Khazin delyagin. “new democracy” by M. G. Delyagin and M. L. hazina is the party of the goal or the next party of the slogan. On the impending catastrophe for "our everything"

As A.P. Chekhov: "A real man consists of a husband and a rank." We can say that a man is a man's rank. A rank is a special place in the heavenly hierarchy. And in this heavenly hierarchy, a man represents his family, his family. Therefore, he occupies a special, leading position in the family hierarchy. In his family, a man can only be the head - this is how the Lord established.

But if for a woman to live the life of a family - her husband, children - is the calling of God, then for a man family life cannot be the main thing. For him, the most important thing in life is the fulfillment of God's will on earth. This means that for a man - the father of the family and the representative for the family before God - in the first place is not the family, but the fulfillment of his duty. And this duty for each man can be completely different, it depends on the Divine calling.

The main thing for the family is a continuous connection with God. It is carried out through the head of the family: through the work that the Lord entrusts to him, through the participation of the whole family in this work. To the extent that the family participates in this divine calling, to the extent that it participates in the fulfillment of God's will. But it is extremely difficult to understand and fulfill God's will outside the Church, and in its entirety it is completely impossible. In the Church man meets God. Therefore, outside the Church, a man is constantly in a state of some kind of search. He often suffers not even from the fact that things are wrong or financially difficult in the family, but because he does not like his occupation, that is, this is not the main thing for which he is called in this world. In church life, a person, led by God, comes to the main cause for which he was called to this earth. Outside the Church, outside the Divine life, outside the Divine calling, this dissatisfaction is always felt, a man necessarily suffers, his soul is “out of place”. Therefore, that family is happy, the head of which has found the work of his life. Then he feels complete - he has found that pearl, that wealth that he was looking for.

This is why men are tormented: not knowing God or breaking away from Him, having lost the meaning, the purpose of life, they cannot find their place in the world in any way. This state of mind is very difficult, painful, and one cannot reproach or reproach such a person. We must seek God. And when a person finds God, then he also finds the calling for which he came into this world. It can be quite a simple thing to do. For example, one man, having received an education, having worked in high positions, suddenly realized that his favorite thing was to cover roofs, especially church ones. And he left his former job and began to cover the roofs, to participate in the restoration of temples. He found meaning, and with it peace of mind and joy of life. So often a person has been doing something for many years, and then at once gives up everything for the sake of a new life. This is especially noticeable in the Church: people lived in the world for many years, studied somewhere, worked, and then the Lord calls them to become priests, monks. The main thing is to hear this Divine call, to respond. Then the family also acquires the fullness of being.

What happens if the relatives do not support the choice of the head of the family? Then it will be much more difficult for him to fulfill God's will. On the other hand, the family will also be tormented by the fact that it refuses its destiny. And no matter what outward well-being may accompany the life of such a family, it will be unsettled and joyless in this world.

In Holy Scripture, the Lord clearly says that he who loves his father, or mother, or his children more than Christ, is not worthy of Him. A real man, husband and father, the head of the family must love God, his duty, his calling more than anything or anyone. He must rise above family life, even be free from the family in this sense, remaining with her. A person is a person who is able to transcend his nature. The family is the material, mental and physical side of life. For a man, she is the nature that he must transcend, constantly striving to the spiritual level and raising his family along with him. And no one should turn it off this path.

Traditionally, the father of an Orthodox family has always played the role of a kind of priestly ministry in it. He communicated with the confessor and with him solved the spiritual issues of the family. Often, when a wife came to a priest for advice, she heard: “Go, your husband will explain everything to you,” or: “Do as your husband advises.” And now we have the same tradition: if a woman comes and asks what she should do, I always wonder what her husband's opinion is about this. Usually the wife says: “But I don’t know, I didn’t ask him ...”. - "Here, go first ask your husband, and only then, in accordance with his opinion, we will argue, decide." Because the Lord instructs the husband to lead the family through life, and He admonishes him. All issues of family life can and should be decided by the head. This applies not only to believers - the principle of family hierarchy established by God is valid for everyone. Therefore, an unbelieving husband is also able to wisely solve ordinary family, everyday problems; in some deep spiritual or other complex issues, a wife can consult with a confessor. But a wife must love and honor her husband, regardless of his faith.

Life is arranged in such a way that both believers and non-believers alike suffer in violation of Divine institutions. Just believers can understand why this happens. Church life gives understanding to what is happening to us, to these joyful and mournful moments. A person already perceives everything not as an accident “lucky - unlucky”: illness, some kind of misfortune or, conversely, recovery, well-being, etc. He already understands the meaning and cause of life's difficulties, and with God's help he can overcome them. The Church reveals the depth and meaning of human life, family life.

Hierarchy is the stronghold of love. The Lord arranged the world in such a way that it would be strengthened by love. Grace, coming from God into the world through the heavenly and earthly hierarchy of relationships, is retained and transmitted by love. A person always wants to go where there is love, where there is grace, where there is rest and peace. And when the hierarchy is destroyed, then he falls out of this flow of grace and is left alone with the world, which "lies in evil." Where there is no love, there is no life.

When the family hierarchy is destroyed, everyone suffers. If the husband is not the head of the family, then he can start drinking, walking, running away from home. But the wife suffers in exactly the same way, only it manifests itself in a different way, more emotionally: she begins to cry, get annoyed, scandalize. Often she does not understand what exactly she wants to achieve. And she wants to be led, she was prompted to be supported, removed from her the burden of responsibility. It is very difficult for a woman to command, she does not have enough strength, capabilities and skills. She is not adapted for this and cannot constantly do her own thing. Therefore, she waits for the masculine principle to awaken in her husband. A wife needs a husband-intercessor. She needs him to kiss her, console her, press her to her chest: "Don't worry, because I'm with you." It is very difficult for a woman without a firm male hand, a strong shoulder, without this protection. This reliability in the family is much more needed than money.

A man must be able to love, must be noble, generous. There is one interesting couple in our parish: the husband is a worker, and the wife is an educated woman with a position. He is a simple man, but a master of his craft, he works very well and provides for his family. And, as in any family, it happens that the wife begins to grumble at him like a woman - she is not happy with that, she does not like it. He grumbles, grumbles, grumbles ... And he will look at her affectionately: “What is the matter with you, my dear? Why are you so worried, nervous? Maybe you got sick? He will press him to himself: “Why are you so upset, my good one? Save yourself. Everything is fine, everything is thank God.” So, in a paternal way, caress her. He never enters into these women's quarrels, disputes and proceedings. So nobly, like a man, he comforts her, reassures her. And she can't argue with him. Such a noble attitude to life, to women, to the family should be in a man.

A man needs to be laconic. No need to try to answer all women's questions. Women are very fond of asking them: where were you, what did you do, with whom? A man should devote his wife only to what he sees fit. Of course, not everything needs to be told at home, remembering that women have a completely different mental disposition. What a husband experiences at work or in relationships with others hurts his wife so much that she will be terribly nervous, angry, offended, give her advice, and another may even intervene. It will only add a lot more problems, you will be even more upset. Therefore, not all experiences need to be shared. A man more often needs to take on these difficulties of life, to endure them in himself.

The Lord placed the man hierarchically higher, and in the male nature lies the resistance of the female power over himself. A husband, even if he knows that his wife is a thousand times right, will still resist and stand his ground. And wise women understand that they must yield. And wise men know that if a wife gives good advice, then one must not immediately follow it, but after a while, so that the wife firmly understands that there will be no “according to her” in the family. The trouble is, if a woman is in charge, her husband becomes uninteresting to her. Very often in such a situation, the wife of her husband leaves, because she cannot respect him: “He is a rag, not a man.” Happy is the family where a woman cannot defeat her husband. Therefore, when a wife tries to take over in the family and command everyone, then only one thing can save this woman - if the man continues to live his life, go about his business. In this regard, he must have unbending firmness. And if the wife cannot defeat him, then the family will survive.

A woman needs to remember that there are things that she should never allow herself at all, under any circumstances. You can not insult, humiliate your husband, laugh at him, flaunt and discuss your family relationships with others. Because the wounds that are inflicted will never heal. Maybe they will continue to live together, but without love. Love will simply disappear forever.

The purpose of a man in the family is fatherhood. This fatherhood extends not only to his children, but also to his wife. The head of the family is responsible for them, is obliged to keep them, to try to live in such a way that they do not need anything. Men's life should be sacrificial - in work, in service, in prayer. A father should be an example in everything. And this does not depend on his education, ranks and positions. The very attitude of a man to his work is important: it must be sublime. Therefore, a man who devotes himself entirely to making money will not become a good family man. In a family with a lot of money, it may be convenient to live, but such a man cannot be an example for children and an authority for his wife.

The family is brought up, the children grow up on the example of how the father fulfills his ministry. Not only does he work, he earns money, but he does service. Therefore, even a long absence of a father can play a great educational role. For example, military personnel, diplomats, sailors, polar explorers can be away from their loved ones for many months, but their children will know that they have a father - a hero and a hard worker who is engaged in such an important business - serving the Motherland.

These are, of course, vivid examples, but the fulfillment of one's duty should be in the first place in general for every man. And this saves the family even from poverty and poverty of life. We know from Holy Scripture that when a man was expelled from paradise after the fall, the Lord said that the man would earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow. This means that even if a person begins to work very hard, as is often the case now, at two or three jobs, he can only earn his living. But the Gospel says: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be added” (see Matt. 6:33). That is, a person can only earn a piece of bread for himself, but if he fulfills the will of God, acquires the Kingdom of God, then the Lord gives prosperity to him and his whole family.

A Russian person has a peculiarity: he can only participate in great deeds. It is unusual for him to simply work for money. And if, sometimes, he does this, then almost always he is sad and bored. He is bleak because he cannot realize himself - a man should not just work, but feel his contribution to some important matter. Here, for example, is the development of aviation: a person can be the chief designer of a design bureau, or maybe an ordinary factory turner - it does not matter. Participation in such a great cause will equally inspire these people. That is why at the present time, when great tasks are almost not set either in science, or in culture, or in production, the role of a man immediately became impoverished. A certain despondency is observed among men, because simply getting money for an Orthodox person, for a Russian person, is a task too simple and does not correspond to the high demands of the soul. It is the elevation of service that matters.

