Conversation of Acting First Deputy Director of the RAS Institute of Philosophy, Head of the Megatheme “Russian Civilizational Development Project”, Academician Andrey V. Smirnov and the Editor-in-chief of the “Civilization Studies Review”, Sc.D. in Phil

Abstract

The current conversation of the head of the megatheme “Russian civilizational develop­ment project” academician Andrey V. Smirnov and the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Civilization Studies Review” Vladimir N. Shevchenko discovers the results of the five-year work of the research group of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Philoso­phy, and gives a general assessment of the significance of the results obtained for a wide range of academic researchers – philosophers, political and cultural scientists, historians, and for the entire Russian academic community. In particular, important issues of clarify­ing the initially formulated goals and objectives of the project are raised. The general stan­dards of publications in the journal, created to highlight the scientific results of research on the megatheme, as well as further prospects are discussed. The discussion also covers such problems as compatibility of various methodological approaches used by the authors of published materials, scrutinizes the relations of cultural, political and legal aspects. Sig­nificant attention is paid to theoretical views upon the interaction of civilizations in mod­ern conditions, as well as the unique logic of the development of Russian civilization, the connection between “high” and traditional culture in the search for the most adequate expression of the essence of the civilizational project and its practical implementation.