The Role of Families in Russia

In the 'ideological framework' of Putin's upcoming election campaign for re-election as president in 2024, the topic of the family is taking on an even more specific role. Experts at the Moscow Institute for Social Research say: 'This is where the difference between the ethical systems of the West and Russia can be seen. But there are also surveys that show opposite trends.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Experts from the Institute for Social Research (Eisi) in Moscow, one of the analysis centers closest to President Vladimir Putin, held a round table on "Family values and the importance of the family".

The participants explained that the family is not only a fundamental principle for Russian society and for state institutions, but is "the basis of our entire civilization", naturally meaning only the union of man and woman, and reporting the results of the most recent surveys and analyses.

In the "ideological framework" of Putin's next electoral campaign for re-election as president in 2024, the theme of traditional values will take on an even more specific role, precisely due to the exaltation of Russia's "exclusive civilization".

Round table moderator Firdus Aliev insisted on "attention to the situation of the family in Russia as one of the priority ideological lines of state policy... this is where we see the difference between the ethical systems of the West and Russia."

Throughout the world, the institution of the family is subjected to a great test of its resistance, a "challenge on all dimensions of morality, which cannot be faced without the solid ground of the family".

The director of the NGO "Russia, Country of Possibilities", Sergej Koljada, then explained how his association acts in defense of family values, organizing various competitions in many areas of society, such as the one currently underway on "What is family for we". Representatives of at least three generations are called to it, who must face some tests in remote and in-person formats, and in 2024 there will be the final challenge; all participants will receive a trip together throughout Russia as a prize, and the 30 winners will receive a check of 5 million rubles (50 thousand euros) for improving their family living conditions.

As Koljada explains, “for children and young people these competitions are an opportunity to get to know their parents in a different light, find something in common beyond the ordinary, and for parents it is an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of adolescents Today".

He also reported the results of polls according to which family is currently in third place of fundamental values ​​according to Russians with 84%, after health (94%) and safety (93%), but also surpasses stability ( 88%), freedom and material well-being (86%). The main family values are considered to be the health of relatives, loyalty, shared well-being and love, the latter a step below the others with 87% of the consensus.

The representative of Vitsom, a university center for sociological studies, Mikhail Mamonov, demonstrated the importance of the family in contemporary Russian society, above all thanks to the attention of the state authorities in supporting a satisfying family life and the education of children.

Many others intervened in this sense, such as the head of the Kirov region, Aleksandr Sokolov, who underlined that the man who takes a woman as his wife is "a true man of the state", and in the regional administrations this "state" family ” is the criterion for social and economic development, starting from housing and infrastructure investments.

According to other surveys presented, however, only a minority of those interviewed are willing to officially end their relationship with their partner with marriage, and many have no explicit intentions of having children, 26% "don't think about it at all".

Several speakers therefore insisted on the importance of the task of spreading and illustrating the principles of the family more and more, so that they do not remain just ideological slogans, but are increasingly translated into reality.

Otherwise, as the director of the Institute for Regional Problems, Natalia Lindigrin, underlined, "we risk falling into the new Western 'normality'", which "is not made for the inhabitants of Russia".

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