Men are ready to give their labor, their time, strength, health, and, if necessary, their lives to the service, to fulfill their duty. So, despite the unpatriotic and mercenary attitudes of the last few decades, our people are still ready, at the first call of the Motherland, to stand up for her defense. Now we see this when our guys, officers and soldiers, are fighting, shedding blood for their compatriots. It is very natural for a normal man to be ready to give his life for the Fatherland, for his people, for his family.

Many wives do not understand and are offended when men pay more attention to their business than to their family. This is especially pronounced in people of science and creative professions: scientists, writers, artists. Or those who are closely connected with nature, for example, those engaged in agriculture, who sometimes have to literally work on the land or farm for days in order not to miss the right time. And this is right if a man does not belong to himself, but gives himself entirely to the business he is engaged in. And when he fulfills God's will not for the sake of self-interest, not for the sake of money, then this life of his is very graceful and exciting.

We must understand that when we stand before the Face of God, our “I want or don’t want” disappears. After all, the Lord does not look at what you want or do not want, but at what you can or cannot. Therefore, he entrusts you with affairs in accordance with your calling, with your abilities and aspirations. And we need to desire not “our own desire”, but what God has entrusted to us, to desire “to fulfill all that is commanded” (see Luke 17:10). Each person and each family, as a conciliar whole, as a small Church, must "do what is commanded." And this "commanded" is personalized in the case of the head of the family - the husband and father.

It is important for a man to understand that a missed opportunity is an opportunity missed forever. And if today the Lord moves you to do something, then it is today that you need to do it. “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” says the proverb. Therefore, a man should be easy-going - get up, go and do what he must. And if you postpone it until tomorrow, then tomorrow the Lord may not give this opportunity, and then you will achieve the same for a very long time and with great difficulty, if you achieve it at all. One must not be lazy, but be industrious and quick, seize this moment of God's calling. It is very important.

A man who is passionate about his work must be supported in every possible way. Even when he spends all his free time on this, you don’t need to distract him, but you have to be patient. On the contrary, it is good for the whole family to try to participate in this activity. It's very interesting indeed. For example, a turner father, who was passionate about his work, brought turning tools home, and children from birth played with them instead of toys. He took his sons with him to work, talked about the machines, explained everything, showed them, let them try it for themselves. And all his three sons went to study as turners. In such conditions, instead of idle pastime, children have an interest in participating in a serious matter.

The father must, to the extent necessary, leave his life open to the family so that the children can delve into it, feel it, and participate. No wonder there have always been labor, creative dynasties. Passion for his work is passed from the father to the children, who happily follow in his footsteps. Let sometimes they do it out of inertia, but when they master their father's profession, even if the Lord later calls them to another task, all this will benefit them and be useful in life. Therefore, the father should not grumble and complain about his work: here, they say, how hard and boring it is, otherwise the children will think: “Why do we need this?”

The life of a man should be worthy - open, honest, chaste, labor, so that it would not be a shame to show it to children. It is necessary that the wife and children should not be embarrassed by his work, his friends, his behavior, his actions. Surprisingly, when you ask high school students now, many of them do not really know what their fathers and mothers work for. Previously, children knew very well the life of their parents, their activities, hobbies. They were often taken with them to work, and at home they constantly discussed business. Now children may not know anything about their parents and may not even be interested. Sometimes there are objective reasons for this: when parents are engaged in earning money, then the methods are not always pious. It also happens that they are ashamed of their profession, realizing that this occupation is not quite worthy of them - their abilities, education, vocation. It even happens that for the sake of income they sacrifice their dignity, personal life, environment. In such cases, in front of children, they don’t say anything, they don’t tell.

A man must understand that life is changeable, and in difficult circumstances you should not sit back, suffering and groaning, but you need to get down to business, even if it is small. There are many people who are unemployed because they want to get a lot at once, they consider low wages unworthy for themselves. And as a result, not a penny is brought to the family. Even in the difficult times of “perestroika”, people who were ready to do something did not disappear. One colonel, having fallen under the reduction, was left without work. From Siberia, where he served, he had to return to his native city. Asked friends to help get any job, anywhere. I managed to get into the security service of one organization: for a small fee, the colonel was assigned to guard the gates of some base. And he humbly stood up and opened the gate. But a colonel is a colonel, you can immediately see him - the authorities quickly noticed him. He was appointed to a higher position - he showed himself very well there. Then even higher, then even more ... And after a short time he got both an excellent place and a good salary. But it has to be humble. We must start small, show ourselves and show what we are capable of. In difficult times, one should not be proud, not dream, but think about how to feed the family, and do everything possible for this. In any circumstances, the responsibility for the family, for the children, remains with the man. Therefore, during the “perestroika” period, many highly qualified and unique specialists agreed to take any job for the sake of their families. But times are changing, and those who have retained their dignity and diligence, in the end, are in great demand. Now there is a great demand for various masters of their craft, there are many jobs for them. We are ready to pay a lot of money to specialists, craftsmen, craftsmen, but there are none. The biggest shortage is in blue-collar jobs.

One worker was asked what happiness is. And he answered, like an ancient sage: “It is happiness for me when in the morning I want to go to work, and in the evening I want to go home from work.” This is actually happiness when a person happily goes to do what he has to do, and then happily returns home, where he is loved and expected.

To fulfill all this, you need to love ... Here we can say that there is a law, but there is love. It's like in Holy Scripture - there is the Old Testament and there is the New Testament. There is a law that regulates the behavior of people in society, in the family. For example, everyone knows who in the family should do what. The husband should provide for the family and take care of it, be an example for children. A wife should honor her husband, run the household, keep the house in order, raise children in honor of God and parents. Children must obey their parents. Everyone should, should, should ... The answer to the question, should the husband do housework, is unambiguous - he should not. This is the answer according to the law, this is the Old Testament. But if we turn to the New Testament, which added the commandment of love to all laws, then we will answer in a slightly different way: he should not do this, but maybe if he loves his family, his wife, and there is a need for such help from him. The transition in the family from "must" to "can" is the transition from the Old to the New Testament. A man, of course, should not wash dishes, wash, babysit children, but if the wife does not have time, if it is difficult for her, if she is unbearable, then he can do it out of love for her. So is another question: should a wife support a family? Should not. But maybe if she loves her husband, and due to circumstances, he can’t do it to the fullest. For example, there are times when men with unique professions, highly qualified specialists are left without work: factories are closed, scientific and industrial projects are curtailed. Men take a long time to adjust to such a life, and women usually rebuild faster. And a woman does not have to, but she can support a family, if circumstances so develop.

That is, if there is love in the family, then the question “should - must not” itself disappears. And if conversations begin that “you must earn money” - “and you must cook cabbage soup for me”, “you must come home from work on time” - “and you must look after the children better”, etc., then this means - there is no love. If they switch to the language of law, the language of legal relations, then love has evaporated somewhere. When there is love, everyone knows that in addition to duty there is also sacrifice. It is very important. Therefore, no one can force a man to do household chores, only he himself. And no one can force a woman to support a family, only she herself can decide on this. We need to be very attentive to what is happening in the family, with love "carrying each other's burdens." But at the same time, no one should be proud, exalted and violate the family hierarchy.

The wife should, like a thread after a needle, follow her husband. There are many professions when a person is simply sent by order from one place to another. For example, the military. It happens that the family of an officer lives in a city, in an apartment, and suddenly they are sent to some remote place, to a military camp, where there is nothing but a hostel. And the wife should go after her husband and not grumble, not be capricious, they say, I will not go to this wilderness, but will live with my mother. If she does not go, then her husband will be very bad. He will become worried, upset, and, consequently, it will be very difficult for him to carry out the service properly. Colleagues can laugh at him: “What kind of wife do you have!” This is like a prime example. The same can be said about the clergy. A graduate of a seminary, for example, from the city can be sent to some distant parish, where they will have to live in a hut and, because of the poverty of the parishioners, live “from bread to kvass.” And the priest's young wife must go with him. If not, and the woman insists on her own, then this is the beginning of the destruction of the family. She must understand: once I get married, now the interests of my husband, his service, helping him is the main thing in life for me. A man needs to choose a bride for himself, who will follow him into fire and into water. If you look at strong families, then there are just such wives. They understand that in order to become a general's wife, one must first marry a lieutenant and travel with him for half a lifetime through all the garrisons. To become the wife of a scientist or artist, you need to marry a poor student, who only after many years will become famous and prosperous. Or maybe it won't...

The bride should be looked for who is close in spirit, her circle, so that ideas about life, living standards, habits are similar. It is necessary that the husband does not have to be ashamed of his wife among friends and colleagues. The big difference in education, in the financial situation greatly affects later. If a man married a rich bride, then her family is likely to look at him as a freeloader. Of course, they will try to promote him in his career, give him the opportunity to grow, but they will always demand gratitude for the fact that he was “raised up”. And if the wife is better educated than the husband, this will also eventually create difficulties. It is necessary to have such a masculine, very noble character, as, for example, the hero of the film “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”, so that the higher official position of the wife does not adversely affect family relations.

For a man's life to take place, his wife should not interfere with him doing his job. Therefore, the wife must be chosen precisely as an assistant. It is good to find a bride at home, such that she could not live without you. The trouble is if she manages calmly without you and she is better with her mother than with you. Here you need to know some features. For example, if the bride's parents are divorced and her mother raised her alone, then very often in case of any, even the smallest conflict in the daughter's family, she will say: “Drop him! Why is he like this? I raised you alone, and we will raise your children ourselves.” This is an example of a bad, but, unfortunately, typical situation. And if you take a bride - a girl who was raised by a single mother, then there is a big risk that she can calmly and quickly leave you on her advice. Therefore, it is important that the bride was from a good, strong family. Usually children copy the behavior of their parents, so you need to see how her family lives. Although young people always say that they will live in a completely different way, for them the life of their parents is an example, good or bad. See how your bride's mother treats her husband - your bride will treat you the same way. Of course, now there are a lot of divorced families and it is not easy to find a bride from a strong family, but you just need to know in advance the difficulties that will arise in order to be ready and respond correctly. And in such cases, parents still need to be respected, but you can never listen to their advice like “leave your husband, live without him, but if you want, you will find better” is never possible. Family is an inseparable concept.

