morality are not enshrined in the legislation; as a result, issues of a spiritual and moral nature are outside the legal field. However, the defining condition for the development of a modern rule of law state is the consideration of law as a system of norms regulating social relations, which is based on spiritual moral values. Russian thinkers of the 19th century made a great contribution to the study of philosophical and legal axiology: A.S. Khomyakov, A.I. Koshelev, I.V. Kireevsky, who explored in their works the spiritual foundations in legal culture and recognized their leading role in the structure of the state. The outstanding Russian philosopher V. Solovyov in his work “The Justification of Good. Moral Philosophy" gives following definition rights - “a forced requirement for the implementation of a certain minimum good, or order, which does not allow known manifestations of evil.” The author further explains: “The task of secular law is not to turn the world lying in evil into the Kingdom of God, but to prevent it from turning into hell.” V. Soloviev considers morality as a fundamental principle in the development of society.

The famous Russian lawyer A.F. Koni (1844-1927) said: “Justice can be separated from justice, and the latter consists of more than just the lawful application of punitive sanctions. A judicial official, with all his actions in relation to people, to whose actions he is called to apply his mind, labor and power, must strive to implement the moral law,” these words accurately convey the idea of the inseparability of law and morality, legislation should be a conductor of morality, protect spiritual values of the people that form the foundation of Russian statehood. The opposite point of view was expressed by C. Helvetius, arguing that “it is possible to make people good only through good laws. The whole art of the legislator lies in making people be fair to each other, based on their love for themselves.” However, as we know, good can only be done by the will of a person, in a non-violent way; good cannot be “implanted” using even the most fair, impeccable laws. The connection between morality and law is obvious: the higher the level of morality, the higher the level of development of legality in the state, and vice versa.

We see one of the main conditions for preventing the moral degradation of society in the process of forming basic moral values, in which the main role belongs to the family. Lack of education, or its distortion, can lead to disastrous results in the future. The decline of the current society and the regressive development of family foundations are intertwined with each other from the very first stages of their historical birth. Understanding and identifying the factors influencing the formation of a deficient level of social morality, the problem of the value of the family and minimizing the consequences of this phenomenon seems impossible without taking into account the state and legal mechanisms aimed at reviving the family and determining its normal functioning. To achieve these goals, the state is developing new strategies for the development of family policy in the Russian Federation. Having touched on the essence of this problem, we should pay attention to the regulations governing the issues of state support for family, motherhood and children. These standards are prescribed in Family Code Russian Federation: “Family, motherhood, paternity and childhood in the Russian Federation are under the protection of the state.

Family legislation is based on the need to strengthen the family, build family relations on feelings of mutual love and respect, mutual assistance and responsibility to the family of all its members, the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference by anyone in family affairs, ensuring the unhindered exercise by family members of their rights, the possibility of judicial protection of these rights.” The Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation” states that “This Federal Law regulates the relations arising in connection with the implementation of the basic guarantees of the rights and legitimate interests of the child in the Russian Federation.

As for the Concept of state family policy in the field of spiritual and moral education of children in the Russian Federation and the protection of their morality, the expected results of this program are reflected here, namely: “achieving positive dynamics in demographic indicators, reducing the number of divorces, reducing the proportion of children -orphans and children left without parental care in the total child population, a reduction in the number of non-working parents, an increase in the share of employed citizens with family responsibilities in the total number of employed citizens,” etc. .

The role of the family as the first institution of socialization of a child cannot be underestimated. It is in the family that a certain model of behavior is laid down and a creative individuality is formed. IN modern society There is a tendency to build relationships that do not involve their registration with the civil registry office. Young people increasingly prefer to enter into unregistered relationships. “Cohabitants” deliberately do not want to declare their civil position, therefore, their union cannot be called “civil.” The law says:

1. Marriage is concluded in the civil registry office.

2. The rights and obligations of spouses arise from the date of state registration of marriage in the civil registry office.

Cohabitation does not imply mutual responsibility to each other, does not presuppose commonality, goals set for people. He is deceitful from three positions at once: legal, psychological, spiritual.

Family crisis is one of the most important and current problems society, in connection with this, the state is taking all possible measures to reduce the number of divorces and improve the socio-economic situation of families. Thus, the revival of the family institution on the basis of traditional moral values, in our opinion, is the main condition for preventing the spiritual degradation of society.

To determine measures to prevent moral decline, let’s consider the social portrait of crime. The Legal Statistics Portal of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation provides the following data for 2015.” 52% of lawbreakers have primary and basic general education, according to social composition: they do not have a permanent source of income or are hired workers. The conclusion arises that the commission of crimes is in direct correlation with the level of education in the Russian Federation. However, the state, for its part, provides opportunities for realizing the right to education, enshrining them in the law “On Education in the Russian Federation”:

1) “In the Russian Federation, the right of every person to education is guaranteed”;

2) “... universal accessibility and free access are guaranteed in accordance with the federal state educational standards of preschool, primary general, basic general and secondary general education, secondary vocational education, as well as free on a competitive basis higher education, if the citizen receives education at this level for the first time”;

3) “... the realization of every person’s right to education is ensured by creating appropriate socio-economic conditions for receiving it, expanding opportunities to satisfy a person’s needs for receiving education of various levels and directions throughout life.

