Spiritual Heritage

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Spiritual Heritage, also known as Spiritual Legacy, was a nationalist political movement in Russia that existed from 1995 to 2002. It was founded by Alexey Podberezkin on May 27, 1995, and was based in Moscow. The group promoted moderate Russian nationalism, patriotism and statism, and aimed to revive a strong Russian state. Its colors were blue and red, and its slogan focused on science, culture, education, healthcare and entrepreneurship.

In its early years, Spiritual Heritage worked closely with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). Members ran in the 1995 State Duma elections on the CPRF list, and CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov was influenced by Podberezkin. The movement helped form the People’s Patriotic Union of Russia to support Zyuganov’s presidential bid. By 1998 the ties with the CPRF began to weaken. In the 1999 Duma elections, Spiritual Heritage ran independently; Podberezkin also considered running on the Fatherland list, which led to his expulsion from the CPRF faction.

The ideology of Spiritual Heritage was statist, seeking to revive a strong Russian state and to rally nationalist forces around the CPRF as the main vehicle for that ideology. Podberezkin ran for president in 2000 as an independent.

The movement dissolved on March 2, 2002. Its members formed the United Socialist Party of Russia in 2003, and the Party of Social Justice is also listed as a successor.