A woman should be helped in the professional growth of her husband - this should be the growth of the whole family. But you can not promote him in the direction to which he does not have a soul or no abilities. If you want him to become a leader, think: does he need it? And why do you need it? A simple life is often calmer and more joyful. The hierarchy that we talk about all the time implies different levels: everyone cannot live the same way, they should not be the same. Therefore, do not try to imitate anyone. We must live as the Lord blessed, and remember that for the well-being of the family, not so much is needed. With God's help, any man and any woman can earn this minimum. But there are some claims for more, and they do not give people peace of mind: they must, they say, take a position no lower than this one, and live no worse than those ... And now they have got many loans, got into debt, went to hard labor doomed themselves instead of living calmly and freely.

It must be understood that the work to which a person is called does not necessarily allow him to live richly. A young family in its initial period must learn to live modestly. In a cramped apartment, with mom and dad, or in a rented apartment, endure this tightness and poverty for a while. We must learn to live within our means, without demanding anything from anyone and without reproaching anyone. Envy always interferes with this: “Others live like this, but we don’t live like that!” The last thing is when the family begins to reproach a man that he earns little if he tries, works, does everything he can. And if he doesn’t try ... So, he was like that before the wedding. Most women get married for some strange reason. Here a kind of "eagle" turned up - prominent, nimble. And what he knows, what he does, how he lives, how he treats his family, treats children, what he thinks about it, whether he is hardworking, caring, whether he drinks - this is not of interest. But once you get married - endure everything and love your husband the way he is.

It is also important to say that if young people, boys and girls, lose their chastity before marriage and begin to lead a prodigal life, then from that moment the spiritual formation of their personality stops, spiritual growth stops. The line of development that was given to them from birth is immediately interrupted. And outwardly, it also immediately becomes noticeable. In girls, if they fornicated before marriage, the character changes in a bad way: they become capricious, scandalous, obstinate. Young men, as a result of an unchaste life, are severely inhibited or even completely stopped in their development: spiritual, mental, social, and even mental. Therefore, now it is not uncommon to meet adult men with development at the level of 15-18 years - the age when their chastity was destroyed. They behave like foolish youths: they do not have a developed sense of responsibility, no will, no wisdom. Destroyed "integrity of wisdom", "integrity of personality". This has irreversible consequences for the rest of a person's life. Those abilities and talents that he had from birth not only do not receive development, but are often completely lost. Therefore, of course, chastity must be kept not only for girls, but also for young men. Only by maintaining purity before marriage can a man actually achieve in life what he is called to. He will have the necessary funds for this. He will retain his freedom - both spiritually, and creatively, and materially. Having retained his natural talents, he gets the opportunity to develop, to achieve the fullness of his personality. He can master any business that he likes.

A man loses all respect if he humiliates himself with a dishonorable attitude towards a woman. Irresponsible relationships, abandoned children are incompatible with the dignity of a man, with the height that the Lord has placed him in the world, in human society, in the family. For the sake of this high dignity of a spouse, his wife - his chosen one, and children - his heirs should be respected. And the husband is obliged to respect and appreciate his wife. Because of his falls, she should not be reproached, despised, she should not be ashamed of her husband's life.

The Ukrainian language names a man very well and accurately - “cholovik”. A man is a man, and a man must always remain such, and not turn into an animal. And a man can fulfill his duty, his duties, be a husband and father only when he remains a man. After all, of the ten commandments given by God to Moses, the first five are about human life (about love for God, about honoring parents), and the remaining five are those, breaking which a person turns into an animal. Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not deceive, do not envy - at least do not do this, so as not to become "senseless cattle"! If you have lost your human dignity, you are not a man.

Now often you can not distinguish a man from a woman either in behavior, or in manners, or in appearance. And it is very pleasant when even from afar you can see that a man is walking - courageous, strong, collected. Women dream not just about a husband or a friend, but about a man who will be a real person. Therefore, the fulfillment of the commandments of God for a husband is a direct way to preserve human dignity in himself and remain a real man. Only a real man can give his life for his family, for the Fatherland. Only a real man can treat his wife nobly. Only a real man can set an example of a decent life for his children.

This is the responsibility: to answer to one's conscience, to God, to one's people, to the Motherland. We will be responsible for our family and children. After all, the true wealth of children does not lie in material accumulations, but in what the father and mother invest in their souls. This is the responsibility for maintaining purity, chastity. The main thing is the responsibility for the soul of the child: what God gave - return to God.

The demographic problem of our time rests on the irresponsibility of men. Their insecurity gives women fear of the future. Due to the lack of masculinity in the family, women experience uncertainty about the future, doubts about the ability to raise and raise children: “What if he leaves, leaves one with children ... What if he doesn’t feed us.” Why did almost all families in Russia used to be large, with many children? Because there was a firm idea of ​​the indissolubility of marriage. Because the head of the family was a real man - a breadwinner, a protector, a prayer book. Because everyone was happy about the birth of children, because this is God's blessing, the multiplication of love, the strengthening of the family, the continuation of life. It never occurred to a man to leave his wife with children: this is a shameful sin, shame and dishonor! And it never occurred to a woman to have an abortion. The wife was sure that her husband would not betray him to death, would not leave, would not leave, that at least he would earn a living, and she was not afraid for the children. Mothers are usually more responsible towards their children, which is why they are afraid of everything. And this fear comes from the fact that the male spirit disappears from the family. But as soon as this masculine spirit is strengthened and the woman is sure that her husband will not run away, she is gladly ready to have many children. And only then the family becomes complete. We see this in church parishes, where three or four children in families is already the norm. This is just an example of the fact that the Orthodox concept of the indissolubility of marriage and responsibility before God gives a sense of reliability, confidence in the future.

When discussing family problems, they almost always talk only about mothers, as if they are the only ones responsible for the family and children. And in any disputable family situation, the law is almost always on the side of the woman. The revival of fatherhood is something important that is needed today. Fathers must understand their responsibility, that special spirit, the bearers of which they must be. Then the woman will again become a woman, she will no longer need to rely only on her own strength. Not relying on her husband, she holds on to work, endlessly studies, so as not to lose her qualifications, and many other things that tear her away from her family, from her children. Because of this, children are poorly educated, study worse, and have poorer health. In general, the approach of absolute gender equality causes a lot of problems both in upbringing and in education. In particular, boys are brought up and trained in the same way as girls, and girls as boys. That is why even in families they cannot figure out who is more important, who is stronger, who is more responsible, they find out who owes what to whom.

Therefore, one of the main tasks today is to revive the male spirit, the spirit of fatherhood. But for this to happen, the spirit of the entire state is important. When it is built on the liberal principles of universal equality, the dictates of all kinds of minorities, feminism, and almost unlimited freedom in behavior, this also penetrates the family. Now we are even talking about the introduction of juvenile justice, which completely undermines the authority of parents, deprives them of the opportunity to raise their own children on traditional principles. This is simply the destruction of the entire Divine hierarchical structure of the world.

The Russian state has always been arranged according to the family principle: the “father” was at the head. Ideally, this, of course, is an Orthodox tsar. They called him the "Tsar-father" - so he was revered and obeyed. The state structure was an example of the dispensation of the family. The tsar had his own family, his children, but the whole people, all of Russia, which he kept and for which he was responsible before God, was also his family. He set an example of serving God, an example of family relationships, raising children. He showed how to preserve the native country, its territory, its spiritual and material wealth, its shrines, and faith. Now that there is no tsar, even if there is a strong president, we are glad that there is a person who thinks about Russia, about the people, cares about us. If there is no strong power in the state, there is no “father” at the head, then, therefore, there will be no him in families either. A family cannot be built on liberal democratic principles. Autocracy, fatherhood - the main principle of building a family. Therefore, we can restore the family by recreating such a political system that will give rise to fatherhood, nepotism and show how to keep a large family - the Russian people, Russia. Then we in our families, looking at the example of state power, will stand up for the protection of the main values. And now this process is happening, thank God.

Using the example of different countries, one can easily see how the type of government affects the life of the people. The example of Muslim countries unambiguously shows us: even if it is specific, they have paternity, there is reverence for the head of the family, and as a result, strong families, high birth rates, and successful economic development. Europe, on the other hand, is the opposite: the institution of the family is being abolished, the birth rate has fallen, entire regions are being populated by emigrants of a completely different culture, faith, and tradition. In order to preserve the institution of the family, and ultimately the state itself, we need strong state power, better - unity of command. We need a "father" - the father of the nation, the father of the state. Ideally, this should be a person appointed by God. Then, in the family, the father will be perceived, as it was traditionally, by a man appointed by God.

All spheres of human existence are closely connected and intertwined. Therefore, if the structure of the country's life, starting with the head of state and further, is created according to the law of the Divine dispensation, according to the law of the heavenly hierarchy, then Divine grace enlivens, gives life to all spheres of the people's existence. Any business then turns into participation in the Divine dispensation of the world, into a kind of service - to the Fatherland, God, one's people, all mankind. Any smallest cell of society, which is a family, like a cell of a living organism, is given life by Divine grace sent to all the people.

The family, being a "cell" of the state, is built according to the same laws - like consists of like. If everything in society is not arranged in this way, if the state power acts according to laws that are completely alien to tradition, then, naturally, the family, as, for example, in Europe, is abolished, it takes on forms that are not even just sinful, but pathological - homosexual "marriages", adoption of children into such “families”, etc. Even a normal person in such conditions is difficult to keep from corruption. But all this comes from the state. The state begins to be built from the family, but the family must also be built by the state. Therefore, all aspirations to strengthen the family must translate into a revival of the spirit.

Ordinary people need to preserve, in spite of everything, the traditional forms of family organization established by God. This is how we will eventually restore the hierarchical order in the state. Let us restore our people's life as communal life, as conciliar life, as family life. The people are a single, conciliar, God-given family. Preserving Orthodoxy, spiritual traditions, culture, the Orthodox family, raising children in the Orthodox way, building our lives according to Divine laws, we will thereby revive Russia

What would be easier, it would seem, to sit down in front of a blank sheet of paper and, in chronological order, tell everything that you know and remember about a person, set out a biography or biography? But not much time has passed since the day of departure to the eternal abode, and I fail to resurrect her image in its entirety. This is strange. Memory keeps almost all the moments of our life - long, joyful and happy. I remember, and tears blur my eyes ... But there is no despondency and sadness - I thank God for giving me such a helper in my life, and I just miss it. And even now she does not leave me: there is no death, but there is only parting.

