Mother Russia: the origin of the symbol, examples of application in our days

Mother is called the wife of a priest, a woman who raised children, as well as natural objects of the feminine gender, which have become truly native (Volga-Mother). But the dictionary also gives one more use of the word - applied to the whole country, expressing the idea of its maternal essence: Russia is the mother. How and when did this symbol appear? What does it mean today?

The origin of the symbol

The idea appeared in Ancient Rus. At the first stage, the word Mother was associated with a word combination of damp earth, which was the version of the Great Mother Goddess. The Russian land appeared to be a living being in the mother's guise. Since the XVI century, under the influence of the works of Andrei Kurbsky and Maxim the Greek, the name Holy Russia appeared, and the mother-land acquired the form of Svyatorusskaya. The idea developed in the works of V. Trediakovsky, F. Prokopovich, M. Lomonosov and in the 18th century, although in those times the symbolic designation Fatherland was used more often for the country. He did a lot to strengthen the symbol of Russia in the female form of Peter I, whose plot was used in the production of personal print.

Visualization of the image was carried out by F. Becker, who introduced Peter I for sculpting the figure of Russia in the form of a woman. In her hands were located the state and the scepter, and the crown crowned the head. The ruler personified the male principle, which gave the female form and filled her soul with content. The idea went back to the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. Symbols The Tsar-Father and Mother Russia were finally formed by the beginning of the XIX century, for during the reign of Catherine II the word Mother firmly entrenched behind the ruler herself.

The sacred marriage

The Patriotic War of 1812 stirred a real wave of popular resistance to the French invaders. The image of the Motherland was associated with the defenders of the mother-woman, which embodied in the medal "People's Militia" (1816). It depicts Russia, giving weapons to its defenders - sons. This gender approach was typical for all European countries, but only in our country there was a symbolization of imperial unity and mobilization to fight the external enemy. In fact, it was about the sacred marriage of the Tsar-father with Mother Russia.

This played into the hands of the authorities during the revolution. In the Tsaritsyn monastery there is an image on which rebels run in fear from a female mother with a sword. After the October events, the White movement intensified both visual propaganda and rhetoric, calling for a battle with the oppressors of the Motherland. Russia-Mother was depicted with bound hands, in need of the help of her sons and protection of the Tsar-father. That is why the Bolsheviks abandoned the existing symbol, returning to it only in the 30s.

Return character

The authorities used the concept of the Motherland, but the image of the Mother embodied in art and literature in relation to the country was so recognizable and revered that the return to it was only a matter of time. Already in the welcome telegram to the Chelyuskinites, they were called worthy sons of the great Motherland. This marked the beginning of the synthesis of the concepts of the Motherland and the Revolution. During the Great Patriotic War the mother's image was embodied in the poster of I. Toidze, which became a symbol of the epoch. In Motherland, you can see not only suffering and strength, but also a call - an appeal to a sense of duty. In films and literary works she seemed vulnerable, singed by war, in memorials and monuments - mourning, and in sculpture on Mamayev Kurgan - warrior capable of leading her.

In place of the Soviet Motherland, inseparable from the state, in the Russian period the image of a woman was returned to the country. But she seemed to be in the image of a stepmother, then - a selling whore, which was associated with a huge number of dissatisfied with the reforms. Today, Mother Russia is a new demand. Symbols, like border guards, divide people into their own and others'. The time has come for the unification and rallying of citizens both inside the country and beyond its borders in the interests of the nation.

New time - new songs

Gennady Fedorovich Georgiev - a famous poet. Having passed away in 2000 at the age of 62, he left behind several remarkable poetry collections ("The attraction of the heart", "My good old friend", "The first in the dew"). But his main achievement was the songs performed by such famous artists as Iosif Kobzon, Lyudmila Zykina, Renat Ibragimov, Valentina Tolkunova, Lyudmila Nikolaeva. "Mother Russia" is one of them. In the dashing nineties Gennady Fyodorovich wrote it in collaboration with the composer V. I. Temnov. With sincere trembling appealing to the image of Russia-Mother, he conveys faith in the revival of the country. From the native nature and chimes of bells, Russians are gaining strength. And there will come a time when the troubles of the country will end and sorrow will fly away.

In the 2000s singer Jasmine sang a whole cycle of works that were included in the collection From Love to Love. For a popular performer, they were quite uncharacteristic, but they symbolically symbolized the beginning of a new era. One of Jasmine's songs is "Russia-Mother" by A. Zubkov on verses by I. Kaminskaya. For the first time she performed it on the Day of the Rescuer. What's new in this song? If there is faith and hope in G. Georgiev's poems, then categorically it is said about Russia's finding happiness after centuries of shed tears. The performer with the soul sends the desire to save in memory everything that was with the country, and give her her heart.

Afterword

The symbols, of course, carry a propagandistic and political burden, as warned by Western authors. One of the most recent sensational books on this topic is Mother Russia by Maurice Hindrous. One can agree that with the intertwining of the image of Russia with the Ruler, there are many negative points:

• This hampers democracy and forms a personality incapable of critically assessing the actions of the authorities.
• The banner of chauvinism and nationalism rises on the pedestal, turning the symbol into a sign of backwardness and archaism.
• The representatives of the nation are skewed towards the exalted feminine.

But poetry penetrates the heart of the listener through the senses. Only sincere and heartfelt lines are found. Exactly what the song authors presented. Mother Russia is a special symbol for the inhabitants of the country. Having an age-old history, he will sing the best representatives of culture. And everyone from school remembers the lines told by Ushinsky that we are all nurtured by the waters of Russia, which has taught us its language and protects us, like a mother, from enemies.