The role of state policy in the safeguarding and reproduction of the intangible cultural heritage of Russia

Sazonova Veronika Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-6503-7910 Postgraduate student; Department of Cultural Studies; Moscow Pedagogical State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Malaya Pirogovskaya str., 1 building 1 sazonovaveronika@yandex.ru

Introduction

The protection of the intangible heritage of Russian culture is one of the most difficult issues of Russian state policy. Work on the formation and implementation of national state campaigns to identify, document, study, preserve, support reproduction, revival, broadcast, use, actualization and popularization of such heritage has been continuously going on for more than 30 years.

The theoretical and methodological understanding of this highly specialized problem in cultural knowledge is reflected in the works of G. A. Avanesova ^[1], O. N. Astafieva ^[2], I. I. Gorlova ^[7], S. Yu. Zhitenev ^[9], A. S. Kargin and A.V. Kostina ^[10], M. V. Loginova ^[13], M. A. Polyakova ^[15], T. V. Purtova ^[17], S. B. Sinetsky ^[18], D. L. Spivak ^[19], A. Ya. Flier ^[20] and other authors. In the research of the practice of protecting intangible cultural heritage (hereinafter — intangible heritage or ICH), the scientific community has widely presented a meaningful analysis of documents in the field of cultural policy of Russia, which at different historical stages raised issues of its preservation ^{[7, 9, 10, 17]}. The main subject of these studies are approaches to the definition of the term and typologization of intangible heritage, criteria for its inclusion in catalogs and registries ^[4], the content of programs for its protection, as well as a case analysis of existing practices in Russia for updating the ICH.

However, O. N. Astafyeva emphasizes that modern conceptual and strategic documents of the federal level in the field of culture are not just a list of measures to be implemented, but a state discourse that includes "a set of ideas about the state of the cultural environment and development prospects, developing into certain meanings, a holistic view of social and cultural dynamics, ongoing and upcoming changes in the country" ^{[2, p. 317]}. From a managerial point of view, they "perform the function of a value-semantic foundation that holds together the levels of strategizing (from federal through regional to local)" ^{[2, p. 316]}.

The implementation of the Russian state approach to the preservation, actualization, popularization and use of ICH (as well as scientific approaches to these issues) is interdisciplinary and interdepartmental in nature. Therefore, in order to more systematically assess its effectiveness and identify promising areas of development, it is necessary to expand the range of practical research from studying the provisions of cultural policy in a narrow sense to analyzing the entire set of provisions of Russian state policy affecting the conservation and use of cultural heritage. In this context, Russia's conceptual and strategic approach to the protection of intangible heritage has not been sufficiently studied, and is an urgent area of research.

Based on the approach of O. N. Astafieva, let us consider in historical dynamics the value-semantic roles and instrumental functions of the intangible cultural heritage, which were assigned to this institution by the whole complex of conceptual and strategic documents of Russia affecting its preservation and use. The culturological approach seems to be the most heuristic for identifying them, as well as evaluating possible prospects for their further development. The research uses the method of content analysis, comparative and cultural-historical methods.

By intangible cultural heritage, based on the definition previously developed by the author, it is proposed to understand "an interconnected and integral sign-symbolic system of value-semantic phenomena, traditional knowledge, authentic practices and forms of representation, contextually and historically related to the natural and cultural landscape of existence, constantly recreated by bearers, which preserve their identity They form continuity among the bearers and are recognized by them as an integral part of life" ^{[11, p. 61]}.

The context of the formation and modern structure of the Russian state approach to the protection of intangible heritage

Chronologically and conceptually, the process of formation and development of the Russian state approach to the preservation, actualization, popularization and use of intangible heritage largely coincides with the main stages of institutionalization of the concept of "Intangibal heritage" in the activities of UNESCO ^[11]. However, it differs significantly in terms of strategic goal setting, methodology, as well as the scope, scope and focus of the proposed support measures.

First of all, this is due to the valuable difference in the practical experience of preserving and using the phenomena of spiritual culture, which has historically been accumulated by the domestic professional community, from those provisions proposed by the UNESCO discourse at the dawn of the formation of new Russian approaches to these issues.

