Recently, Mark Galeotti, who is the number one expert on Russia, formulated a very important idea: «The goal of Europe is to transform Russia into a stable, democratic, prosperous state where everyone lives happily. This is the best guarantee of European security in the long term.» The claim is bold at this time, since many Western experts, politicians, Russian exiles, and the majority of Ukrainian citizens are certain that only a military defeat and the collapse of Russia will eliminate the military threat to the entire world.
I want to share my opinion on this matter. But to begin with, I propose to agree on the basic term «Russian mentality». I will assess namely the Russian mentality, because 81 percent of the Russian population are Russians. And the fate of Russia is largely determined by the history and personal characteristics of the Russian people. This is not a manifestation of my imperialism, but the acknowledging of reality. In this context, the «mystery of the Russian soul» is not a metaphor, but an object of analysis and a tool for changing Russian society.
Of course, every nation is unique. What does the uniqueness of the Russian people involve? Russian and foreign philosophers, historians and writers agree that the Russian people, amazingly, possess a combination of laziness and industriousness, the cult of suffering and a sudden change of mind from a state of peace to a state of rage and aggression, the triumph of morality over law – hence the disregard for laws and a heightened sense of justice – , the superiority of the collective over the individual, paternalism and belief in fate. The Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, who emigrated from Russia in 1922, noted that the character of the Russian person is very polarized: «On the one hand - humility, on the other – rebellion; on the one hand – compassion, on the other hand – cruelty, on the one hand – love of freedom, on the other hand – a tendency towards servitude.» Extremes and contradictions break the Russian soul. This is the essence of the Russian national character.