The importance of Russian identity in the development of Russia

The article highlights the urgency of the problem, which has become aggravated in connection with the global challenges of our time and is associated with the formation and evolution of the concept of “Russian identity”. The aim of the work was to form the significance of this concept as fundamental to the history of the Russian nation. Based on an integrated approach and the application of scientific research methods, the prerequisites for the formation of this concept in the context of the historical development of the Russian people and their worldview are considered and the main approaches (objective and constructive) to the issues of its study are determined. The views of Russian prerevolutionary thinkers and modern researchers, expressed in their key positions and various approaches, are considered. As a result, it was revealed that self-awareness is based on the characteristic features of the Russian people (kindness, humility, religiosity, conciliarity, humility, tolerance, sincerity) that determine the peculiarities of world perception. The concepts of “people” and “nation” are distinguished.