In Russian practice, the phenomena of spiritual heritage (in their close relationship with the material and natural heritage) at the state level have historically been assigned the role of a unifying principle for the interaction and cohesion of the peoples of Russia in conditions of ethnocultural, linguistic and confessional diversity (approx. — according to the USSR Law No. 4692-IX dated 10/29/1976). In the state policy of the USSR, this conceptual provision originates in the 1930s ^{[16, pp. 66-67]} and is consistently fixed in the regulatory framework for the protection of monuments in the 1950s and 1970s through provisions on the popularization and use of national material and spiritual heritage for the purposes of ideological, moral, aesthetic and patriotic education of citizens. The development of strategies, programs and measures for the preservation and use of the phenomena of spiritual heritage for education, upbringing and sustainable development was mainly carried out in the conditions of a centrally functioning public sector of the cultural sphere.

And in UNESCO's activities, a vector was traced towards the diversification of local and cross-border cultural diversity in order to promote intercultural dialogue, inclusivity, gender equality and sustainable development ^{[14, pp. 65-66]}. In addition, UNESCO's work is characterized by the decentralization of the processes of creating and implementing programs for the preservation of various objects of intangible heritage by its bearers, as well as specific cultural and public institutions within the framework of the unified approaches of UNESCO and the United Nations to this activity ^{[14, pp. 59-75]}.

An equally important factor that influenced the formation of Russia's state approach to the preservation and use of ICH was the fact that in the 1990s-2000s, specialists in the public sector of the cultural sphere (who traditionally dealt with the preservation, popularization and use of traditional culture of the peoples of Russia) had to solve priority tasks to stabilize the industry in the context of an administrative and economic crisis and political instability. In this regard, the complete unification of the transforming sectoral legislation (formed taking into account the normative legal heritage of the USSR), as well as the principles of state cultural policy and established practices of socio-cultural activities with UNESCO's approach to the preservation of the ICH did not meet the primary interests of Russian state policy, since it required significant material, organizational and labor costs.

Nevertheless, in the principles proposed in those years by the scientific community as a methodology for the formation of domestic strategies for the conservation and actualization of ICH ^{[5, 12]}, as in the UNESCO Convention, the intermediate results of the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Preservation of Traditional Culture and Folklore (1989) and the results of the discussion of the problems of protection found their interpretation ^[8] cultural landscapes and the intangible component of the objects of material heritage ^{[6, p. 160]}.

The key provisions concerning the preservation and use of spiritual cultural values and related contexts and landscapes of existence were introduced into the domestic regulatory framework at an early stage of its formation by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and a number of federal laws aimed at its implementation. But then the process of forming the Russian national approach to the preservation of intangible heritage was accompanied by a number of methodological problems caused by the use of heterogeneous terminology in conceptual and strategic documents of different years, inconsistency of time frames and weak coordination of programs implemented in this area. As a result, the regulatory formalization of the federal approach to the identification, documentation and monitoring of the safety of ICH lasted until 2022.

In this dynamic, the scientific and professional communities of the cultural sphere have continued to work consistently for three decades to find solutions to the most pressing problems in this matter. And these efforts eventually brought results in the form of stabilization of the cultural sector and the transition of the Russian Federation from a protective state cultural policy ^{[18, p. 218]} to a multilevel model of socio-cultural policy ^{[3, p. 14-18]}.

The state systematic approach to the protection of the intangible heritage of Russian culture formed in Russia by 2024 takes into account the fundamental provisions of the UN and UNESCO documents in this area, interpreting them in the Russian context. However, it has an interdisciplinary interdepartmental character, since certain issues of preservation, use, updating and popularization of the ICH are reflected in a large list of interrelated regulatory, conceptual and strategic documents of the Russian Federation in the field of:

— intangible ethno-cultural heritage, support for traditional values and indigenous peoples, state cultural and national policies, as well as historical education;

— National security and national development goals;

— spatial development;

— creative industries.

