Foundations of Russian Statehood

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

Delivered at:

School of History

Course type:

Elective course

When:

1 year, 2 module

Instructors

Aksenova, Mariia

Riabov, Dmitriy

Savinykh, Maxim

Таслахчян Алла Артемовна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Pre-requisites: basic knowledge of Russian history at the level of high school. The course "Foundations of Russian Statehood" is aimed at forming a system of knowledge, skills and competencies among students, as well as values, rules and norms of behavior related to the awareness of belonging to Russian society, the development of a sense of patriotism and citizenship, the creation of a spiritual, moral and cultural foundation of a developed and integral personality, awareness of the features of the historical path of the Russian state, the identity of its political organization and the pairing of individual dignity and personal success with social progress and political stability. The implementation of the course involves the consistent development of students' knowledge of ideas, scientific concepts, as well as historical, cultural, sociological and other information related to the problems of the development of Russian civilization and its statehood in historical retrospect and in the context of current challenges of political, economic, technogenic and other nature.

Learning Objectives

• to present the history of Russia in its continuous civilizational dimension, to reflect its most significant features, principles and current guidelines;
• to reveal the value-behavioral content of the sense of citizenship and patriotism, inseparable from the developed critical thinking, the free development of personality and the ability to make independent judgments about the current political and cultural context;
• to consider fundamental achievements, inventions, discoveries and achievements related to the development of the Russian land and the Russian civilization, to present them in an actual and meaningful perspective, educating in a citizen pride and belonging to his culture and his people;
• to present the key meanings, ethical and ideological doctrines that have developed within the Russian civilization and reflect its multinational, multi-confessional and solidary (communal) character;
• to consider the features of the modern political organization of Russian society, the causal nature and specifics of its actual transformation, the value support of traditional institutional solutions and the special multivariance of the relationship between the Russian state and society in the federal dimension;
• to investigate the most probable external and internal challenges facing the Russian civilization and its statehood at the moment, to identify the key scenarios of its long-term development;
• to identify the fundamental value principles (constants) of Russian civilization (unity of diversity, sovereignty (strength and trust), harmony and cooperation, love and responsibility, creation and development), as well as related value orientations of Russian civilizational development (such as stability, mission, responsibility and justice).

Expected Learning Outcomes

• to be aware of the modern Russian statehood and the current political structure of the country in a broad cultural, value and historical context, to perceive the continuous nature of national history and the multinational, civilisational vector of its development
• to consider fundamental achievements, inventions, discoveries and achievements related to the development of the Russian land and the Russian civilization, to present them in an actual and meaningful perspective, educating in a citizen pride and belonging to his culture and his people;
• to be aware of the modern Russian statehood and the current political structure of the country in a broad cultural, value and historical context, to perceive the continuous nature of national history and the multinational, civilisational vector of its development.
• to be aware of the modern Russian statehood, the current political structure of the country in a broad cultural, value and historical context, to perceive the continuous nature of national history and the multinational, civilisational vector of its development.
• to consider fundamental achievements, inventions, discoveries and achievements related to the development of the Russian land and the Russian civilization, to present them in an actual and meaningful perspective, educating in a citizen pride and belonging to his culture and his people.
• to develop the ability to aggregate and articulate an active civic and political position, to develop a value-significant skill of involvement in public life and caring involvement (empathy) in the key problems of own community and own homeland
• to be aware of modern Russian statehood and the current political structure of the country in a broad cultural, value and historical context, to perceive the continuous nature of national history and the multinational, civilizational vector of its development
• to participate in the formation and improvement of the political structure of own homeland, to accept and share responsibility for what is happening in the country, to be aware of the significance of own civic participation and the prospects for own self-realization in socio-political life
• to develop the skill of critical thinking and independent judgment, allowing to improve own academic and research competencies
• develop the ability to carefully, objectively and comprehensively analyze incoming socio-political information, the ability to check various opinions, positions and statements for reliability, consistency and conventionality
• perceive and share a mature sense of citizenship and patriotism, feel own belonging to the Russian civilization and Russian society, perceive own personal development through the prism of the public good and moral and ethical guidelines relevant to the individual
• improve your personal and mass communication skills, develop the ability to compromise and dialogue, respectfully accept the national, religious, cultural and ideological characteristics of various peoples and communities
• possess key information about the political structure of own country, region and locality, develop the competencies of conscious historical perception and political analysis

Course Contents

• What is Russiа?
• Russia as a state-civilization.
• Russian Worldview and Values of Russian Civilization.
• The Political Structure of Russia.
• Future challenges and the country's development.

Assessment Elements

• Project
  In an interdisciplinary project, a group of students presents in various forms the results of studying historical sources and research literature on a specific topic/problem/plot related to the foundations of Russian statehood.
• Seminars
  Seminar classes are conducted in the form of discussions on a given topic/problem, during which the student must demonstrate knowledge of the range of literature proposed for discussion.
• Exam
  The format is face-to-face. Duration is 60 minutes.
• Independent work/SmartLMS
  The student completes 80% or more of the course assignments in the SmartLMS system.

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.1 * Exam + 0.15 * Independent work/SmartLMS + 0.15 * Project + 0.6 * Seminars

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Дахин, А. В.  Основы российской государственности. Социальная система : учебник для вузов / А. В. Дахин, Е. А. Мозгунова. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2025. — 176 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-18106-7. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/568754 (дата обращения: 03.04.2025).
• Лютягина, Е. А.  Основы российской государственности. Политико-правовая система : учебник для вузов / Е. А. Лютягина, А. М. Волков ; под общей редакцией Е. А. Лютягиной. — 4-е изд., перераб. и доп. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2025. — 246 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-20612-8. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/558465 (дата обращения: 03.04.2025).
• Основы российской государственности : учеб. пособие, Харичев, А. Д., 2024
• Основы российской государственности : учебник / А. В. Арапов, Ю. А. Бубнов, А. Г. Вяткина [и др.] ; под ред. Д. А. Ендовицкого. — Москва : КноРус, 2025. — 277 с. — ISBN 978-5-406-14348-3. — URL: https://book.ru/book/957043 (дата обращения: 03.04.2025). — Текст : электронный.
• Основы российской государственности : учебник, , 2024
• Основы российской государственности : учебное пособие / Р. Г. Непранов, О. В. Кузьменко, Г. В. Меженская [и др.] ; под ред. А. Н. Позднышова. — Москва : КноРус, 2025. — 259 с. — ISBN 978-5-406-13698-0. — URL: https://book.ru/book/955584 (дата обращения: 03.04.2025). — Текст : электронный.
• Основы российской государственности : учебное пособие для вузов, , 2024
• Цепелева, Н.В.. Основы Российской государственности : Практикум / Н.В. Цепелева, И.В. Ливанова — Москва : Русайнс, 2025. — 141 с. — ISBN 978-5-466-08995-0. — URL: https://book.ru/book/958162 (дата обращения: 03.04.2025). — Текст : электронный.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• The Volga Tatars : a profile in national resilience, Rorlich, A.-A., 1986

Authors

• AKSENOVA MARIIA DMITRIEVNA
• Абдулхакимов Мухиддин Мураджанович