Contrary to what many people think, science cannot prove everything. In fact, the work of modern scientists often consists in dispelling old myths and refuting the work of researchers of the past. Science is a whole process of proofs, tests, doubts and refutations.

Knowing the reason why something does not work, we understand how it is generally arranged and due to what it functions. But there are still some phenomena that humanity is not able to explain. In some cases, we can only guess. Here are 25 scientific facts that are still not fully understood.

25. Nutrition

We roughly understand what is harmful and what is useful, but scientists still have not come to a common opinion on many points. You just have to watch how the famous model of the food pyramid changes over time ...

24. What is the core of the Earth made of?

Photo: Kelvinsong / wikimedia

We know that the inner core is solid and the outer core is liquid, and we are almost sure that they are composed mainly of nickel and iron. But scientists have never been able to take samples of the earth's core for accurate testing ...

23. Numbers e and pi

Photo: wikimedia

Although it is known that both of these numbers are irrational, it has not yet been mathematically proven whether their sum gives a rational number. Even more interesting for math lovers, scientists still don't know if the product of e and pi will be irrational.

22. Why do we yawn?

Photo: pixabay

No one is exactly sure why we yawn. Scientists have tried to figure this out. But it has not been clarified why the cause of this phenomenon leads precisely to yawning, and why it is so important for us. Researchers are still working on solving this riddle, putting forward new theories.

21. What is the cause of the Earth's magnetic field?

Photo: TStein / wikimedia

We still do not know how the outer core of our planet produces a magnetic field. And scientists still do not know why this field has changed and continues to change. By and large, we know more about what happens inside the Sun than inside our own planet.

20. Are fingerprints unique?

Photo: Frettie / wikimedia

Detective lovers may be surprised, but in fact, our prints are not so unique. There were already identical pairs on Earth that even professional scanners could not distinguish. Is the pattern on our fingers so unique? This is still an open question.

19. Menstrual synchrony

Photo: pixabay

This is the name of the phenomenon according to which the menstrual cycle of women living under the same roof is synchronized. Apart from the refuted study from the 70s, no other scientific evidence or explanation has been put forward on this matter.

18. Sugar Causes Hyperactivity

Photo: pixabay

We have long believed that glucose and sucrose provide energy. But to date, there is a lot of evidence that sugar has nothing to do with hyperactivity. So when sweets seem to give us new strength, it's mostly about preconceived expectations based on stereotypes.

17. Why do we sleep?

Photo: publicdomainpictures.net

Scientists are still not sure why humans sleep. This, of course, is not a reason to deny yourself 8 hours of pleasant rest, but the fact remains. The phenomenon of sleep is still not fully understood phenomenon.

16. Lie detectors

Photo: wikipedia

In the field of the scientific community, there is quite a lot of resistance to polygraph tests. And all because there is no full-fledged scientific evidence that these devices can actually detect lies, or they simply capture excitement.

15. Moon

Photo: freestockphotos.biz

There are many theories, but scientists cannot yet make an unambiguous decision about why the only satellite of the Earth is so large. If we did not have our usual, the axial oscillations of the native planet would be much more significant, to the point of incompatibility with life. In fact, such stabilization of the forces of attraction and axial oscillations, which occurs due to a natural satellite, is an extremely rare and practically unique phenomenon in the Universe.

The most popular explanation in the scientific community for the size of the moon is the hypothesis of a collision with a giant asteroid. Theoretically, something huge flew into the Earth, as a result, many fragments were formed, which in turn formed our moon.

14. Black holes

Photo: wikimedia

We know they must exist, but this has not yet been proven for certain. To confirm the existence of black holes, it is necessary to demonstrate the presence of a body of a certain mass within the Schwarzchild gravitational radius. If you succeed, consider the Nobel Prize in your pocket!

13. Shower curtain effect

Photo: wicker paradise / flickr

Have you noticed that your bathroom curtains are constantly pulled up with the bottom ends up? And although we are talking about a rather everyday phenomenon, there are several theories on this subject, and not a single exact explanation.

12. Does the sugar substitute aspartame cause cancer?

Photo: flickr

Recently, a study that proved that sweeteners are carcinogens was refuted. Further more - it turns out that the debunked myth was sponsored by representatives of the sugar industry.

11. The benefits of vitamin C during colds and flu

Photo: Max Pixel

There is evidence that vitamin C is actually not that effective. Of course, taking it is useful as a preventive measure to improve immunity and protect against colds, but when you are already sick, it will not help.

10. Pain

Photo: Scott Robinson / flickr

Imagine, scientists have not learned how to measure it. No one will be able to know if it hurts you and how much. Only you can feel your pain and its depth.