Documents in the field of foreign policy, humanitarian policy abroad and in the field of migration also address certain issues of preservation, use and popularization of intangible heritage.

This approach reflects national peculiarities of socio-economic development, uses the potential of civil society, takes into account the sectoral specifics of the cultural sphere and develops the results of the implementation of strategic documents and government programs of previous years related to intangible cultural heritage in general or its individual objects in particular.

In the context of the modern socio-cultural, economic and geopolitical crisis, the intensification of globalization, as well as the politicization of the activities of international institutions in the field of culture, the formation of a Russian national approach to the preservation and use of the traditional heritage of spiritual culture has fully justified its importance. However, at different stages of the formation of this approach, the role of intangible cultural heritage in Russian state policy, as well as the context of implementation and the content of measures to support it, have changed in connection with the development and entry into force of certain strategic and conceptual documents. Let's look at this process in more detail.

Analysis of the roles and functions of intangible cultural heritage in Russian state policy in historical dynamics

The periodization of the formation of the roles and functions assigned to the intangible heritage as an institution of public policy can be proposed on 3 mutually dependent grounds: the chronology of creation, the content and historicity of the contexts of the implementation of interrelated strategic and conceptual documents affecting the conservation, reproduction and use of ICH. Based on the results of the content analysis of regulatory sources, we will identify 4 successive stages in the historical dynamics of the institutionalization of the intangible cultural heritage of Russia.

At the first stage, which lasted from 1992 to 2005, federal laws and other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of cultural heritage in its entirety were developed, as well as conceptual and strategic documents that laid the foundation for the state's activities to preserve, popularize, use and anti-crisis response to emerging problems in this area. During this period, the intangible cultural heritage is recognized as the basis of the spiritual unity and cohesion of the peoples of Russia and is used as a tool for restoring, preserving and strengthening interethnic, intercultural and interfaith harmony against the background of socio-cultural, ethno-national and economic upheavals of those years (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 06/15/1996 No. 909, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 01/10/2000 No. 24). It was also recognized as a tool for strengthening the interrelationships of the subjects of the Federation and the relations of compatriots with Russia. The key tasks of the national and cultural policies in force during this period, as well as the concept of national security, were to identify, preserve, revive, ensure reproduction and respect, popularize and actualize the original phenomena of the intangible heritage of the peoples of Russia and the historically established way of life within the framework of a single ethno-cultural space of our country. The support measures taken were mainly anti-crisis in nature.

At the second stage, which lasted from 2006 to 2011, the conceptual, strategic and methodological framework for the preservation, revival, use and popularization of Russia's spiritual heritage was updated. Against the background of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention, attempts are being made to introduce the substantive part of the concept of intangible cultural heritage ^[11] in its close relationship with the material heritage and the traditional environment of existence into these documents. For example, the Concept of Preservation and Development of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation for 2009-2015 (hereinafter — the Concept of 2009), the Concept of Sustainable Development of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation and others. State programs are beginning to include blocks dedicated to the Institute of intangible Heritage (for example, the Federal Target Program "Culture of Russia (2006-2011)"), the formation of a Catalog of objects of intangible cultural Heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation and the creation of digital materials and media archives dedicated to intangible heritage (approx. — according toConcepts 2009). During this period, at the state level, the intangible heritage is recognized as the fundamental basis of the original culture of Russia (approx. — according to the Concept of 2009). The key role of this institution is also emphasized:

— in the preservation of ethnocultural identity and historical memory (approx. — according to the Concept of 2009);

— in the transmission of values to ensure the continuity of generations and the spiritual unity of Russians (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 05/12/2009 No. 537);

— in shaping their worldview and human capital (approx. — according to the Concept of 2009).

Intangible heritage is considered as a tool for solving social problems of different levels and the development of domestic and inbound tourism (approx. — according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 08/02/2011 No. 644). The support measures taken were not only anti-crisis, but also innovative in nature for the sustainable development of Russian regions.