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in its activities is guided by the following goals:

1) ensuring the availability of quality education for all segments of the population as the basis for social mobility and reducing socio-economic differentiation in society;

2) ensuring the current and future needs of the economy and social sphere for professional personnel with the necessary qualifications, creating conditions for the development of lifelong education;

3) creating conditions for the active inclusion of children studying educational institutions into the economic, socio-political and cultural life of society. Based on the Constitution of Russia, in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education”, the Concept of spiritual and moral education of Russian schoolchildren has been developed, which spells out the basic values: patriotism, social solidarity, citizenship, family, work and creativity, science - those moral principles that which would ensure the successful development of the state.

So, improving the quality of education is one of the goals of state and legal policy aimed at preventing the spiritual and moral degradation of society.

As we know, ancient times and the Middle Ages did not involve the official consolidation of legal norms in normative documents, however, the entire statehood (for example, Ancient Rus') was permeated with ideas of spiritual strengthening of man, ideas of justice, and the inadmissibility of the emergence in society of sentiments that corrupt the people spiritually and physically. The adoption of Christianity in Rus' gave rise to the development of a number of transformations that affected statehood and the cultural revival of the public. One of the main canons of rules of conduct in Orthodoxy is the commandments: Honor your father and mother, so that you may be well and may live long on earth, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness against your neighbor,” etc. d. As we see, all instructions come from high moral principles. Modern man has lost his spiritual connection with religion, along with the moral and moral norms that have developed over centuries in the consciousness of the people, which has become one of the reasons for crisis phenomena in the spiritual and moral sphere. Therefore, a major role in the formation of moral self-awareness in the modern world belongs to the institutions of the church, which will help revive such spiritual values as love, kindness, mercy, and honesty.

The media play a major role in the formation of views, ideas, and interests. According to Article 2 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Mass Media”, “mass information means intended printed, audio, audiovisual and other messages and materials; periodical printed publication, online publication, television channel, radio channel, television program, radio program, video program, other form of periodic dissemination of mass information under a permanent name.”

Information communications are capable of penetrating into all spheres of life: social, economic, political, spiritual, while directly addressing the public. Currently, we can state the destructive impact of the media on modern society, largely due to the easy and unlimited access to any information and anonymity. If we turn to the “Top 10 Yandex search queries”, we will see that the first and second places are occupied by social media“In Contact” and “Odnoklassniki”, 4 – “Porn”, 8th – “Porn-Online”. According to research by the Center for Scientific Political Thought and Ideology, the number of crimes related to the posting of pornographic materials on the Internet increased 12 times from 2009 to 2013. Most of the Internet space is occupied by computer games, of which 82% contain scenes of violence. The Internet does not regulate the search and use of information from the point of view of morality, morality, or legislation; at the same time, Article 3 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Mass Media” prohibits censorship of mass media; in this regard, state regulation of the functioning of the Internet seems necessary.

Since most of the activities of the media are currently aimed at destroying the moral consciousness of people, the loss of cultural norms, the cultivation, first of all, of material values - the creation of axiological chaos, we see an increase in the spiritual and moral state of society in the formation of a moral ideal by the media, which would contribute revival of spiritual values of national culture. The formation of an ideal can be based on positive examples, carriers of high moral and spiritual qualities, outstanding historical figures who gave their strength, talents, knowledge to the service of Russia, to historically established moral values: family, patriotism, peace, work, altruism, the value of human life, the desire for perfection.

Academician D.S. Likhachev, discussing the moral basis of the state, said that the well-being of the country depends on it, without it “the laws of the economy and the state do not apply,” “it is impossible to stop corruption, bribery, any scam.” The level of corruption in the country allows us to judge the spiritual component of our society. The Federal Law “On Combating Corruption” (Article 1) interprets the concept of corruption as “abuse of official position, giving a bribe, receiving a bribe.”

According to the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, “Results of consideration in 2014 of criminal cases of corruption-related crimes based on sentences and other court decisions that have entered into legal force,” 10,784 people were convicted, of which 4,188 were convicted of bribing an official for committing obviously illegal actions (inaction) (clause 2 P. No. 23);913-receipt by an official of a public international organization of a bribe for illegal actions (inaction) (as amended by the Federal Law dated May 4, 2011 No. 97-FZ) (clause 2 P.No. 23); 336 – for giving a bribe to an official of a public international organization (as amended by Federal Law No. 97-FZ dated 04.05.2011) (clause 2P. No. 23); 302 - for acts provided for in parts one to three, if they were committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, or with extortion of a bribe, or on a large scale (as amended by the Federal Law dated May 4, 2011 No. 97-FZ) (clause 2 P.No. 23); 185- for illegal receipt by a person performing managerial functions of money, securities, or other property for performing actions (inaction) in the interests of the person giving an official position in connection with this person (as amended by the Federal Law dated May 4, 2011 No. 97-FZ) (p .2 P.No. 23) .