Again I try to remember everything from my early youth, from the first acquaintance with my joyful and at the same time strict future life partner, but the image of the abbess arises. This image appears in children's photographs, in the student audience I see the smiling eyes of the abbess, and here is the first "community" - the family. Several years have passed, and already Mother Irina enters the church in the igumen way and gathers parishioners around her as residents of a monastery that does not yet exist. Neither she, nor I, not a single living soul in the world knows yet that she is an abbess. The Lord alone, who chose her for this service, knows about it.

It was revealed what to tell in my memoirs: about how the Lord from the womb chooses his helpers and servants. How a biography or biography becomes a life...

First meeting. 1969

August is a hot time for entrants from Samara universities, entrance exams are underway. Competitions are good. A big competition for the Physics and Mathematics of the Pedagogical Institute. The main exams are already over, everyone who passed them successfully gathered in a large lecture hall for a written exam - an essay. These few days of joint experiences made many friends. So I made two new friends. One served three years in the army and came to exams in military uniform - he was older than me, and the other was the same age. So the three of us went to all the exams, helped each other, prompted, worried, rejoiced and, surprisingly, did not feel like competitors, which we really were: after all, the competition is four people for one place. Such a friendly atmosphere was felt among other applicants, who also broke up into small comradely communities.

Having met in the courtyard of the main building, standing on the banks of the Volga, we entered the amphitheater auditorium and, out of boyish habit, began to climb the stairs to the "gallery", the last rows. Sitting comfortably, they took out their hands and looked around. The audience was almost filled with festively dressed and a little excited, as evidenced by the buzz, reminiscent of the noise of a swarm of young people. The teachers came in, the noise died down. Topics were written on the board. Assistant examiners gave us sheets of paper with stamps in the corner. Work boiled over. When, after two hours, the essay was basically ready, many questions arose about the correct spelling of some words and the placement of punctuation marks. I, like most Russian people, have some difficulties in meeting their native language, especially in writing. He looked around for help. With my friends, everything immediately became clear when I saw the same searching eyes. At the same time, we discovered that three girlfriends were sitting in front of us, who looked like excellent students and scribblers. He reached out and gently touched the shoulder of one of them.

My shoulder quivered in surprise, and surprised green eyes turned to me, looking at me over glasses slightly shifted on my nose. The look was attentive, strict and questioning. This look accompanied and delighted me for many decades of my life. I look at the photographs of Abbess Anastasia and again I see these eyes and this look - joyful and loving, strict and forgiving.

Student time. 1969 - 1972

Many years ago, our request to proofread an essay was not denied. The exams ended successfully, the lists of applicants were posted, and we saw our names in them. According to the tradition of that time, students spent the first month of their stay at the university on potatoes, helping the village to harvest. After the first of September, when we came to the student audiences, it turned out that we, three friends, were enrolled in one group, and our assistants and new acquaintances - in another. We were not very saddened by this, we often met at general lectures, which were many in the first year of study. Gradually, our friendly company doubled. We spent almost all the time together. Carefree student times quickly flew by, we grew up, the completion of our studies was approaching, which meant distribution to different parts of our province or, which happened often, to remote places of our vast Motherland. Yes, and with family life it was time to be determined. Somehow imperceptibly we divided into pairs. My chosen one was a classmate Irina (that was the name of Abbess Anastasia before her monastic vows) Afanasyeva. Before entering the Physics and Mathematics, she studied at the famous Physics and Mathematics School No. 63, studied music a little and was a candidate for master of sports in artistic gymnastics. To tell the truth, I still cannot understand who elected whom: either me or me. The main thing is that I never had to regret it. After many years, the understanding came that it was the Lord who gave me such a helper.

In her student years, Irina stood out for her cheerful disposition and strict determination, athletic bearing and noble stature. When at physical education the teacher asked her to show us how to perform gymnastic exercises, we all admired her “swallows”, “bridges”, somersaults, which we could not repeat later. Once, at the institute's running competitions, which took place in the autumn Strukovsky Park, Irina, ahead of everyone else, ran down the alley and missed the turn; having pulled away far enough, she looked back and saw that all the competitors were running a different, shorter road. She did not leave the race, but caught up with her rivals and was the first to reach the finish line. During these years, her firm character was already manifested. If with her someone showed liberties in words or behavior, she could look in such a way that she sobered the person with one look, and if inappropriate behavior continued after that, she got up and silently left. Many years later, as an abbess, with the same look she brought to life both pilgrims who behaved impiously on the territory of the monastery, and sisters who fell into temptation or irritation.

In the last years of training, we almost never parted. After the lectures, we prepared together for seminars, practical exercises, exams and parted late. When the tram stopped running, I happened to walk home on foot through the night city from the former Aleksandrovskaya Square to Chelyuskintsev Street. The old house and a small yard on Frunze Street became a native place for me, a protected corner of old Samara.

The parents of my chosen one, realizing that the matter was taking a serious turn and could end in a wedding, began to look closely at me, invite me into the house, and treat me to dinner. The world of a large and somewhat patriarchal family began to open up to me.

The head of the family, Pyotr Ivanovich Afanasiev, my future father-in-law, and later the first tonsure of the Podgorsk monastery, monk Gabriel, was born in 1909 in a Chuvash village not far from Cheboksary. He was the eldest son in a large peasant family. He graduated from high school, to which he had to travel many kilometers on foot. After school he worked as a teacher. I tried to enter the Saratov Medical Institute, but something did not work out. With one of his comrades he went to St. Petersburg, where he was admitted to the famous Lesgaft Institute of Physical Education, which he graduated from before the war. According to the distribution, he was sent to the Saratov Medical Institute as a teacher of physical education. The leadership of the institute offered him to study medicine in order to become a physiotherapist. He did not have time to study for a doctor.

The war began, and he was called to the front as a military assistant. He received his baptism of fire on Mamaev Kurgan. He told his children a lot about the war. The authorities did not evacuate the inhabitants of Stalingrad, and even a bloodied elephant from the zoo walked around the city. Before the eyes of Pyotr Ivanovich, children, fighting friends, perished. I had to amputate my legs and arms in the field. The fact that blood flowed like a river through the mound turned out to be not fiction, but reality. The bullet did not take Pyotr Ivanovich, he went through the whole war and was only shell-shocked. The Lord kept him. He told one story that when they were transported to Stalingrad and the soldiers were marching in formation, an elderly woman stood on the side of the road and baptized everyone. When Pyotr Ivanovich caught up with her, she called him and said: “Now, son, I will read you a prayer, and you repeat it in battle. All the men of our family, since the Turkish war, have read it and come home alive.” He was surprised, thought that he would hardly remember what the old woman said, and ran to catch up with his people. But as soon as the bullets whistled and shells fell on the heads of the fighters, the words of the prayer themselves appeared in the memory. With this prayer, he went through the whole war - with a prayer to St. John the Warrior. After the war, Peter Ivanovich, together with the hospital where he served, was transferred to Samara.

Mother translated this story into a story, and it was published in the Blagovest newspaper. The war entered the life of a little girl according to the stories of her father, and when the girl grew up, the war came to life in her poems and songs. And it was so true that one might think that the poems and songs were written by a front-line soldier. We were born 5-6 years after the war and still saw with our own eyes people crippled by the war, on crutches, on wooden prostheses, on small carts for the legless. One day, by order of the leader, they were all taken away in an unknown direction.

Since then, pain for Russia has lived in the heart of my mother. Mother Abbess prayed for Russia incessantly, and in the last years of her life she often shed tears about her fate, about the fate of the Russian people, the fate of our children and grandchildren.

When I met Pyotr Ivanovich, he was in his sixties. He looked much younger, was well built, muscular - a real athlete. In those years, he taught physical education at the Pedagogical Institute and trained gymnasts at the sports school No. 5, well known in the city. In his profession, he achieved success, raised the first champion of Russia in artistic gymnastics, many masters of sports, was a judge of the international category. His character was special: if he said "yes" - it was "yes", if - "no", then it was "no". He loved order and a healthy lifestyle, could hardly endure those who drank and smoked. But at the same time he was a sociable and open person. Every morning he started with exercises and jogging. When he was over ninety and could no longer run, he often said with a smile that his legs were preventing him from walking. He had golden hands: he could fix everything and make the necessary things. He was distinguished by diligence and happily worked on the land in his country house in his spare time. This showed his peasant roots.

When he was younger, he loved nature, fishing, picking mushrooms and taking his beloved daughter everywhere. It was clear that my fiancee was my father's daughter and took over everything from him. Having lived with my mother for many years, I became convinced that, like her father, she endured all the trials, the most difficult illnesses, without showing a look, and never complained about her life.

Matushka's mother, Valentina Georgievna Afanasyeva (nee Kozhura), and later nun Elisaveta, was almost twenty years younger than her husband. At the time of our acquaintance she was a little over forty. My mother's name was also Valentina, so I immediately liked the name of my future mother-in-law. I noticed that people with the same names are similar to each other, probably they all look like their saint, in whose honor they were named.

Valentina Georgievna grew up in that house number 80 on Frunze Street, her mother Evgenia Alexandrovna (grandmother of Mother Abbess) was born in this house, her grandfather Alexander Stepanovich Zhirnov was also born there, and her great-grandfather and his brother built this house when they moved to Samara from Buguruslan and moved their families.

The Zhirnov family was from the class of artisans, they were engaged in jewelry business. Mother remembered her great-grandfather Alexander Stepanovich. He was a fine, believing church man. When the Bolsheviks seized power and plundered the country, they also robbed Alexander Stepanovich: not finding any wealth, they took away the entire instrument. The house was compacted, the family was left with two small rooms and a basement where they had a workshop. Even during the years of persecution of the faith, Alexander Stepanovich always visited the church, helped there with the housework, repaired utensils and gilded the Holy Gospel, and when necessary, he replaced the elder of the Intercession Cathedral. He was arrested and for some time was imprisoned in a prison on Verkhnyaya Polevaya (now it is a hostel for a medical university). When he received a pension, he usually distributed most of it to the poor, his wife Varvara knew about this and tried to withdraw money from him in advance, leaving a little for candles. Alexander Stepanovich, secretly from his wife, made a milk tunic and fed starving cockroaches under the sofa.

From her great-grandfather, mother inherited mercy and love for those in need. When she came from the monastery to the city, her regular visitors miraculously found out about this, rang the doorbell and called what they needed. Mother did not ask what faith the person was asking for, but bestowed gifts on everyone as far as possible. When she sent out to take out the garbage, she always collected food for the poor in a separate bag, which was hung in a special place away from the garbage cans. She said: “This is rubbish, and this is for people,” and she gave two packages. She could not pass by the old men who stood on the streets or not far from the market, selling their handicrafts or something grown by their own hands. She felt so sorry for them that she even bought from them what was not required at all, and at the same time gave more money than they asked for.

