Abstract:

The urgency of the question of the meaning of Russia´s existence in world history is affirmed. For Russian history and culture the West has been a leitmotif of self-awareness, in which Russia is trying to see its own origins. It is argued that the search for national identity is carried out on the path of determination through repulsion from the West, from its "Western" origin, but at the same time as a negation of it. The peculiarities of this attitude are laid down in the ideas of Byzantineism, introduced into the cultural and historical space in the XIV century. Byzantineism is essentially rethought in the Russian context, which leads both to the consolidation of the idea of absolutizing state power, and to an active dialogue and interaction with the West, an orientation towards Western forms of culture.

Keywords: national identity, culture, history, Byzantineism, statehood, cultural dialogue