In 2014 The “National Anti-Corruption Plan for 2014-2015” has been developed, which is designed to solve the problems of developing organizational aspects of anti-corruption, high-quality implementation of anti-corruption laws, legal education of citizens, implementation of the requirements of Article 13.3, 19.28 of the Federal Law. Of course, the implementation of the National Plan will have a positive dynamic in solving the problem of corruption, however, in our opinion, its implementation will only be possible on a moral basis, which will reflect such concepts as honor, conscience, and dignity.

Galushkin A.A. On the issue of freedom of information dissemination and protection from information dangers in modern stage// In the collection: Innovative development of socio-economic systems: conditions, results and opportunities Materials III international scientific and practical conference. MGOGI, Orekhovo-Zuevo, 2015.

Galushkin A.A. On the issue of information wars and information security at the present stage // In the collection: Rights and freedoms of man and citizen: theoretical aspects and legal practice materials of the annual International Scientific Conference in memory of Professor Felix Mikhailovich Rudinsky. Ryazan, 2015.

Degtyarev A.V. Family violence. Risk factors, diagnosis, psychotherapy // Psychology and law. 2012. No. 4.

Lineytseva K.S. On the issue of legal culture and the development of civil society institutions // Human Rights Defender. 2013. No. 2.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 11, 2014 N 226 “On the National Anti-Corruption Plan for 2014 - 2015” // SPS “Consultant-Plus”.

Chirkina R.V., Galushkin A.A. Keeping minors from repeat crimes // Bulletin Russian University friendship of peoples. Series: Legal sciences. 2012. No. 4.

Chirkina R.V., Degtyarev A.V., Galushkin A.A. Assessing the risk of juvenile delinquency and the probation service in the United States // Modern foreign psychology. 2014. T. 3. No. 2.

Heading En:

Prevention of the Moral Degradation of Society as one of the Purposes of State and Legal Policy of the Russian Federation

Abstract En:

Prevention of falling of moral and moral installations, cultural traditions is an actual problem of the modern Russian state. Constitution of the Russian Federation sets justice bases, thereby defining the democratic contents and embodying the requirement of the idea of justice and humanity. At the same time concepts of morals, moral thereof, questions of spiritual and moral character are out of a legal framework aren"t enshrined in the legislation. On the basis of the Country constitution, according to the Law of the Russian Federation "About education " the Concept of spiritual and moral education of the Russian school students in which basic values are stated is developed: patriotism, social solidarity, civic consciousness, a family, work and creativity, science, those moral installations which would provide successful development of the state .

En Keywords:

justice, humanity, democratic state, constitutional state, morals, social solidarity, spiritual and moral education, moral degradation, axiological chaos, state family policy.

M. A. Antipov, A. A. Ispolatova Penza State Technological Academy,

G. Penza, Russia

MORAL DEGRADATION AS A URGENT PROBLEM OF MODERN SOCIETY

M. A. Antipov, A. A. Ispolatova Penza State Technological Academy, Penza, Russia

Summary. Paper is devoted to very actual problem – problem of moral degradation of modern society. The article reveals the essence and meaning of morality and the consequences for the moral decline for society.

Key words: Moral; anomy; the crisis of morality.

The modern world, which has achieved unprecedented technological and informational progress, is faced with a crisis of morality. But material progress is not accompanied by corresponding spiritual development. It is clear that in the 20th century there was a sharp decline in morals throughout the world, and this decline continues even more rapidly in the 21st century. Many have lost their faith, and with it their moral guidelines.

As the French sociologist E. Durkheim wrote, “morality is an obligatory minimum and a severe necessity, it is our daily bread, without which societies cannot live.” Morality as an internalized morality (a set of the most important social norms), according to E. Durkheim, represents the basis of social solidarity, that is, the cohesion of heterogeneous members of society into a single integral social organism.

Morality is the internal spiritual qualities that guide a person, ethical standards; rules of behavior determined by these qualities. Morality is also a defining aspect of culture, its form, which provides the general basis for human activity, from the individual to society, from humanity to the small group.

Moral principles do not exist in their pure form, by themselves; they are always the result of history, political, economic and other relations in society, and therefore it is quite difficult to talk about such a subtle matter as the morality of any nation. Moreover, any fact can be viewed in two ways: everything depends on the point of view.

Many outstanding thinkers - Spengler, Heidegger, Toynbee, Jaspers, Husserl, Huxley, Orwell, Fukuyama, Thomas Mann - spoke about the decline

Western culture. The most outstanding of this series of philosophers, Heidegger, still hoped that man was not threatened by technology, the threat lay in the very essence of man. “But where there is danger,” he wrote, “there also appears salvation.” Theological concepts of culture put forward as the main idea that the culture of mankind as a whole has completed its ascent and is now uncontrollably sliding towards destruction. Since the core of any culture is religion and the foundations of morality developed by it, it is they who experience the most severe crisis from the invasion of rationalism.