When matushka became the abbess of the monastery, she organized a pilgrimage refectory and gave her blessing to feed everyone who came to worship on Sundays. It is on this day that our parishioners from the city and surrounding villages come to the monastery. Families come with children.

Father of Valentina Georgievna, Georgy Semyonovich Kozhura (grandfather of mother abbess) was born in Siauliai, and lived in St. Petersburg. Before the coup, he served in the tsarist army, and then moved to the Red Army. Judging by the photographs of friends and relatives, he was not of a simple family. Who his father was is unknown. Yes, Georgy Semenovich told almost nothing about himself to his relatives. It is known that his brother Vasily Kozhura was a fairly popular silent film actor in the twenties of the last century. He was well acquainted with Nikolai Cherkasov, who played the roles of Alexander Nevsky and Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Georgy Semenovich was transferred to serve in Samara at the headquarters of the military district. Here he met Evgenia Alexandrovna Zhirnova and married her. They had two daughters, Irina and Valentina. Georgy Semenovich rose to the rank of colonel and retired.

The girls grew up. Valentina entered the medical institute. A section of artistic gymnastics was organized at the institute, headed by coach Petr Ivanovich Afanasiev. Valentina entered this section, and mother's parents met there, and then they got married. In 1949, the son Vladimir was born, and on January 19, 1952, on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the daughter Irina, the future abbess Anastasia, was born. On the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, a miraculous blessing of the waters takes place, and mother was born in the holy Epiphany waters ...

Georgy Semenovich received a land plot on the Seventh Glade, built a wooden house and went there to live with his wife, leaving the apartment to the young. Mother Abbess grew up in this apartment. And the dacha on the Seventh Glade became one of the gathering places for a large family.

Valentina Georgievna was a pretty woman, dressed with taste, played the old piano with candlesticks, sang, sewed well and cooked well. And she served exactly what her husband loved. She wasn't cooking for herself, and that was one type of offering of love. Having married, she never graduated from the institute and worked in a pharmacy. She has always been a homebody, which is very difficult to lure anywhere from her home nest. Every day she cooked a dinner of at least three courses, and when the family gathered at home by five o'clock, everyone sat down at the table, led by her father. By that time, vanity had already entered people's lives, and the tradition of family meetings and dinners was rarely observed even on free days. I was accepted into this family circle in my student years.

From my mother, Mother Abbess received many gifts that are so necessary for every woman to become a good wife, mother, nun and abbess, and which she passed on to the sisters of the monastery. She had a wonderful natural voice that pleased and surprised not only our parishioners, but also experts in the opera art. She sang from childhood, and when she ran out into the courtyard of the house, her sonorous voice was heard. The neighbors called her the little songstress. At one of the meetings, having heard mother sing, Zhanna Bichevskaya said: “Mother, if I had such a voice, I would become more famous than now.” Mother knew how to sew and showed the sisters how to make a festive priestly vestment, she embroidered patterns herself. She had impeccable taste, evidence of which is the St. Elias Convent - a heavenly place in Samara. She taught the sisters to cook for others, to set the table beautifully. When Vladyka came with guests, they served on the table what Vladyka liked, whose preferences were known in advance. To forget about oneself and take care of another is also a monastic act, which mother learned in the family.

Mother Anastasia's family was unique in its own way. The twentieth century mixed all classes in it - peasants and nobles, military men and artisans. An elusive connection with a different Russia, with its spirit, tradition, with Russia, about which we knew little and were even forbidden to know, was felt in the way of the family, in relations with ancestors, about which they almost did not talk, not wanting to harm us, living in a God-fighting atheistic state. It was a family in which many were born in the nineteenth century or early twentieth century and carried through their lives the memory of the great empire.

Student years were coming to an end, and my chosen one was made an offer, as they say in these cases, hands and hearts. She already met my parents, and they blessed me. It seemed to me that everything had already been decided, but Irina thought about it. In those years, there was no such corrupting attack on children's souls, and each of us experienced the touch of the first immaculate, pure and often unrequited love during our school years. There was such an experience in the life of my mother. Our relationship was also pure, but she did not feel in her heart that spark and excitement of the previous experience and therefore began to doubt. Valentina Georgievna helped out. When her daughter shared her doubts with her, she prophetically told her: “Daughter, the main thing is that he loves you, and he is a good person, and love will definitely come, marry him and do not hesitate. You have to live to love." And so it happened.

Family life. Part one. 1972 - 1992

The wedding was celebrated on October 7, 1972, on the eve of the day of the celebration of the memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh. In the spring of 1973, during the final state exams, daughter Marina was born. We received university diplomas, a birth certificate for our daughter, and a referral to a place of future ministry. Matushka was assigned to school No. 144 in Samara (then Kuibyshev) as a teacher of physics. She came to school only the following year. And before I was even allowed to work for two months, they drafted me into the army and sent me to the Far East. For a young mother, this was a rather serious test: to be left with a small child with almost no maintenance. Thank God, parents rescued. From those times there were letters that we sent each other every day, letters of love and consolation.

A year passed, I was returned home, my daughter was sent to a nursery, and then to a kindergarten. Mother honestly worked out her distribution until 1976. In this year, the son Pavel, the future protodeacon, was born. The children grew up, I was gradually involved in the scientific community, and it became clear that it was difficult to support two children and a novice scientist on two teachers' salaries. Mother saw and knew that for me teaching was a vocation and a matter of life, and science was a serious hobby. During these years, she accomplished the feat of sacrificial love, leaving teaching, began to look for a job that could feed her family. And found. She worked as an engineer at NIIKeramzit for several years. The work turned out to be well-paid, but harmful: dust, hot stoves, constant business trips. Thanks to her work, the completion and defense of my Ph.D. thesis became possible.

Mother daily, and perhaps even hourly, performed a personal feat, humbled her feminine nature. I have already mentioned her firm character, will, zeal, with which she took on the work that she considered necessary. All these gifts were transformed, because mother knew how to love. Her firm character was transformed by love into fidelity, her will into sacrifice, jealousy into a devoted fulfillment of her obedience, the obedience of her wife and mother.

In 1988, the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia was celebrated. These celebrations aroused interest in the history of Russia and the Church. A genetically preserved sense of belonging to the Orthodox faith woke up. But this interest was not only theoretical, rather, we were trying to find our place in this Orthodox world suddenly open to us. We went to the temples - there were only two of them in the city at that time, took pictures. The light of lamps and candles beckoned, but the Lord was in no hurry to call us to His service. I was baptized as a child, our children were also baptized while still young, but there were no witnesses to the fact that mother was baptized. This saddened us, and upset my mother. After some time, she came joyful and announced that she had received holy baptism at the Intercession Cathedral. She was baptized by Archpriest Oleg Bulygin. We still did not suspect that from that day mother's ascent to the main cause of her life - the priesthood and abbess began, her way of the cross began.

About a year later, my mother was admitted to the hospital for examination and urgently operated on. When I came to visit and saw her in a hospital bed, I burst into tears from pity for her. For the first time I realized that I could lose her. She had a kidney removed. Seeing my confused and frightened face, she smiled and held out her hand to me, and only then did I remember that I was holding in my hand a surprisingly large and red pomegranate, which I had brought for her. Irina took the fruit in her hand and barely kept it. She recovered for a long time and hard, but when we talked about this test, she always remembered only this pomegranate, how big and sweet it was. And no matter how much he tried to bring her these fruits, he did not find better than that.

I was invited to teach at the university, family financial affairs improved a little, my mother could not work and calmly gain strength. The so-called “perestroika” began in the country, and for the first time priests began to go beyond the church fence to meet non-church people. The idea arose to invite a priest to our department of pedagogy and psychology. I was instructed to put this idea into practice as I live next to the Pokrovsky Cathedral. We were not refused an invitation. So for the first time there was a meeting and acquaintance with the priest. In turn, he invited all the staff of the department to the cathedral for talks that took place every Sunday evening. Matushka and I began to attend these talks and services often, became friends with the priest, Archpriest John Goncharov, and he became our confessor. He received our first confessions, helped prepare for communion and communed us, and then he married us in the left aisle of the church, at the icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Mother was simply unrecognizable, blossomed, her face shone with joy when we came to the temple, when she saw and heard her confessor. We always waited for this wonderful priest after the service and escorted him home, since he did not live very far from us. Father John invited us to his house for tea. Recalling those years before her ordination, I see that they were for Matushka one of the happiest years of her life.

1991 was coming to an end. Matushka and I were at the Sunday All-Night Vigil when the subdeacon of Vladyka Eusebius approached me and invited me to the altar. The bishop suggested that I take the priesthood, I asked for blessings. Father John stood in the altar with a joyful face, and it became clear that he also took part in this matter.

Matushka took this news as a long-awaited one, as a dream come true and went to the store to buy fabric for her cassock and cassock. Mother-in-law, grumbling something like: “What are you going to live on?” - took out a sewing machine and in three days two future nuns, a mother and daughter, for the first time built a cassock and a cassock according to a pattern from a church book.

On the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, and on the “old” New Year, I was elevated to the rank of deacon, and on February 2, on the day of memory of St. Euthymius the Great, to the rank of priest. So since 1992, Irina began to serve God and the Church until the end of her life as a mother.

Family life. Part two. 1992 - 1996

After my ordination, I was left to serve at the Intercession Cathedral. Valentina Georgievna turned out to be right in a certain way: they didn’t give me a decree on appointment to the post, they didn’t include me in the staff of the cathedral, which means that there was no remuneration for my work. During the first year of our service, my mother, my two growing children, and I ate like "birds of the sky" - alms from the canon and the support of the confessor. However, joy and grace covered all our earthly difficulties. Time stopped, we lived only the church life and met with Matushka at divine services. They lived like in paradise. I woke up and went to work early, came late. Mother took all care of the earthly life of the family on her shoulders. The year flew by like a blink.

