The foreign policy aspect of the integration patriotic activities of the Union State

   The Union State of Belarus and Russia as an integration format in modern conditions acquires a special geo-civilizational meaning. The expansion of its agenda and the range of integration activities correspond to the content and trends of transformation of the world order on a global and regional scale, including the axiological aspect, the complexity of challenges and threats rooted in internal and external dimensions. The present study is aimed at identifying the main landmarks and subjects of interaction between Russia and Belarus in the field of patriotic education at the level of the Union State and verifying its potential in a specific external environment with regard to the dynamics of integration development. The theoretical and methodological frameworks form a multi-level system analysis, a qualitative and formalized analysis of documents and materials of the Internet resources of the Union State, a diachronic and synchronous analysis of patriotic events; the ideas of a “common Motherland”, “anti-soft power”, “crisis” and civilizational geopolitics. The dynamics of quantitative and qualitative parameters in the field is shown. The article emphasizes the specifics of the argumentation of patriotic initiatives and events through appeals to the common values of the countries and peoples of the Union State and the increasing external pressure. The historical and patriotic vector is articulated in conjugation with the specifics of positioning Russia and Belarus as protagonists of the historical truth about the World War II. The authors argue theses on the importance of image, normative and value components in the gradually constructed union policy of patriotic education.

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