Restoration Volunteering as a Social Phenomenon of Modern History

Abstract

Relevance of the problem under study is explained by the beginning of a new stage in the development of Russian volunteer movement in the field of preservation of cultural monuments, which coincided with the rise of research interest in volunteering in general. The objective of this paper consists in comprehensive analysis of the modern history of restoration voluntary movement in Russia, examination of evolvement of public voluntary practices in the field of protection of the architectural heritage of the country in the context of general cultural, socio-economic, political processes that have taken place in Russia over the past decades, which have determined the specific organizational forms, content and activities of voluntary activists. The leading approach to the study of this problem is the historical method, as well as methodological principles of historicism, scientificity, objectivity, as well as sociality, integrity and fundamentality, involving the study of the historical process of volunteering in the totality of facts and sources in their logical and chronological sequence. The paper describes the main forms of volunteer practices for monument preservation, gives an overview of volunteer initiatives, as well as the efforts of charitable foundations and public organizations aimed at rescuing the cultural heritage of the country, identifies the development trajectories of restoration volunteering, and also specifies the key trends, based on which the tendency to professionalization and gradual expansion of the scope of voluntary work has been revealed. Materials of the paper can be useful not only for scientists, engaged in research of problems of social history of our country, but also for specialists from social sphere, organizers of work with youth, and also students of socio-humanitarian and pedagogical profiles.