Social Architecture as Value-Oriented Activity: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

The article addresses the value foundations of social architecture, understood as the proactive design of an environment resilient to destructive processes. The authors advance and substantiate the hypothesis that the sustainability of large-scale social transformations in Russia is directly correlated with their reliance on fundamental traditional values developed over centuries of historical, spiritual, and political evolution. In contrast to the widespread approach that views values solely as regulators of political choice, the authors propose a model of bidirectional determination: values guide social design, while the environment being created itself contributes to the transformation of the axiological system. Drawing on key stages of Russian history (the Christianization of Rus', centralization under Ivan III, the imperial reforms of the 18th century from Peter I to Paul I, 19th-century transformations ranging from Karamzin's conservatism to the liberal projects of Speransky and Chicherin, Stolypin's agrarian reform, and the Soviet period with its values of justice, collectivism, and late-Soviet freedom), the authors demonstrate how the authorities foregrounded particular axiological priorities: freedom, the state, mercy, popular sovereignty, tradition, utility, service, legality, personal dignity, and justice. Particular attention is paid to a comparative analysis of the durability of Peter I's reforms, weakened by the transplantation of Western forms, and those of Catherine II, which were more organic because the values of the monarch and society coincided, as well as to Paul I's attempt to restore traditional religious axiology. The empirical basis consists of original texts (chronicles, law codes, charters, manifestos, legislative acts, and doctrinal memoranda) selected in accordance with the principles of authenticity and relevance. The article's conclusions may be applied in developing contemporary proactive governance strategies aimed not at reactively addressing consequences but at creating a value-balanced social environment.