Many have lost their faith, and with it their moral guidelines. All power and authority dictating standards of life have fallen in the eyes of people. So the concept of good and evil became relative for them. Accordingly, respect for traditions and family values decreases, and the family as the most important social institution degrades, which negatively affects demographic indicators.

Society is losing cultural traditions that served as a moral anchor. The growth of consumerism, permissiveness, and promiscuity are signs that society is plunging into a pool of moral degradation. Previously, people still somehow distinguished good from evil. Now you can do whatever you want.

Now the main value in our society, in our opinion, is money, which performs not just the purely economic function of an intermediary in the exchange of goods and resources, but also a social function. Money acts as a social sign, a symbol that defines social status the individual and at the same time the main goal of his daily life. Unfortunately, money is the “golden calf” that the absolute majority is chasing. The reason for this situation is that society itself sets similar conditions for social functioning for individuals. Nowadays, the well-being, psychological state and health of a modern person depend on the level of earnings.

The values promoted in the modern world are the cult of one's whims, indulging them, encouraging overt violence, cruelty and sexual promiscuity and presenting all this as something normal. Understanding all this, many talk about the need to create national idea, which would become a springboard for introducing moral values to the masses.

The crisis of morality in society manifests itself as the already mentioned E. Durkheim wrote about it in the theory of social anomie. A moral crisis, a spiritual vacuum of society means the destruction of its foundations, a violation of the cohesion of members of society, and the loss of life guidelines. This, in turn, leads to a crisis of social institutions and a surge in deviant behavior, violence and crime.

Thus, the article by Andrei Yurevich and Dmitry Ushakov “Morality in Modern Russia” provides terrifying statistics:

– every year 2 thousand children become victims of murder and receive serious bodily harm;

– every year 2 million children suffer from parental cruelty, and 50 thousand run away from home;

– every year 5 thousand women die from beatings inflicted by their husbands;

– violence against wives, elderly parents and children is recorded in every fourth family;

– 12% of teenagers use drugs;

– more than 20% of child pornography distributed around the world is filmed in Russia;

– about 1.5 million Russian school-age children do not attend school at all;

– the “social bottom” of children and teenagers covers at least 4 million people;

– the growth rate of child crime is 15 times faster than the growth rate of general crime;

– in modern Russia there are about 40 thousand juvenile prisoners, which is about 3 times more than there were in the USSR in the early 1930s.

There is a further decrease in the population of the Russian Federation. In 2010, the trend of decreasing birth rates and increasing mortality in Russia continued. Mortality continues to outweigh the birth rate, and Russia's population decreased by 241.4 thousand people in 2010. However, compared to 2009, the rate of natural decline decreased by 5.6%. The mortality rate from alcohol poisoning remains quite high. In 1993–2006, about 40 thousand people died annually in Russia from alcohol poisoning. However, since 2004, Russia has seen a steady decline in mortality from alcohol poisoning. In 2009, 21.3 thousand people died from this cause, which is the lowest figure since 1992.

The primary task is to develop the institution of family, active popularization family values. Neglect on the part of parents and schools to raise children contributes to the development of all the vices that exist in modern society. The formation of a child’s moral values is influenced primarily by parents, then by school and social environment. Researchers have found that the majority of children who were unable to realize themselves in adult life and turned into alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and did not receive the required amount of warmth and love from parents who did not properly raise their children. It is the selfless love of parents, their own example, that is the main means of instilling moral qualities in children. Therefore, parents, and then schools and universities, must form positive images in the child’s mind and soul.

If moral ideals will not be learned by a person or learned poorly, then their place as a determinant of behavior will be taken by other qualities that can be characterized by the adjective “immoral” (in this context, immoral also means socially passive behavior). Criminal ethics is the most socially negative manifestation of immorality.

Thus, the loss of moral and spiritual guidelines by society leads to its decomposition, which manifests itself in crisis phenomena in all spheres of public life: economic, political, social, and especially cultural.

Bibliography

1. Durkheim E. Sociology. Its subject, method and purpose. – M.: Kanon, 1995. – 392 p.

2. Sergeeva A.V. Russians: behavioral stereotypes, traditions, mentality. – M.: Flinta, Nauka, 2004. – 259 p.

3. Chupri L. The decline of morality in Russian society. URL: http://www. apn. ru/public- ations/article23740.htm

4. Heidegger M. The question of technology // Heidegger M. Time and Being: Articles and speeches: trans. from German. – M.: Republic, 1993. – 447 p.