In the spring of 1993, a new bishop, Bishop Sergius, arrived in the city. We were close in age, but differed in spiritual rank like father and son. Soon he received a decree on the appointment of the Reverend Schemamonk Kirill and Schema-nun Maria of Radonezh, the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The church did not yet exist, but there was a building of the former teacher's seminary with a house church. At that time, the palace of pioneers was located in the building, and the planetarium was located in the temple. This planetarium was given to us. Mother and I set to work. She organized the first parishioners, her acquaintances and spiritual friends from the cathedral and set about decorating the temple. Washed, cleaned, hung icons. So the image of her mother suited her, so he was congenial to her! Already a different life appeared in her face, eyes, intonations of her voice, in a noble posture. Everyone who entered immediately recognized among the many women the one around whom this many-voiced labor bustle revolved joyfully. The temple became a home for Matushka, the parish became a family, and the Church became a way of life in Christ.

Divine services began, a small but well-coordinated church choir formed. Matushka often stood on the kliros, but her sonorous, high-pitched voice drowned out the sound of the entire choir. Our first regent began to learn solo parts with my mother. And when the “Pyukhtinskoye Trisagion” and “Praise the Name of the Lord” performed by Matushka sounded in the temple, tears flowed from the eyes of the parishioners: something unearthly, angelic sounded in her voice.

The income increased. All longed for spiritual support and comfort. The state collapsed, the people lived in poverty. There was only hope in God, and people were drawn to the Church. It so happened that for advice they went to the father, and for consolation - to the mother. She knew how to rejoice, to share sorrow, to help with advice, strict teaching, and often financially. She grieved that in many families there were discords, divorces, the spirit of despondency and money-grubbing ruled. Matushka often saw the reason for this in the wrong behavior of women, in a daring disrespect for their husbands, in a rude attitude towards children. “How coarse women have become, how they behave with their husbands and children even on the street! They forgot that they are heavenly creatures,” mother said at the meal after the service.

The former owners of the building, unable to withstand the Grace of the Divine Liturgy, began to vacate it, since closer to the summer they were given another room. In the spring of 1994, Vladyka issued a decree on the opening of the Theological School and appointed me rector. There were two months left before the entrance exams and three months before the start of the school year. The building had not been repaired for many years and was in a deplorable state. Personnel and resources were needed. Matushkin's parish "Women's Council" showed itself in all its glory. In a matter of days, the staff of cooks, cleaners, dishwashers, accountants, housekeepers, and secretaries was completed at the Theological School. Many still work in the seminary, created on the basis of the school. Work began to boil, everything was cleaned, washed, painted. In different corners of the school and on different floors, mother's cheerful and joyful voice was heard. All parishioners, even those who were not on the staff of the school, ran to help us every free minute. They carried tables, beds, linen, various donations. The men did their best to repair the premises that were needed in the first place. The first applicants have arrived. Mother herself made every bed, hung curtains, laid rugs, decorated student cells, did everything with love and reverence. The native house was as if forgotten - her soul lived with a new obedience. She did not have an official position, her position was to be a mother, a priest's wife, his assistant. What was entrusted to the father, was entrusted to her.

The meal was served in the corridor next to the temple. Cooked right there on the electric stove. Everyone sat down at the same table, it was joyful and blessed, as in the early Christian community. The Lord sent us a wonderful assistant, Vladimir Ilyich Svinin. Together with their pious wife, Nadezhda Vladimirovna, they helped us and kept us like our own children. Despite their advanced years, the Svinins were cheerful and energetic, possessed of cheerful and resolute characters. Being church people from childhood, they told us a lot about the ascetics of piety, whom they personally knew. With my mother, they immediately found a common language due to the relationship of characters, and their task was the same: to help me and protect me from any attacks of ill-wishers, of which there were quite a lot by that time, which they performed selflessly and with love.

The Lord did not leave us these days, Bishop Sergius often came, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan) of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Metropolitan John (Snychev), Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Tomin) visited the school. By the first of September, cells for students, classrooms, a library, a kitchen, a refectory and other premises were ready. Boris Mikhailovich Volkov, a well-known Samara businessman, helped a lot. He was our neighbor in the dacha on the Seventh Glade and knew my mother from childhood. At his expense, a seminary uniform was sewn, and the students were ready for classes.

Mother made sure that everything was at the highest level. If Vladyka came, she always set the table with love - for this they bought good dishes, beautiful tablecloths, napkins and other accessories, she taught the cooks how to cook and how to set the table, in which she herself was a great master. Perhaps we shouldn't have stopped there, but that was the time when the Church had just emerged from her seclusion, and many traditions of Orthodox meetings and the Orthodox meal, which had always been considered a continuation of worship, were lost. The beauty of church life in the Theological School, through the efforts of the mother, went beyond the temple and manifested itself in the appearance of the students, in the decoration of the living quarters, in the way the meal was served, and the way the guests were greeted. Over time, the priests who attended the school spread this tradition of beauty, love and hospitality throughout the Samara land. Our Vladyka, responsive to love and kindness, always appreciated mother and paid tribute to her service, but he tried not to show it clearly. She, in turn, was in awe of him until the end of her life, she always worried about him, seeing the heavy burden of the cross of hierarchal service.

Mother loved students like her children, she was very attentive to them. If she saw that someone had torn shoes or one old shirt, she could buy it or bring it from home. Many children were from poor families, at that time almost all were poor. Our children have already grown up, the daughter got married, the son served in the army. She also endured sorrows, but accepted them as a reward for good deeds.

The first two years of study flew by in labors and prayers, temptations and sorrows, in joy and grace. During these years, our house began to resemble a hospitable hotel. The abbot of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Secretarev), the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archimandrite Platon (Igumnov), the Sanaksar elder Sheikhumen Jerome, the Lavra icon painter Abbot Manuel (Litvinko), and the writer Vladimir Krupin came and lived with us. Blessed Maria Ivanovna Matukasova from Samara also came to our house. We were friends with the famous priest Archpriest John Derzhavin. Vladyka came, sometimes he brought his friends and guests. We ate, talked, sang songs. It seemed like he really liked us. Mother created a special atmosphere of love, care and simplicity around the guests. These meetings taught us a lot, and friendship with God-wise people continues for many years.

In 1996, the Theological School was transformed into a seminary, with Bishop Sergius as rector. Our obedience is over. We did not have much strength left, our health deteriorated, and Vladyka showed mercy to us by sending us to serve at the Intercession Cathedral. For a whole year we were with my mother, as if in paradise. Church life, rest from incessant household and other worries had a favorable effect on us. Many parishioners from the Theological School followed us to the cathedral. Grandchildren were born, and we became grandparents. We bought a small house in the village of Rozhdestveno, on the other side of the Volga, opposite Samara. Mother found the house. In the summer we often went there, and children and grandchildren came to us. In this house, by the providence of God, the fate of the Podgorsky monastery and its first abbess was decided.

Family life. Part three. 1997 - 2003

In the spring of 1997, we received a new obedience - Vladyka blessed us to open the first parish in the Soviet district of Samara. Out of habit, I write “we received”: my mother was my assistant and my novice, she lived the life of her husband and accepted everything that was intended for me, as God’s will, and bestowed on her. We did not discuss the obedience of the Lord, but thought about how to fulfill it.

The head of the district proposed an abandoned, dilapidated bakery store to open a parish. The locals turned the building into a dump. Vladyka gave his blessing to transform the place that gave people earthly bread into a temple that would bring them heavenly bread, and dedicated it to St. Sergius of Radonezh, hegumen of the Russian land. The parents of the monk gave us under the protection of their son - the great Russian saint, the patron of monasticism.

The parishioners, having learned that we were given a new parish, unanimously set to work. While he was drawing up documents and buying utensils, mother organized the "people's element", providing her with shovels, buckets, rags. Neighbors, brought up in an atheistic state, grumbled and looked with concern at everything that was happening, they were frightened by the very word "Church". Things were moving fast, Holy Pascha was approaching. Matushka, joyful and inspired, gathered around her parishioners, her female community, many of whom would take monastic vows in five years, would build a monastery, and God judged Matushka to be their abbess. But only the Lord knew about it at that time. Helping to revive the church and parish life, matushka gained experience that helped her revive the monastery and the monastic community.

Several days passed, Easter came, and in a clean room, without windows and doors, they joyfully sang: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs!” After serving Easter matins, they saw that the neighbors had brought Easter cakes and Easter eggs to consecrate.

The Lord sent us a good helper, Alexander Ivanovich Shatalov, the future monk Gerasim, the second tonsure of the monastery. Within a month, a new altar was added to the former store, windows and doors were inserted, the walls were plastered and whitewashed, domes and crosses, a throne and an altar were ordered. When Bishop Sergius came to consecrate the crosses, he was very surprised and delighted: in an area where there had never been churches, a small white church stood in a place of desolation. After the consecration of the small rank of the church, Vladyka blessed the Divine Liturgy to be served, which was soon fulfilled.

Saint Sergius breathed into the life of our parish a special love for monasteries and monasticism. In previous years, my mother and I visited almost all famous Russian monasteries, were in Pechory, Diveevo, Sanaksary, Sergiev Posad. Most often they visited the Pskov-Caves Monastery, where they met and talked with Archimandrites John (Krestyankin), Nathanael, Dositheus, Adrian, Filaret, Schema-Archimandrite Alexander (Vasiliev). The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Secretarev), also received us. Together with Vladyka Eusebius, we visited Elder Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov, who, without waiting for our questions, answered them, gave simple, but so important advice for us, following which we avoided many temptations.

Mother immediately joined the monastic life, performed any obediences and, when she had free time, looked for additional activities for herself. But to this, the commanding monks lovingly taught that obedience is not asked, and if necessary, they will find it themselves, but for now let her go to the holy hill. On the holy hill of the monastery, Hierodeacon Anthony met mother with a gentle smile, saying: “Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Vladyka Sergius took with him to Athos and Jerusalem the priestly brethren, which included me. Mother at the same time visited Bari, having visited the relics of St. Nicholas, saw the Holy Land, prayed at the Holy Sepulcher, saw the shores of Athos. Another world, holy and blessed, was revealed to us in its entirety. We saw monks, elders, wanderers, compared ourselves with them and thought: “Why are we not like that?” I so wanted to be like them...

Monasteries very naturally entered our life and the life of our parish. Pilgrimages to holy places became a favorite pastime of our parishioners. Buses one after another took away from our temple large groups of pilgrims, returning us completely different people, in their eyes the light of eternal life lit up. Monks became frequent guests in our parish. The brethren from the Pskov-Caves Monastery came and lived at our house. The elders of Sanaksar, Schemagumen Jerome and Schema-Archimandrite Pitirim, also served in the temple.