The third stage, which lasted from 2012 to 2021, is of key importance, since it was during these years that the updated state approach of the Russian Federation to the preservation and actualization of the intangible heritage in all its diversity and close relationship with the landscapes of existence (approx. — according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 02/13/2019 No. 207-r), it acquires consistency, complexity and coordination both in the conceptual and strategic plane and in the practical implementation of the claimed measures (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated December 24, 2014 No. 808). During this period, the fundamental role of using the intangible cultural heritage of Russia as a unifying principle and resource in business is recognized:

— formation of the spiritual unity and cohesion of Russian society, preservation of the cultural sovereignty of Russia (approx. — according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 02/29/2016 No. 326-r);

— ensuring its national security and territorial integrity (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 07/02/2021 No. 400);

— sustainable development of the regions and the restoration of their horizontal links (approx. — according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 09/20/2021 No. 2613-r);

— preservation of ethnic and cultural identity, traditional way of life and the environment of existence (approx. — according to Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1666 dated 12/19/2012), the continuity of generations, traditions and spiritual and moral values.

In addition, the intangible heritage is consolidated as the basis for the formation of the all—Russian civic identity due to the commonality of the core of the Russian cultural code — original traditions and values - with the fundamental values of all the peoples of Russia historically living on its territory. The erosion of this identity and attempts to distort it, level the value and discredit the intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia in all its diversity are recognized as a national threat. The historical experience of interaction between all the peoples of Russia and compatriots abroad is used to ensure interethnic and interfaith harmony (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 12/19/2012 No. 1666, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 07/02/2021 No. 400).

During this period, conceptual and strategic documents dealing with the preservation of intangible heritage give priority to its revival, actualization, popularization and use to achieve national goals (including in education and upbringing), rather than commercialization of this work. Despite the dispersion of measures to support intangible heritage across different programs, the systematic conceptual and strategic approach formed during this period, unlike in previous years, allows them to be implemented comprehensively.

At the fourth — modern — stage, which began in 2022 and continues at the present time, the concept of intangible cultural heritage and its fundamental importance for Russian culture is consolidated in the domestic legal field by Federal Law No. 402-FZ dated 10/20/2022 "On Intangible Ethnocultural Heritage of the Russian Federation". At the conceptual level, there is a further development of the previously formulated role of intangible cultural heritage and historical memory as the basis for the formation of a unique all-Russian civic identity of the peoples of Russia (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 09.11.2022 No. 809), the preservation of the original culture and ensuring the national security of our country at the mental and psychological level. It is important to emphasize that it is at the present stage that the regulatory criteria for recognizing a particular practice as an intangible cultural heritage have been fixed at the federal level (approx. — according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 08/03/2023 No. 1277), as well as the methodological foundations for protecting the ICH from distortion and falsification in the context of a socio-cultural crisis (approx. — according toDecree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 809 dated 11/19/2022) and negative informational and psychological pressure (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 03/31/2023 No. 229). Russian russians have also updated approaches to using these phenomena to shape the image of Russia and the "Russian World" as guardians of original traditions, values and historical memory, as well as to increase the importance of the Russian language as a language of interethnic communication and increase the tourist attractiveness of our country (approx. — according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 09/05/2022 No. 611, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 03/31/2023 No. 229).

The Concept of Preservation and Development of the Intangible Ethnocultural Heritage of the Russian Federation adopted in 2024 for the period up to 2030 (hereinafter referred to as the 2030 Concept) provided a coordination and methodological link between all the documents analyzed above of Russia's state conceptual and strategic approach to the protection of intangible heritage. However, the long-term significance of the implementation of this document is much more fundamental. If the rest of the normative and conceptual-strategic framework reflects the state's approach to what specifically it recognizes as intangible heritage, and also gives an answer to the question of what purpose to preserve it, on what value-semantic basis and in what context to use, popularize and update, then the 2030 Concept is primarily aimed at solving the issue on how to identify, preserve and protect the authentic essential content of this heritage from destructive influence. And this task is assigned to the scientific and professional community of the cultural sphere. In this regard, one of the most important promising tasks of the 2030 Concept is to strengthen the interdependence and interdependence of the work of the scientific community and professional communities in the field of culture and education in identifying, fixing and preserving, broadcasting and popularizing unique objects of Russia's intangible heritage for the national development of our country.