5. Yurevich A., Ushakov D. Morality in modern Russia. URL: http://www. capital- Rus. ru/articles/article/1041

Analyzing the content and method of presentation of Dostoevsky’s works, M.M. Bakhtin noted in his studies that the writer was able to convey inner world characters in such a way that the overall structure of the novel was polyphony. In a consistent form, the work did not express through verbal means just one idea creatively originated in the author’s mind; on the contrary, the multiplicity of internal images that determined the worldview of completely different people - the heroes of the novel - were combined with that integral unity, which is called the search for the meaning of life. Features of F.M.’s presentation Dostoevsky lies in the understanding that each person is the whole Universe, therefore the path of searching for the meaning of life is a unique, inimitable process that can be carried out within the framework of one work, as well as within the historical boundaries of existence, in different, sometimes contradictory, ways

The writer's novel "Demons" is no exception. However, the problem of the meaning of the personal existence of the heroes is directly related to the search for a way of social, state reorganization, which would help to realize personal meaning. In that case central characters novel, precisely central, and not the main ones, since, according to M.M. Bakhtin, in the works of Dostoevsky there is no minor characters, are Pyotr Verkhovensky and Nikolai Stavrogin. The characterization of P. Verkhovensky, which the author gives, is ambiguous and contradictory, which expresses the internal inconsistency of the hero’s consciousness: “No one will say that he is bad-looking, but no one likes his face. His head is elongated towards the back of the head and, as it were, flattened on the sides, so that his face seems sharp. His forehead is high and narrow, but his facial features are small; his eyes are sharp, his nose is small and pointed, his lips are long and thin... He walks and moves hastily, but is in no hurry. Nothing seems to confuse him; under all circumstances and in any society he will remain the same. He has great self-satisfaction, but he himself does not notice it in himself at all... His pronunciation is surprisingly clear; his words pour out like even, large grains of grain, always selected and always ready at your service. At first you like it, but then it becomes disgusting, and precisely because of this too clear reprimand, because of this bead of eternally ready-made words. You somehow begin to imagine that the tongue in his mouth must be of some special shape, some especially long and thin, terribly red and with an extremely sharp tip that constantly and involuntarily spins.” Characteristics of appearance, harmoniously combined with the presentation of behavior and communication, clearly indicate the inner world of the hero. Pleasant, but not liked by anyone, inclined to dialogue, but at the same time repulsive, Pyotr Verkhovensky does not evaluate himself as a smug and narcissistic person, personifying the moral and political center, in relation to which a revolutionary idea of the new system and the principles of its leadership is formed. Revealing the main management structures, the young man openly expresses their value assessment in the dialogue that took place between him and Stavrogin after visiting “ours” - a meeting of people who, suppressed by the will of Verkhovensky, formed a circle of “like-minded people.” Having listened to Shigalev’s proposal for a post-revolutionary structure of society, in which the bulk of the population are slaves, forming a dumb herd, who will be managed by people like Verkhovensky, the latter declares: “He (Shigalev - S.K.) good in the notebook, he has espionage. With him, each member of society watches one after another and is obliged to denounce. Everyone belongs to everyone, and everything belongs to everyone. All slaves are equal even in slavery... Only what is necessary is necessary - this is the motto of the globe from now on. But a spasm is also needed; We, the rulers, will take care of this. Slaves must have rulers. Complete obedience, complete impersonality...” Peter Verkhovensky sees his role in creating a new state system only in taking a leadership position, providing a “convulsion” to the slaves, making them fear and, based on fear, instilling complete obedience and submission. However, Peter is not going to implement this principle of leadership for his own sake, acting only as an active performer and a devoted “apostle” of another person. Despite the fact that the sign of the devil in the narrative is the tongue of the hero, which according to the description is similar to that of a snake, Verkhovensky cannot be called a herald of the devil - the Antichrist, although in the novel there are several more indications of this character of the hero: firstly, his prodigal origin. Without shame, the young man announces to his father Stepan Trofimovich that he saw letters from his mother, in which she herself doubts who to attribute the paternity of her son, hinting at an intimate relationship with a Pole who once passed through and stayed in their house. The image of Pyotr Stepanovich most likely resembles the magician-miracle worker Apollonius from the story of the Antichrist by Vl. Solovyova. This man, according to the description, had a mystical knowledge of the East, as well as knowledge of the latest technical means available to the civilized world of Europe. “So,” writes Vl. Soloviev, - this man will come to the great emperor (Antichrist - S.K.), will bow to him as the great son of God,..., and will offer himself and all his art to his service.” Invisibly manipulating, the magician summoned lightning from heaven and directed it at Elder John, who recognized the Antichrist in everyone’s beloved emperor. The death of the old man came instantly. Pyotr Verkhovensky also quietly manages the situation in the city. Deliberately hinting at the existing network of revolutionary cells, the swindler offers to hand them over to Governor Lembke within six days, during which there is an uprising of the workers of the Shpigulinsky factory, a subtly planned debauchery of the burghers at a ball patronized by the governor’s wife, as well as a major fire in one of the districts of the city where there were two mysterious murders were committed. When Pyotr Stepanovich is openly accused of perjury, he does not even retract his words, declaring that he was misunderstood. By distorting the meaning of previously made speeches, Verkhovensky drives Lembke to the point of losing his common sense. The lie that fell from the lips of the young man is another evidence that confirms the devilish direction of his will, which sought to embody the ideal of the “Antichrist” state as a result of its fulfilling, “apostolic” activity.