During these years, the mother opened a new gift. Once, at three o'clock in the morning, my mother knocked on the door of my room, which I called the cell, and said that she had written poetry. The poems were sincere, and it became clear that they were not composed, but bestowed. On the following nights, mother not only read poetry, but also sang: along with poetry, a melody was born. She sang her songs to the parishioners, Vladyka and his guests, relatives and everyone who asked her about it. Soon a whole collection of her poems and songs was assembled. The choral theater under the direction of Valeria Pavlovna Navrotskaya prepared a concert program of mother's songs. The first concert was held, which brought together priests, parishioners, musicians. This good undertaking was blessed by our Bishop Sergius, who himself was present in the hall. Matushka's songs touched the hearts of the listeners so much that tears welled up in them, the women were surprised when they saw tears in the eyes of their husbands. There were several more concerts, the hall was filled with grateful listeners. Songs about love, Motherland, war, childhood, about life, earthly and eternal, were words of thanksgiving to God for everything that my mother went through and humbly and repentantly carried in her heart.

In 1999 His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II visited Samara. With the blessing of our Vladyka, at a meal during a river walk along the Volga, His Holiness was offered a concert of mother's songs. It was an amazing meal when they performed the first song, everyone put aside the treats and did not touch the food during the whole concert, even the huge sturgeon brought was not cut. The patriarch thanked mother for the wonderful songs and blessed her. The Governor of the Samara Region Konstantin Alekseevich Titov, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, released a CD with songs performed. Songs continued to be born, and two more discs were released.

In the nineties, a great misfortune came to our land: drug addiction claimed the lives of entire generations, alcoholism destroyed families, left children orphans, wives and mothers - inconsolable. The mothers brought their grief to Vladyka's feet and asked the priests to bless them to pray for their children and husbands. Bishop Sergius placed the responsibility for this warfare on our parish. This is how the Radonezh brotherhood was born. We have determined that drug addiction is one of the types of demonic possession, and drug addicts should be treated like demoniacs - beg off, scolded and churched. To conduct a reprimand, we invited the elder Archimandrite Miron (Pepelyaev). He was a resident of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, a vows of the famous Caves governor, Archimandrite Alipy (Voronov), for several years he labored on Holy Mount Athos and had a blessing from the elders of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery for the rite of reprimanding the sick, in other words, prayer singing for the healing of spiritually sick people, what are drug addicts.

In the autumn of 1998, at the beginning of the Nativity Fast, one day during the evening service, I was informed that Father Miron was waiting for me at the entrance to the altar. Hastened to meet him. In front of me stood a tall, thin, ascetic elder with a joyful face. For many years, while there were forces, he came to us every six months. We settled the old man at our house. By nature, he has a well-trained voice, excellent hearing, he loves to sing, writes poetry, nobility and humility shine in his whole appearance. With mother, they immediately discovered the kinship of souls. They sang together, in the evenings they talked for a long time over tea. Batiushka told us about his life, colorfully described Athos.

Reports were held every day, it was so unusual, and sometimes scary. The demonic world revealed itself. Seeing how people suffered when they fell into the clutches of demonic forces was eerie. Spiritual warfare from the realm of theory has turned into reality for us. Batiushka, following the Holy Gospel, with fasting and prayer struggled with an invisible adversary. We labored these days very strictly, during the day we did not eat anything, we did not even drink water. There was only one meal in the evening, and that was strictly Lenten. When they arrived home, the elder could hardly stand on his feet and usually rested for about forty minutes before the meal. Matushka and I received lessons in ascetic work, the priest imperceptibly prepared us for monasticism. At night he almost did not sleep, he prayed incessantly, fell asleep for half an hour and again continued to pray. After the reprimand, the elder received people for many hours, talking until the last one who received spiritual advice left.

Parish life has changed, it has become stricter and more prayerful. The parish turned into a spiritual family. Father Miron became our elder, and when he left, we were looking forward to his return. Mother's illness, almost forgotten, again made itself felt, but few people knew about it, except for the closest people. In order to strengthen her strength, mother was sent to a sanatorium, where at that time the priests we knew well were resting.

Father Miron knew our parishioners well, talked with them, confessed. Five years have passed since his first visit to us. There was a Christmas post. It was a sunny winter day when Father Miron decided to visit Rozhdestveno. They walked across the Volga on the ice. In addition to me, the priest was accompanied by two young parishioners. Having reached the house, they kindled a fireplace, listened to the priest. Quite unexpectedly, he said, turning to his young children: “It is time for you to be tonsured as a monk. And you, Father Eugene (that was my name before monasticism), prepare everything. I'll be back in a week and we'll do the tonsure." The first to be blessed to become a monk was the head of our publishing department. The Lord blessed. Father Miron strictly asked not to tell anyone about the upcoming event, even his parents. At that time, tonsures were performed very rarely, there were not many monks, almost all Samara monks were invited to our first tonsure. At the end of 2002, a great mysterious event happened: the first nun was born in our parish. A small cell was arranged for her right in the temple. Many parishioners, seeing her at divine services, looked at her with envy. A good example was contagious.

(To be continued)

REFERENCE. Abbess ANASTASIA (Shestun Irina Petrovna) was born on January 19, 1952 in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara). In 1969 Graduated from high school №63. Graduate of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Kuibyshev Pedagogical Institute, teacher of physics. After graduating from the Pedagogical Institute, Irina Petrovna married a graduate of the same university, Evgeny Vladimirovich Shestun. From 1974 to 1978 taught physics and astronomy at secondary school No. 144. Since 1978. to 1990 - Senior engineer of the expanded clay laboratory of the State Research Institute for expanded clay "NIIkeramzit". In 1990-1991. - Employee of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of Samara State University. After the ordination of her husband (in the priesthood - Archpriest Yevgeny Shestun) in 1992. dedicated her life to serving the Church. At the same time, the first poems and songs were written. In 2004 together with her husband (currently - Archimandrite Georgy (Shestun), rector of the Zavolzhsky Monastery in honor of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord) took monastic vows. In 2006 By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, she was appointed abbess of the Zavolzhsky St. Ilyinsky Convent of the Samara Diocese. In 2009 Metropolitan Sergius of Samara and Syzran, by decision of the Holy Synod, elevated the abbess of the Zavolzhsky St. Elias Convent, nun Anastasia (Shestun), to the rank of abbess. Abbess Anastasia took care of the sisters and parishioners of her convent with motherly love. Through the labors of the abbess and the nuns of the monastery, the monastery became a true adornment of the Samara land. The spiritual atmosphere of the monastery, the reverent service, the care of the sisters attracts a large number of pilgrims to the monastery.

During his stay on the Samara land in 1999, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II highly appreciated the song and poetic creativity of Mother Anastasia (Shestun) and blessed her for further creative work. The main theme of Matushka's works is the Orthodox faith and patriotism, love for God and neighbor. With the blessing of Metropolitan Sergius of Samara and Syzran, two collections of poems by Abbess Anastasia (Shestun) were published, and two CDs of her songs performed by artists of the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater were released.

Abbess Anastasia (Shestun) reposed in the Lord on June 22, 2012. She was buried in her native monastery.

Mikhail Delyagin:

Yes, a crisis is an opportunity. German Gref, who I hate, said a brilliant thing in 2008: “For most, it’s like crashing into a concrete wall at a speed of 70 km per hour, and with luck, you can spend two weeks in the hospital.” A crisis is a rather painful thing.

The most common question asked in all classrooms is: When will the crisis end? It won't end because it's not really a crisis. A crisis is a transition to some new quality. It means to seep through the eye of the needle, and something will open behind it. So, in our case, this is not a transition to a new quality. This is the very new quality. We just don't like the unknown, and we hide from it. Uncertainty is now a normal state, at least throughout our lives.

The main elements of the crisis are as follows. New technologies are already changing not only social relations, but also the person himself, behavioral and value systems. A generation of people has already grown up who make decisions absolutely freely, without any external influence.

In the global market, monopolies rot. Through the commercialization of technologies that were created during the Cold War, an attempt is made to increase the level of consumption through technological development. She failed in my opinion. Because new technologies are super-productive. Productivity is growing faster than the capacity of the markets they create, and we are seeing the emergence of “excess” people, and the middle class of developed countries, who consume too much and produce too little. As a result, the middle class in developed countries is disappearing and eroding. And this is a critical part of global demand. The economy of tomorrow is an economy without demand. Big hello to market relations.

The middle class is the symbol and basis of democracy. The political system of tomorrow is not democracy, at least in the traditional, Western sense of the word.

This does not mean that everything is hopeless. There are many bright spots. Not only in information technology, but even in agriculture. But these are nothing more than individual spots. 30 years will go down in history not as a time of missed opportunities, but as a time of national betrayal. ———-takeaway

Mikhail Khazin:

There is a wonderful phrase: "The salvation of the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves." You can't use existing features if you don't want to use them. If you look at the picture of our state in retrospect, then, with a few exceptions, it moved within the framework of one model. Some call it liberal market, others call it consensus. No matter. The important thing is that this model of economic growth can no longer function. And nowhere. Nowhere in the world is capital reproduced today. If it is not reproduced, then the economy is not reproduced.

Why does no one want to think about switching to another model? The main problem: as soon as you have some kind of resource, an elite group appears that serves this resource.

In the "Washington" consensus model, investments were the main resource. And on this resource and privatization, the modern Russian elite has grown. These people categorically do not want to change the model, because in this case they will have to leave. And they are constantly telling us from all the screens that we need to make sure that foreign investments go. But how you can convince someone to invest in a situation that gives only losses, I do not know.

The current situation in Russia is as follows. The existing economic model, which is protected by the government and the Central Bank, is guaranteed to give a 2.5-3% decline from year to year. Now the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, is trying to accelerate this decline, as she supports an overvalued ruble in order to ensure that international speculators more efficiently withdraw capital from Russia through carry trade operations.

Theoretically, we can provide 5-7% economic growth in our country per year for at least 20 years. But we have no practical possibility, because this will require a revolution in the classical sense of the word. That is, the change of the ruling elite. The current one does not pull, does not understand, but it will cling to power at any cost.

Change can be either from below or from above. From below, on the 100th anniversary of the revolution, no one wants to do this. And from above... The President is well aware that if he starts doing something, then it is impossible to avoid the situation "a la 1937". He does not want this and is counting on some external factors that will force him to make a decision.

