The Fate of Russian Matrix

Abstract

The main subject of the article is the prospects of Russia in the context of macro-historical dynamics. The article relates the experience of cultural analysis of the current state and historical perspectives of the Russian civilisation. It identifies the persistently replicating structural universals of the Russian cultural system (the Russian matrix), such as imperialism, autocracy, and denial of the personal. The author attempts to correlate their manifestations with the modern cultural context and to model the possible scenarios of historical dynamics in the foreseeable future. Considering the macro-historical interactions between Russia as heir to the Byzantine civilisation and the West he outlines the causes of the current systemic crisis of the Western world.