What methods does Verkhovensky propose to bring closer the future “fair” socio-political structure of the state? As he himself states, it is necessary, first of all, to shake all the moral and religious foundations of society, to compromise officials, people in power, to destroy all the ties that hold the various layers of society in the unity of a whole and less harmonious monarchical system. “Listen, we’ll start the chaos first,” Verkhovensky was in a terrible hurry, constantly grabbing Stavrogin by the left sleeve. - Do you know that we are already terribly strong? Ours are not only those who cut and burn and make classic shots or bite. I'm a fraudster, not a socialist, ha ha! Listen, I have counted them all: the teacher who laughs at their God and at their cradle is already ours. The lawyer who defends the educated murderer on the grounds that he is more developed than his victims and, in order to get money, could not help but kill, is already ours.” And, anticipating the approaching moment of the complete moral collapse of the country, Pyotr Stepanovich further prophesies: “The people are drunk, the mothers are drunk, the children are drunk, the churches are empty. Oh, let the generation grow up! It’s just a pity that there’s no time to wait, otherwise they might get even drunker...” Verkhovensky acted not only as a secret, magical organizer of crimes, but he himself was a direct participant in them. At the gate of the fence of the church, which stood in the center of the city, there was an icon of the Virgin Mary. Pyotr Stepanovich not only personally participated in its abduction, but, as it turned out at the end of the story, he planted a mouse in the holy place of the icon, although a rumor was spread around the city that the mouse was planted by one of “ours” - Lyamshin. In characterizing this crime, one cannot help but pay attention to the dialogue that took place between Verkhovensky and Fedka the convict who participated in the theft. Denouncing his former master as an idolater who rejected his father’s faith in God the Creator, Fedka confesses and repents of his crime: “You see, Pyotr Stepanovich, I tell you this is true, that I robbed you; but I only took off the zenchug, and as far as you know, maybe my tear before the crucible of the Almighty at that very moment was transformed, for some kind of offense of mine, since there is exactly this very orphan, without even an essential shelter... And you he let the mouse go, which means he violated God’s very finger.” As it turns out later, Fedka the convict was mysteriously killed. The mystery is explained by the fact that no one in the city knew about his whereabouts and movements, so the corpse of the former serf Verkhovensky found on the road was associated with something mystical for all residents of the city.

S.A. wrote about the inconsistency and paradoxical harmony of the Russian soul, the bearer of which in the novel is Fedka. Askoldov: “In the composition of every soul there is a beginning sacred, specifically human And bestial. Perhaps the greatest originality of the Russian soul lies, in our opinion, in the fact that the average, specifically human principle in it is disproportionately weak in comparison with the national psychology of other peoples. In the Russian person as a type, the strongest are the beginnings sacred And bestial". The holy principle in man was based not on will, but on religious feeling, which was expressed in patience, humility, and co-crucifixion with Christ with one’s suffering. Such a gift of grace, combined with a poorly developed will, according to S.A. Askoldov, justified “a certain disregard for the moral law”, explained “the possibility of being “the fullness of abomination” and at the same time being clarified by religious light.” Verkhovensky, on the contrary, personifies a specifically human beginning, the fundamental principles of which were laid down in this young man abroad in the form of a humanistic ideal, directed in his volitional aspiration towards the creation of a kingdom of “grace” on earth, in material and natural reality. However, his inner world, being connected by family roots with the Slavic cultural tradition, could not fully absorb the image of humanism and split into the bestial and the sacred. The latter, having become detached from everything divinely enlightening, gradually faded away, and the victorious animal nature found its expression in actions and deeds that did not in any way correspond to those humanistic principles in relation to which, it would seem, the formation of the hero’s consciousness took place.