Is there a chance to stop being a country that depends mainly on the sale of hydrocarbons?

Mikhail Khazin:

What does the price of hydrocarbons have to do with it? The situation works differently. The elite believes that it determines both the rules of the game and, accordingly, how assets should be distributed.

Mikhail Delyagin:

We can agree on anything. If we agree with any elite on the time of dawn, even if there is a complete consensus, dawn will still come according to its schedule.

The problem of "peeling off" from the raw needle in economic terms does not exist. This is the problem of motivating the state, what it wants. The state is an amazing machine - it honestly solves the tasks that it has set for itself. Krivenko, on the "C grade", with costs, not in those terms, but decides. But if this machine is for destruction and plunder, then it will not solve the problems of development. Just because it's not her job. The car drives, it does not drill. A screwdriver can drive a nail, but a screw cannot be unscrewed with a hammer. This is a question of changing the motivation of society and the development model.

But there is a world problem. This is the creation of new technologies. This is not a market and anti-democratic occupation. Progress is machines instead of butter and laboratories instead of butter. Not a single person will refuse today's consumption for the sake of tomorrow's incomprehensible benefits.

What awaits us, what will be the positive prospects? The global market is collapsing. When this process is completed, it will be a breakdown into a global depression. Breaking the world into these pieces, on the one hand, will provoke a terrible situation: technologies were created in a monopoly logic. And monopolies make money by inflating costs. Therefore, today's technologies are excessively complex. Accordingly, excessively expensive. Therefore, for many of them there will be no sales markets, there will not be the proper number of consumers. This will also apply to life support technologies. It is no longer possible to create a new generation of antibiotics, which is vital.

There will be a situation threatening technological collapse. And here Russia suddenly has a competitive advantage. Our country was the only place in the world where there was such a thing as a military-industrial complex. Due to the monstrous inefficiency of management, this was the only place in the world where huge amounts of money were allocated for research, roughly speaking, just like that. No guaranteed result. As a result, a large number of strange technologies were created that were distinguished by primitiveness, respectively, low cost and high performance. It is now impossible to introduce them in a normal monopolized economy.

What does laser hardening of rails mean, which increases the price by 10% and reduces wear by 30%? This means that more than half of the rail industry should be thrown into the trash along with workers, trade unions, businessmen, politicians and taxes. This is impossible, therefore it was blocked both in the West and in our country.

But technology lived in the pores of society, it is an element of our culture. If we survive as a society that is capable of thinking about itself, we will have a good competitive advantage.

The bad news is that a new reality is being created that doesn't need humans. When superfluous people become a global problem. Now there are two models - the utilization of the population for undeveloped countries (physical during the "Arab spring"), and for developed countries - through virtual reality. When you get a capsule apartment, virtual reality through which people get better emotions than in real life, and food rations that allow you to quietly exist for a while. And, probably, after a while people will learn to use it.

The problem is that knowledge does not live on a reservation. Secret knowledge always dies. History is replete with examples of this. Therefore, if the situation when people are thrust into virtual reality is realized, then humanity will crumble. It will be a new crisis, comparable to the Neolithic in its consequences.

There is a way out that the USSR failed to cope with: to force people to engage in self-improvement and turn it into an occupation for a person. How to do this is still unknown, and there is not even a statement of such a problem. Because it is not a task for business.

At the same time, as it is said in the famous film, “if you want to live, you won’t get so upset.” And this is our perspective, because of the relatively large societies, we are the only ones who combine the three elements of culture: we are inclined towards technology, towards humanism, and at the same time also messianic. It is not enough for us to see the truth, we must carry it to everyone else, otherwise we feel socially inferior. And this is our competitive advantage.

Can you formulate several necessary decisions for the government of the Russian Federation to take that will lead to significant economic growth, including at the regional level?

Mikhail Khazin:

It is very difficult to explain today what is the source of growth. There will be no foreign investment, and domestic investment, in rubles, is prohibited by the Central Bank. For this reason, the only source of development is local territory. And here there is a way to make the city itself become a source of jobs for itself. In Perm, there is no need to increase the population by more than three times. There are already a million people. For this reason it is possible.

If it is very conditional, then this is the creation of an urban environment in which a self-supporting system of people working on each other is formed. This requires some investment, but much less than some people think. The key point is the involvement of its own population in these processes.

Another thing is that in Russia there are no cities in the Western sense of the word. All major cities of Soviet times are a set of industrial settlements. And for this reason, nothing is connected, there is no city life. Such centers as the Perm Opera House, in a city of this magnitude, should not even be 10 or 20, but 300-400. They may not be known outside the region, but they must be popular inside. As soon as such a cultural urban environment appears, it immediately begins to support a similar situation in satellite cities. In the same Kudymkar. Nothing will work without this.

It seems to me that this is a key point that should be addressed today, regardless of economic growth. Offering this project to a city with half a million people will not work. The critical value is 800 thousand people. You will succeed. But if you do nothing, then water does not flow under a lying stone.

popular internet

The policy pursued by "our" economic bloc is so obvious harm to the economy and the population that its definition as criminal has become a commonplace. Economists openly talk about it and political scientists argue about it. However, with the diagnosis of the causes of what is happening, there were clear disagreements.

Most sane economists agree that this is a consequence of the elementary illiteracy and unsuitability of the representatives of the so-called liberal clan, brought to power by the "West". Judging by Ms. Nabiullina, who could not defend her dissertation, this opinion has some basis.

Supporters of Khazin and Delyagin argue that the reason is that they are directly dependent on the global liberal elites and do not serve the interests of the country, but serve global business and its ideologists.

Adherents of the Fedorov sect argued that what was happening was the result of the occupational legislation and it was enough for the pedRosovites to get 2/3 in parliament, how they would change the Constitution, legislation, and we would “sovereignly” live like “in Christ’s bosom.” The result of their activities, after the "victory", is well known ... It became clear to the adequate members of the sect that they were "divorced" and the goal of the NOD was to smuggle more accomplices of the compradors into parliament, under pseudo-patriotic slogans.

What unites all these concepts diligently thrown into the media space: reference to some external force. Instead of analyzing the economic interests of social groups and classes in modern Russia, they shift the focus of public attention to its foreign enemies. I am convinced that this is the result of the purposeful activity of the interested parties, which we need to identify.

If this is true, then behind the outwardly chaotic and / or "illiterate" actions of our economic authorities, it will be revealed iron logic and someone's selfish interest.

Therefore, let's try following the old principle: Cui prodest? (Who benefits), identify the true customers, the policy pursued! We will try to analyze the most egregious actions/decisions of the government and the Central Bank and correlate their consequences with the interests of a certain social group: the “comprador bourgeoisie” or simply COMPRADORS.

Who are compradors?

First, let's look at a few facts:

1. “In Russia, approximately 0.2% of families (!!!) control about 70% of the national wealth,” Valery Goreglyad, former deputy head of the Accounts Chamber, now Chief Auditor of the Central Bank of Russia, said back in 2011.

2. The total capital of 28 Russian dollar billionaires increased by $17.09 billion in January-August 2017 (Bloomberg Billionaires Index data);

3. Over the past 13 years, 20 thousand dollar millionaires and billionaires have left Russia, and 6 thousand of them - only in the last three years;

4. Up to 40% of the oligarchs have already renounced Russian citizenship;

5. Russia's national wealth has not grown since the 1990s, but has been redistributed, and then flowed offshore. Now there is an amount equal to 75% of Russia's national income (more than 1.3 trillion dollars). Please note that these amounts do not include legal assets withdrawn directly to Western countries.

6. The net outflow of capital from the Russian Federation in the first half of 2017 increased to $14.7 billion, 1.7 times compared to the data for the same period last year.

What conclusions about the ongoing processes can we draw? A significant part of the “Russian” bourgeoisie, and, as we can see, not only the so-called oligarchs (not all of the 20,000 who left belong to them), organized their economic activity in a special way. Despite their “domestic” affiliation, by the nature of the source of wealth, they purposefully transfer to the West the income received through the exploitation of the national wealth and the population of Russia. This process is growing. As can be seen from the above data, instead of developing their business in Russia, they withdraw an increasing part of their profits from the country, draining its economy.

Therefore, instead of the development of industry, there is a continuous degradation of production (primarily complex, science-intensive, with a high share of surplus value). The result is a simplification of the structure of production, the transformation of the country into a raw material appendage of the global West. Thus, a vicious economic model has been formed in the country, in which increased exploitation within Russia does not lead to the accumulation of national wealth(albeit in the hands of a narrow circle of the national bourgeoisie) and strengthening the economy of the state. Instead, its outflow to the global West (the countries of the core of the capitalist system) only intensifies ... Particular cases of the consequences of this process are general impoverishment and the growth of social inequality within the country.

It is THIS part of the bourgeoisie, mostly selling abroad mineral wealth and/or low value-added products as raw materials (for further processing in the West) are called compradors. Thus, the compradors act as junior partners in relation to the countries of the capitalist core, which plays the role of the metropolis of Russia.

Due to economic ties and their own views, these people are much more connected with the global West than with Russia. Firstly, the consumers of their products are located outside of Russia. Therefore, they are not interested in the economic situation of citizens and domestic producers - it is more important for them to have solvent demand in the West. Secondly: they are connected with the West by assets and the future: their children, villas, financial resources, etc. - everything is there in the true "homeland". Therefore, our country is only a source of profit for them - no more…

They are joined by banksters - five banks that monopolize the financial market, owners of federal networks (usually non-residents of the Russian Federation), who "saddle" trade and raise the markup up to 300%, and other bourgeois oriented towards the global West

From the above data, we can see that these people have enormous combined economic power, often exceeding even the capabilities of the state (more than a trillion dollars, only in offshore accounts). It would be surprising if they did not use it to exert political influence on the processes taking place inside Russia, in the interests of your social group. Consequently, they should be joined by major officials and politicians serving their interests within the state.

Is this true and in whose interests is the financial and economic policy of the state carried out? The most egregious and discussed facts:

* Extremist and terrorist organizations banned in the Russian Federation: Jehovah's Witnesses, National Bolshevik Party, Right Sector, Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), Islamic State (IS, ISIS, Daesh), Jabhat Fatah ash-Sham", "Jabhat al-Nusra", "Al-Qaeda", "UNA-UNSO", "Taliban", "Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people", "Misanthropic Division", "Brotherhood" Korchinsky, "Trident named after. Stepan Bandera", "Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists" (OUN)

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