ISSN 2078-9823 (Print), ISSN 2587-7879 (Online)

DOI: 10.15507/2078-9823.065.024.202401.069-079

Vera P. Izergina1, Nina I. Izergina2

1, 2 National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University (Saransk, Russia)

1 e-mail: vera.ivp@yandex.ru

2 e-mail: ninaini@yandex.ru

 

Political and Philosophical Analysis of Military-Patriotic Ideas of Modern Russian Students (on the Example of the Republic of Mordovia)

 

Abstract

Introduction. The article provides a political and philosophical analysis of the military-patriotic ideas of modern Russian students on the example of the Republic of Mordovia in the context of the Russian Federation’s special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine.

Materials and Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is the philosophical works of I. A. Ilyin (1883–1954), devoted to military issues and revealing the spiritual meaning and the main moral contradiction of war on the basis of organic methodology. Civilization theory is used to analyze the Ukrainian conflict in the context of global socio-political processes. The empirical basis of the study is the materials of the questionnaire survey of undergraduate students of the I and II courses of the bachelor programs “Political Science”, “Sociology” and “Social Work” of Ogarev Mordovia State University, conducted in 2023.

Results. The reconstruction of the understanding of the essence of the spiritual and moral sides of war in the works of the religious philosopher I. A. Ilyin was carried out to study the military-patriotic ideas of modern students. The actual methodological significance of the provisions of the philosopher’s works for the analysis of modern warfare is revealed. In general, their essence is as follows: spiritual development is impossible in conditions of enslavement, and there is a response of a “spiritually living people” to an “external attack... confrontation... forced civilization”, in gratitude for which it is necessary to “provide yourself... for economic exploitation”. The Ukrainian conflict is considered in the light of the modern anti-colonial interpretation of civilization, which recognizes the equality of all civilizations, and is presented as a fundamental question about the principles of building a new world. These methodological provisions formed the basis for the development of a questionnaire for conducting a student survey and analyzing its results.

Discussion and Conclusion. The study showed the ambiguity of students’ ideas about the spiritual, semantic and moral sides of the war, about the nature of Russia’s military in Ukraine, and about true patriotism. In this regard, conclusions are formulated that are important to take into account in the implementation of the educational process at the university. It is necessary to actively form an understanding of the war, in which the people protect their spiritual heritage, first of all, as a “spiritual need associated with a sense of homeland”, for which a person is voluntarily ready to “accept deprivation, severe physical torment and death”. It is important to correct students’ attitude to war from a religious point of view: the covenant “thou shalt not kill” does not mean that believers deny the fulfillment of patriotic duty and the protection of the country, but assumes acceptance of guilt for killing a person when the fighter has no other choice to achieve the goals of the war. It is important to develop students’ understanding of the existential significance and spiritual justification of their education for our people. Students’ ideas of true patriotism as “spiritually meaningful and Christianly ennobled” need to be adjusted to a certain extent.

Keywords: philosophy of war, hybrid war, patriotism, civilization, I. A. Ilyin, special military operation, military-patriotic representations of students, Republic of Mordovia.

For citation: Izergina V. P., Izergina N. I. Political and Philosophical Analysis of Military-Patriotic Ideas of Modern Russian Students (on the Example of the Republic of Mordovia). Gumanitarian: aktual’nye problemy gumanitarnoi nauki i obrazovaniia = Russian Journal of the Humanities. 2024; 24(1): 69–79. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2078-9823.065.024.202401.069-079.

 

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