Conclusion

As a result of the content analysis, it can be concluded that the progressive institutionalization of the intangible heritage of Russian culture in state policy has allowed us to take into account the creative aspects of various scientific and socio-political discourses concerning the significance of these phenomena and the methodology of working with them both within the framework of state cultural institutions, and within the creative industries, the activities of private institutions culture and entrepreneurial activity of the bearers of such heritage.

The role of intangible cultural heritage in Russian state policy has gone from a unifying principle for interaction and social cohesion in the early 1990s (due to inertia from its position in the late USSR) to one of the tools for ensuring interethnic and interfaith harmony in 1996-2005, and then to the recognition of this institution in the second half of the 2000s The fundamental basis for the preservation of Russia's original culture and historical memory, as well as a resource for the formation of human capital, ensuring the continuity of generations and the spiritual unity of Russians. When updating the entire set of conceptual and strategic documents of the Russian Federation in the field of cultural, national and spatial policy in 2012-2021, the intangible cultural heritage at the state level is recognized as a key element in ensuring Russia's national security and the formation of the all-Russian identity of citizens, and its reproduction is recognized as an integral condition for preserving the original culture and sovereignty of Russia.

Despite the fact that the formation of a systematic state approach to the identification, documentation, monitoring of the state and assessment of the effectiveness of the protection of ICH has been chronologically delayed, an important stabilizing factor has been the fact that the popularization and use of intangible heritage in solving social problems, in spiritual, moral, aesthetic and patriotic education have acquired key importance in the work on its preservation. The accumulated practical experience of the professional community in this matter and the need to solve the problems of long-term development of cultural, scientific and educational institutions have allowed:

— significantly update the practice of updating the intangible cultural heritage of Russia within the framework of the project form of activity;

— to analyze, implement and adapt to the needs of specific heritage sites the best international experience recognized by UNESCO as best reflecting the principles and objectives of the relevant convention.

All this made it possible to move on to a constructive dialogue on the need for normative consolidation of the institute of intangible cultural heritage in the domestic legal field, taking into account the prevailing national peculiarities of the functioning of the sphere of culture and creative industries, sectoral legislation and experience in the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

The Russian state approach to the preservation of intangible heritage, which has been formed to date, is a three-level system that coordinates the vertical work of the federal center, regions, specific institutions, public associations and heritage carriers in this direction. At the highest level (the President of Russia, the Government of Russia, ministries), strategic planning, monitoring and control are carried out, at the second level (the Government of Russia, regional authorities, cultural, scientific and educational institutions, creative industries, public and non—profit associations, carriers and keepers of heritage) - the formation of support programs at various levels and the implementation of incoming They contain lists of activities, at the third level (the professional and scientific community of the cultural sphere) — improving the methodology and practice of work on the preservation of intangible heritage. Thus, it can be concluded that the progressive work of the professional and scientific community to develop strategic approaches to the preservation of various elements of the intangible heritage has allowed not only to develop the conceptual and methodological foundations of the state's activities in this direction, but also to fit them into a multi-level model of socio-cultural policy ^{[3, pp. 14-18]}.

Summing up, it is important to emphasize that the further innovative development of this system is a key task of the professional, scientific and educational community dealing with the cultural heritage of Russia. The high level of urbanization, the intensive pace of industrial development in Russia, the digitalization of all spheres of life, the growth of media consumption and the associated emotional and psychological impact on the audience have a negative impact on the contexts and places (landscapes) of the traditional existence of intangible cultural heritage, its reproduction and traditional ways of transmission from generation to generation. In this regard, in the very near future, the professional and scientific community of the cultural sphere will need to resolve a number of issues related to leveling these trends and methodological support for the implementation of state programs and projects to support such heritage on the basis of an updated conceptual, strategic and regulatory framework.