Patient Russia. Notes on virtues and vices

“Historical circumstances developed in us the virtues are purely passive, such as, for example, long -suffering, portability to hardships and all kinds of hardships. In sentimentally, these qualities are very good, and there is no doubt that they are very convenient for people who use them to their benefits, but passive virtues are not good for activity, ”N.G. Chernyshevsky. One of the brightest publicists in the history of Russia, the author of the famous novel What to do? Chernyshevsky reflected a lot about the habits and circumstances of Russian life, about the main features of the Russian nation. In order to eliminate its “moral pathologies”, it is necessary to change the living conditions themselves, he said, referring to both economic and political factors