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Традиционные ценности в документах стратегического планирования и риторике властвующей элиты России
There may be significant differences between the official un-
derstanding of the traditional values outlined in strategic planning documents,
and their interpretation in the rhetoric of the ruling elite. In order to test this
hypothesis, the author examines how the principles formalized in the Funda-
mentals of State Policy for Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional
Russian Spiritual and Moral Values, established by the order of the Presi-
dent of the Russian Federation in 2022, are reflected in the elite’s rhetoric.
By viewing traditional values as an ideological construct, the author identifies
which of their officially documented components are most prominently fea-
tured in public statements, while simultaneously pointing out social phenome-
na and problems that accompany references to traditional values. The research
study is based on qualitative content analysis of the texts of public speeches
made by the President, State Duma deputies, senators and members of the
Security Council of the Russian Federation from 2020 to 2024. As part of the
deductive approach, categories derived from the Fundamentals of State Po-
licy are used to code the collected data, which allows to assess the alignment
between rhetoric and officially established interpretations. To examine the
context, in which the ideological construct is used, thematic coding is applied.
The research demonstrates that in the rhetoric of the ruling elite the ca-
tegories outlined in strategic documents are often connected to the images that
are most easily grasped by a broad audience and emotionally charged. This
makes vague and sometimes unpopular concepts more accessible to the audi-
ence. A central theme in the statements of the elite is the emphasis on threats
to traditional values from the “collective West”. Such narratives simplify the
perception of state policy, which aims to protect these values, as necessary and
legitimate.