The final moral decline of Verkhovensky, as well as the members of the five “ours,” occurs at the moment the decision was made at the meeting to kill Shatov, a man who, having recognized the essential meaning of revolutionary ideals, their rottenness, meaningful emptiness, renounced his ideological delusion. The initiator of the death sentence for Shatov was, naturally, Pyotr Stepanovich. The text contained a hint expressed by Kirillov that Verkhovensky could not forgive a personal offense - a spit in the face when, with his false arguments, as well as threats, he tried to stop Shatov from repenting. Pyotr Stepanovich, having lied that they former comrade will inform on them, decided with blood to “finally seal the five” and “instead of presenting the fact in a decent light, ... he only exposed raw fear and a threat to his own skin.” The bestial nature released in people, expressed in this case by the instinct of self-preservation, demanded its leader, who “had to create discipline and order forcibly through intimidation and various means of coercion.” It is no coincidence that the principle of the existence of the “five” is not subject to organic unity, but, as S.A. notes. Askoldov, analyzing the revolutionary movement, “acquires a contradictory character, since this form seeks to weld into one whole something that is uncontrollably scattered in different directions.” After the murder of Shatov and the departure of Verkhovensky, the “five” fell apart: Liputin fled, leaving his family and without saying a word to anyone, he was found two weeks later in St. Petersburg, where he “drank and began to debauch beyond any measure, like a man who had completely lost his common sense.” . Lyamshin, unable to withstand remorse, went to inform the police. Virginsky was taken after Lyamshin’s denunciation and, overjoyed, said, “It fell from my heart.” The youngest member of the “five,” cornet Erkel, in love with Verkhovensky as an ideal revolutionary, was the only one who either remained silent or distorted the truth, covering up, as he thought from humane motives, the evil deeds of his leader. Lots of evidence from F.M. Dostoevsky, which he cites in the description of the active nature of Peter Verkhovensky, unambiguously indicate his devilish essence: this is the image of a “snake” in the form of language, and the deceitfulness of speeches, and a hint of fornication, and his own desecration of a holy place, organization and direct participation in murders. However, this hero cannot be called the Antichrist in the essential, meaningful understanding. This is due to the fact that Pyotr Stepanovich does not love himself, he lacks a reflexive egoistic perception of his individuality, moreover, this hero does not have an inner world as the basis of egoistic individuality. We find confirmation of our thought in the text of the novel. Verkhovensky considers himself only an organizer-forerunner, an “apostle”, after whom “Ivan the Tsarevich” or the true Antichrist in the person of Stavrogin will come. “Stavrogin, you are handsome! - Pyotr Stepanovich cried almost in ecstasy. -...I love beauty. I'm a nihilist, but I love beauty. Don't nihilists love beauty? They just don’t like idols, but I love idols! You are my idol! You don't insult anyone, but everyone hates you; you look like everyone else, and everyone is afraid of you, that’s good... It means nothing to you to sacrifice your life, both yours and someone else’s... I, I need exactly someone like you... You are the leader, you are the sun, and I am your worm.” At the end of his fiery speech, Verkhovensky takes Stavrogin’s hand and kisses it. So does Vl. Soloviev in his literary work « A short story about the Antichrist,” revealing the essence of the superman-antichrist, writes the following: “Conscious of the great power of the spirit in himself, he was always a convinced spiritualist, and a clear mind always showed him the truth of what he should believe in: goodness, God, the Messiah. This is him believed, But loved only one myself" .

The question remains unresolved: how did Stavrogin himself assess his position, knowing what role Verkhovensky had prepared for him in the future fate of Russia? This question can be answered in the words of A.S. Askoldov, who figuratively calls people like Stavrogin “colorless pale sickness.” Such people, having remarkable abilities, cannot creatively transform their lives, nor change the fate of their loved ones. In his last letter to Daria Pavlovna, Nikolai Stavrogin writes: “I tried my strength everywhere... But what to apply this strength to - that’s what I’ve never seen, and I don’t see now... I can still, as always before, wish to do good business and I feel pleasure from it, next to it I wish evil and also feel pleasure. But both feelings are still always too small, and never too small. My desires are too weak; I can’t lead..." Verkhovensky intuitively felt the potential, unrealized essence of this person, equally inclined to good and evil, trying to seduce him with the ideals of revolutionary humanism and thereby direct him along the path of immoral, evil formation. Undoubtedly, if Pyotr Stepanovich had succeeded in this, Nikolai would have become a strong and unshakable leader, the creator of a new political worldview, its basic ideological principles, the creator of revolutionary methods, the active implementation of which would have become the competence of Pyotr Verkhovensky. Liza and Daria Pavlovna, on the contrary, sought to see in Stavrogin a kind but unhappy person, offering for his moral improvement not only their own body, like Liza, but also their life, like Daria Pavlovna. The image of Nikolai Vsevolodovich as a “pale illness”, whose inner world is filled with suffering that has lost its meaning, “gives rise to despondency, one of the deadly sins. It is a direct path to oblivion. A creature that has fallen into despondency usually seeks to commit suicide by hanging,” wrote N.O. Lossky. And so it happened.

Dostoevsky hero novel demons

Literature

1. Askoldov S.A. The religious meaning of the Russian revolution // Quoted. By: Antichrist. Anthology. - M., 1995.
2. Bakhtin M.M. The idea in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky. - M.,. 2003.
3. Dostoevsky F.M. Demons. - M., 2005.
4. Lossky N.O. About the nature of Satan (according to Dostoevsky) // Quoted. By: Antichrist. Anthology. - M., 1995.
5. Soloviev V.S. Three conversations about war, progress and the end of world history // Collection. op. in 2 volumes. T. 2. M.: THOUGHT. 1988.
6. Askoldov, S.A. Religious meaning of Russian revolution // Antichrist. Anthology. 1995.
7. Bakhtin, M.M. Idea in Dostoevsky F.M. work. Moscow. 2003.
8. Dostoevsky, F.M. Demons. Moscow. 2005.
9. Lossky, N.O. About demon nature (by Dostoevsky) // Antichrist. Anthology. 1995.
10. Soloviev, V.S. Three conversations about war, progress and the world history end // Collected works in two volumes / Volume 2. Moscow: Idea. 1988.

