Russia is currently the one part of the society that is capable of developing and implementing a unifying idea of living together on a global scale. Russia has the necessary historical experience of different ethnicities, with very different identities, coexisting peacefully, their identity not lost, enjoying support and in many cases developing without conflicts. The very spirit of Russia suggests acceptance and support. But in order for Russia to successfully reunite the world, it must first develop and implement this unity within.
Current events clearly show that Russia needs to redesign itself in a new, updated form. Naturally, this new design must be based on the genotype of «Russianness», on the timeless values of the Russian world. The country must find its universal, authentic idea. Many a lance has been broken over Russia’s national idea. The answer is yet to be found. All because the process is pointless and useless. Russia has no national idea. Russia’s idea is supranational. If you put it down in one word, that word would be «goodness». And that goodness is global. It does not stop at anything or anywhere. It seeks to spread itself everywhere, within the boundaries of the entire human society. In case anyone has doubts about understanding the concept of «goodness», the idea is actually quite clear and unambiguous: «goodness» is an intrinsic human quality, which means prioritizing self-giving in favor of other people rather than pursuing own interests. And this is a very important, fundamental criterion that defines the essence of a human and allows us to distinguish a person whose aim is positive creation from a person whose aim is destruction, in one way or another, because the latter would in any case oppose his or her interests to the interests of other people. The «goodness» is inherent in every person by nature, but not everyone displays it in practice. And it is solely a question of each of us choosing what is more important to us, what is dearer, what we consider primary and paramount and what is secondary — internal or external, general or private, the heart or narrow personal interests. In a sense, one could even say that to be human is to nurtue this vector of development in oneself. There is a saying in Russia: "We are all people, we are all humans". It makes sense to change it as follows: "We are all people, but not all of us are humans", which would mean that we have yet to become humans.
Current events clearly show that Russia needs to redesign itself in a new, updated form.
Russia’s new design should be built exactly around the idea of «goodness», as the concept of prioritizing universal human qualities, values, meanings and ideals, which should be realized in the creation of a corresponding society.
This implies a shift from developing things around a person and his or her own wealth (in the sense of receiving financial gains) to a focus on the actual person and developing him or her, his/her qualities and competencies.
There is often confusion about the exact meaning of taking care about humans and their well-being. Often people understand this as a concern to make the situation better for a person, to meet their needs, to provide an effortless life. But the fact is, this is a trap that many people have fallen into. You do not have to improve a person’s surroundings, you have to improve that person instead. When we make life better for someone, we proceed from the assumption "I am ok already, life is not". This invariably leads to a degradation of that person, his/her qualities and competencies. When we improve the actual person, we contribute to their development, and financial gains are an inherent side effect, a natural consequence. Therefore, it is very important to clearly understand the difference and not to confuse the two models, which vary slightly on the outside, but ultimately lead in two opposite directions.
Russia has no national idea. Russia's idea is supranational. If you put it down in one word, that word would be «goodness». And that goodness is global.
The design of a global society building a better human will apparently become a «window» from the stalemate of the current scenario, in which the train is rushing into the abyss at breakneck speed. This is definitely a project that will provide a positive outcome to the current global situation.
As part of the implementation of the new social design focused on human development in Russia, it is vital that the respective institutions are created to be in charge of generating the positive change and turning the social progress towards the new vector, from the current model to a new one. This is where it is important to revise and rearrange literally everything, to build every area of life in a new way. This includes security, economy, science, culture, education, technology, etc.
Each area needs its own development institution. Apart from this, a unified development institute should be created that would set goals, work out unified approaches, methods, generalize policies and feedback, perform coordination and monitoring. Tentatively, that institution could be called «RosRazvitie» (Russian Development).
This is the exact reason why the Positive Changes Factory has been established, to start doing something in that direction without further delays. It is an agency that initiates, creates and develops various projects, enterprises acting as models of a positive future, and produces such models as well.
The factory seeks cooperation with a broad range of projects, enterprises, corporations, opinion leaders, top-ranking experts, public and state figures, state authorities interested in jointly generating the positive change in the society.
Russia has everything it needs to start building a society of positive change, a society of positive future: from the collectivist spirit that is inherent in the Russian people to the practical experience of building large social formation projects. Being «Russian» in this context is not a term describing ethnicity; it is an adjective that denotes belonging to a certain type of moral choice, as discussed above, a choice where self-giving for the benefit of others takes precedence over one’s own gains. This position is inherent in all humans, and it is the foundation on which we together will build a Society of Humanity, a society of global responsibility, understanding, morality, and personal development for everyone.
Together we will build positive change, first in one country and then in the whole world. Essentially, that is the only positive choice we have today. Full speed ahead, Russia!
Экспертные мнения / Expert Opinions
Игра вдолгую: точки роста и перспективы Social Impact Bonds в России
Юлия Вяткина
DOI 10.55140/2782-5817-2022-2-2-14-23
Проекты социального воздействия, они же Social Impact Bonds (SIB), — это форма реализации социальных проектов, которая объединяет игроков из нескольких секторов экономики. В России этот рынок только начал зарождаться. В инвестирование проектов социального воздействия уже вложено около 200 млн рублей, т. е. около 3 млн долларов. Апробация модели SIB в России идет четвертый год, и только первый проект подходит к завершению. Однако заинтересованные игроки и профессионалы уже не раз обсуждали актуальность модели, ее преимущества и потенциал. Мы решили узнать у экспертов, каковы перспективы, сдерживающие факторы и точки роста у проектов социального воздействия в России.