Hofstede's Power Distance Cultural Dimension and its Representation in Historical Documents of Russia in the 16th-20th Centuries

Abstract

Based on the theory of basic cultural dimensions by G. Hofstede, the value orientations presented in the texts of Russian and Soviet power discourse are analyzed. Based on the behavioral characteristics given by Hofstede (1980) to characterize cultures with high and low indicators in basic dimensions, a content analysis of the texts of Russian power discourse for the XVI-XX centuries, including state acts, legal documents, chronicles, judicial records, official and private correspondence, was carried out. A comparison of the hierarchical and power value orientations of Russian culture, identified by the method of content analysis, and the conclusions of historical studies of social and cultural trends of the corresponding period. A reproducible factor structure consisting of 16-20 factors and corresponding to the sub-dimensional structure of the basic value orientations of culture, theoretically predicted and empirically identified in foreign studies of value orientations, is obtained. Aspects of the basic dimensions of culture according to G. Hofstede, having different time dynamics, are highlighted. The obtained aspects of the basic dimension of the power distance are analyzed. Graphs of the dynamics of value orientations with generalization over 25 years are constructed. The correspondence of the dynamics revealed by the content analysis of the power discourse to the actual historical trends is shown. The conclusion is made about the applicability of the texts of the power discourse for the analysis of the historical dynamics of value orientations.