printNational Identity, Trauma and Capitalism:
Theoretical Problems of the Russian Self-Awareness Modernization
Trubitsyn D.V.
Dr. Sci. (Philos.), Prof., Transbaikalian State University, Chita, Russia dvtrubitsyn@yandex.ru
The article was prepared within the framework of the work the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-28-20444.
Trubitsyn D.V. National Identity, Trauma and Capitalism: Theoretical Problems of the Russian Self-Awareness Modernization. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 11. P. 135-148
The dynamics of Russian self-awareness is considered in the context of the modernization problem. The paper critically analyses mainstream claims about the negative impact of market relations, globalization and social (cultural, historical) trauma on the formation of nationwide identity. Historical facts show that capitalism and open contacts with the rest of the world are necessary for the formation of a modern identity. The analysis of the criticism of capitalism focuses on еhe erroneous opposition of the material and the spiritual in the development of industrial society. Retro-oriented character of Russian identity, as well as weakness of self-reflection of the macrosystem, are analysed; immediate studies confirm that, as well as dogmatism, the appeal of mass consciousness to historical mythologemes. Overcoming them is seen as a necessary condition for the formation of a modern type of identity and the development of society itself. Assumptions are made about the nature of the dynamics of Russian national self-awareness in recent decades on the traditional-modern scale. Conclusions are made about the insufficiency of constructivism as a theoretical basis for the study of identity. It is stated that such concepts as “activity” and “production” should be brought in, so that objective factors in the development of self-awareness could be taken into consideration. These are social structures: relationships and institutions that are formed depending on long-term economic strategies. The problem of the rent-raw materials model of the economy and its influence on the formation of Russian national identity is also discussed.
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