How is the life of humanity changing morally? Why spiritual development human beings lagging behind scientific and technological progress? These are the questions that arise when reading the text Soviet writer L.M. Leonova.

Commenting on the problem of moral degradation of society, the author relies on his own thoughts. The apparent well-being of modern society

the author contrasts with the spiritual abyss at the edge of which humanity finds itself. On the one hand, progress is “rushing” forward at full speed: SHOW STINDOWS ARE FULL OF GOODS, MODERN CARS ARE MOVING IN THE STREETS, airplanes cover enormous distances.

But the well-being of society only seems. To emphasize the idea that spiritual well-being is fading, the author uses vivid metaphors: “pressure gauge needles are trembling”, “fumes from overheated feet, overstressed wires”

It is difficult to disagree with the author's opinion. Indeed, modern civilization is becoming more and more morally worn out. Despite the fact that people acquire extensive knowledge, make scientific discoveries, create unprecedented technical devices, they do not develop spiritually and do not distinguish between good and evil.

To confirm the correctness of our thoughts, let us turn to literary argument. Let us remember the story of I.A. Bunin "Mr. from San Francisco". This work, written in 1915, when the First World War was already in its second year, is imbued with a sense of the catastrophic nature of life. Main character- a rich American, 58 years old - goes on a long trip to the Old World solely for his own pleasure and entertainment. Before this, he did not live, but only existed, trying to accumulate wealth and equal the amount of capital with those whom he took as a model. But the journey ends suddenly: the old man dies in a hotel on the island of Capri. Emphasizing the soullessness of the hero, the deadness of his soul, the writer deprives him of his name. The gentleman is not able to see the beauty of the world around him, to enjoy nature. The American is opposed by the Abruzzese mountaineers, before whom a beautiful sunny country opens up.

Let's give another example. The dystopian novel “We” by E.I. Zamyatin shows a future society that has reached the heights of scientific and technological progress, which is building an Integral in order to rush into an infinite universe. But before us are people devoid of a soul - “numbers”, living according to the same routine, obeying the Benefactor. For them, love is just a “pleasantly useful function” issued with pink coupons. People are fenced off from nature by a transparent wall; there is no true art in society.

Let's summarize. We have proven that with the development of scientific and technological progress, humanity forgets about spiritual values. Humanity has truly stopped at a dangerous point. Isn’t it time to think that material well-being will not save people from spiritual degradation? Moral self-improvement is necessary.

The text of the famous Soviet writer L. M. Leonov examines the complex the problem of moral degradation of humanity.

The author considers the main reason for the lack of spiritual well-being in the world to be the consequences of scientific and technological progress, which the article examines in two aspects. On the one hand, we should not panic: “progress is in good health,” as a result, life becomes more comfortable. On the other hand, as the writer further notes, it is still felt that scientific and technological achievements impoverish us morally and ethically. And rapidly developing science is unable to stop this process: “Knowledge helps to look into the abyss, but does not give instructions on how not to fall into it.”

L. M. Leonov is sure: humanity is morally “wearing out”, and this may well even lead to the collapse of civilization. This is exactly the position the author comes to when discussing how our lives are changing spiritually.

It is difficult to disagree with this idea: a person internally degrades, being surrounded by the latest benefits that allow him to move less, remember less, think less and communicate completely differently. Modern people are weakening physically, degrading morally, allowing into their consciousness the propaganda of consumerism and selfishness of the “king of nature”, they are not changing in better side socially and intellectually.

The preservation of civilization is based on the transfer of moral and spiritual values that ensure the integrity of the individual and all humanity, and in the conditions of technological progress, people do not have time to think about this. Thus, for a long period of time, the people of the planet observed the rivalry between two powerful states - the USA and former USSR- in the creation of nuclear weapons. Indeed, such powerful powers needed to have weapons of mass destruction in their arsenal to maintain world domination. However, from a moral point of view, the arms race has been criticized by many progressive scientists.

In my opinion, progress should not outstrip a person’s moral capabilities. Otherwise, the situation described in Yevgeny Zamyatin’s dystopia “We” is possible. The heroes of the work are “numbers” living in the United State. Their whole life is subject to mathematical laws: the “numbers” live according to a single schedule, live in glass-transparent apartments, and think the same. The heroes do not know the thirst for beauty; they are deprived of natural human feelings and experiences. Despite the fact that the state is technically developed, its citizens are spiritually poor.

Thus, the consequences of technological progress can be disastrous for the spiritual life of people: while enriching ourselves with scientific discoveries, high-tech goods and services, we impoverish ourselves morally and morally.