Russia is certainly a special country, as Kremlin ideologists like to emphasize, but it is difficult to find at least one area in which such specialness would indicate a progressive character and distinguish it favorably from other states. The history of the last decade and a half — from the frightening pace of deindustrialization to attempts to recreate the Soviet empire through the renaissance of ideology and religious worldview — is increasingly indicating that Russia is consciously turning from modernity to archaism. It is difficult to say what must happen for a country to choose the path of modernization, but it is extremely important to create a systematic picture of the society in which we live and the world in which this society is embedded. This book is an attempt to assess where the country will have to start if it does try to fit into the modern world, and also partly a warning about what we can all lose if we do not act now.
