Putin’s Call for Restoration of Traditional Values Dangerous Because Such Values are So Varied and at Odds with Existing Social Structures, Grashchenkov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 14 – Calls by the Putin regime for the restoration of traditional values are inherently dangerous because the values of the past are so varied that the advocates of one will almost invariably come into conflict with the advocates of another, Ilya Grashchenkov says; and that will force the regime to move back to those of contemporary society.

            Indeed, the president of the Center for the Development of Regional Policy says, there are signs of the emergence of so many different traditions that it won’t be long before the Putin regime or its successor will be compelled to change course (rosbalt.ru/news/2024-10-15/ilya-graschenkov-kakoy-obraz-zhizni-schitat-v-rossii-chelovecheskim-5221743).

            It has turned out that various groups in Russia are seeking to restore various traditions, ranging from blood feuds to playing at being animals, a pattern that has highlighted both the fact that “traditional values” are too varied and that promoting them in general will spark conflicts among them.

            The Putin regime may believe that it can control the situation and impose only one form of traditional values, but that belief is without much foundation if the Kremlin tries to impose values at odds with the social structure of the country as when it seeks to have urban Russians procreate at the same level as rural ones in a country that is 75 percent urban.

            As a result of both these conflicts and these obstacles, Grashchenkov says, Moscow will have to back away from its call for traditional values and move toward ones more in congruence with society as it actually exists and in order to avoid having groups of extremists seize on calls for traditional values to promote ideas at odds with the regime.