President Putin has enacted a national policy of preserving traditional values
FILE PHOTO. © Sputnik / Aleksandr Kryazhev
Actions taken by Washington and other “unfriendly nations” – as well as transnational corporations, certain NGOs and media outlets – threaten Russia’s traditional values, President Vladimir Putin said in a decree on Wednesday. The new document sets the principles of protecting and preserving the values Russia considers the basis for “defending and strengthening its sovereignty” as well as “preserving the people of Russia and developing their human potential.”
Reliance on its traditional values stemming from Russia’s cultural and historical experience is what helps the nation to effectively face new challenges and threats while keeping its identity intact, the decree said. Among the values listed in the document are life, human dignity, human rights, patriotism, high moral ideals, close-knit traditional family, historical memory, continuity of generations, as well as unity of all peoples living on the territory of Russia.
The document also says that all major religions – including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism – had a “profound impact” on the development of Russia’s traditional values, shared by both believers and atheists.
Putin’s new policy is aimed at “preserving and strengthening traditional values… through generations,” as well as “countering the spread of destructive ideologies.” As examples of such ideologies, which are “alien to the people of Russia,” the document lists the “cult of egoism, impunity and amorality,” the “denial of patriotism and family values,” and LGBTQ+ propaganda.
“Actions of extremist and terrorist organizations, certain media outlets as well as actions of the US and other unfriendly nations and some transnational corporations… pose a threat to traditional values,” the document notes.
According to Putin’s decree, this threat should be countered through policies targeting the youth, education reforms, and support for literature, art, films and media outlets promoting traditional values. The decree also instructs the government to work with the civil society, preserve the historical memory of the peoples of Russia, and support the Russian language, both in Russia and abroad.
