ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ КУЛЬТА КНИГИ В РУССКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЕ XVIII–XX ВЕКОВ

Abstract

Introduction. The research aims to trace the way of nascency and formation of a cult of book as a unique phenomenon in the Russian culture during the 18th –20th centuries, and identify the reasons and factors that determined the high status of literature in Russian society, its role in the development of national identity; contributed to the fact that the book became not only and not so much a way of leisure for Russian citizens, but a cultural need. Materials and methods. The study is based on the methods of historical and comparative analysis, generalization and synthesis. It also employs the method of actualization, which makes it possible to focus attention on the facts, events, phenomena, observations, ideas and conclusions that are supposed to be of scientifi c and pedagogical value for understanding the role of book, reading, and culture by the people of modern Russia and Literature as an academic discipline in the 21st century’s school education. A versatile approach to comprehending the long-term historical establishment of a cult of books and reading in Russian culture of the 18th-20th centuries made it possible to objectify the results of the study. Results of study. The multidimensional analysis of the emergence and formation of the “cult of book”, i.e., the cult of reading in Russian society, since the time of Ancient Russia, has covered a variety of aspects of understating this phenomenon, including philosophy; culture; literature as a part of culture and a type of art, as exponent of public and national identity; literature as an academic subject in the school system; psychology of “book reading”; book and its place in spiritual life of the Russian people in different epochs, including the current state of Russian society; journalism and book publishing, etc. Findings of the study indicate that the long-lasting book cult phenomenon in Russian culture is due to a consistent and verify ed system of creating a personality, upbringing a reader, familiarizing with reading, which embraces all social and moral institutes (family, school, culture, society, and the State). Conclusion. The study has sharpened the issue of reading books, their place and role in modern digital society, which has become particularly relevant in the 21st century. It is obvious that only a systems approach to addressing this issue, which requires joint eff orts of all the institutes mentioned, can provide positive results if we do not want to lose the readers already in their early childhood.