9. Problems with moving the sofa

Photo: Claudio Rocchini / wikimedia

Magnetic field, black holes, fingerprints. Let's relax a bit and move the sofas. Joke. However, for some reason, so far no one has really been able to mathematically calculate the exact size of a curly curved sofa that could ideally fit in the corner of a room. Sounds silly, but it's a fairly common problem when moving. No matter how much you prepare, but in the end the sofa still does not fit where it should be.

8. Ice

Photo: Ian Mackenzie / flickr

We still don't know why it's slippery. Almost. We understand that slip causes a thin layer of liquid on the surface of the ice. But we are still not sure why it only forms such a layer, while other solid surfaces are not able to. There are several hypotheses based on humidity, pressure and low melting points, but there is still no general agreement on this.

7. How do anesthetics work?

Photo: wikimedia

The mechanism of action of some of them is quite clear, as in the case of nitric oxide. But the question is whether they actually provide pain relief during surgery. Or do they just not allow us to remember pain sensations?

6. How does the bike work?

Photo: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / wikimedia

Here's something else that may sound very stupid and unexpected, but for physicists, the principle of the bicycle is still a dilemma. Yes, there are certain mathematical calculations, but scientists still do not understand the specific mechanical principles that cause this two-wheeler to accelerate the stabilization.

5. Consciousness

Photo: Davidboyashi / wikimedia

Everyone has it, but scientists are still not able to understand what it is or somehow prove its existence.

4. Force of attraction

Photo: wikimedia

Of course, we know that it exists and affects us every second. But we still don't fully understand it. It is especially interesting that researchers cannot yet fully explain the principle of the force of attraction. For example, there is a whole hypothesis about the existence of special massless particles - gravitons. But this is still only a guess.

3. Magnets

Photo: Geek3 via wikimedia

The exact principle of the operation of magnets is still not fully understood, although we constantly use them in our everyday life.

2. How do antidepressants work?

Photo: pixabay

Just like with gravitons, we still don't understand how antidepressants work. The brain is an extremely complex organ, and there are still many gaps in the study of it.

1. How does electricity travel through wires?

Photo: M.O. Stevens/wikimedia

Yes, we are talking about the flow of electrons. And there are several theories about exactly how it happens, but scientists have not yet come to a unanimous agreement on this topic. It is good that this does not prevent us from continuing to enjoy this pleasant blessing of civilization in the future.

Text: Artyom Luchko

Science came into being to answer people's questions. And it seems that most of the complex phenomena have been studied up and down, but “the smallest” remains - to comprehend the nature of dark matter, deal with the problem of quantum gravity, solve the problem of space / time dimension, understand what dark energy is (and several hundred more similar questions ). However, there are still seemingly simpler phenomena that scientists are unable to fully explain.

What is glass?

Nobel laureate Warren Anderson once said, "The deepest and most interesting of the unsolved problems in solid state theory lies in the nature of glass." And although glass has been known to mankind for more than a millennium, what is the reason for its unique mechanical properties, scientists still do not understand. We remember from school lessons that glass is a liquid, but is it? Scientists do not know exactly what is the nature of the transition between liquid or solid and glassy phases and what physical processes lead to the basic properties of glass.

The process of glass formation cannot be explained using any of the current tools of solid state physics, multiparticle theory, or fluid theory. In short, liquid molten glass, as it cools, gradually becomes more and more viscous until it becomes rigid. While during the formation of crystalline solids, such as graphite, atoms at one moment form the usual periodic structures.

Glass behaves in such a way that it cannot yet be described by equilibrium statistical mechanics.

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Some things seem so simple when viewed from the side. And you try to repeat - and suffer a complete fiasco. Sometimes difficulties can lie in wait in small things like juggling or ice skating. But often the big adult decisions are harder than we thought: getting an education, caring for your parents, getting married.

We are in website we also do not know how to do everything and in many respects we share the indignation of users who thought that it would be very simple, but it turned out to be so difficult.

• Get pregnant. Seriously, from the age of 20 to 30, I sat on contraceptives, thinking that if I missed one pill, something terrible would happen. Now I'm in my 40s and my whole life consists of timing, taking medications, supplements, medical manipulations and blah blah blah. © snadypeepers
• Get up early. I get up an hour earlier than my usual time, and I'm already a fucking zombie. ImReallySorryMom
• Find a better job when you have already gained experience in your field. Worst of all, over time, it will most likely become even harder. You will get a better job, then a year later you will be sick of it, and the search for a new job will again take much longer than you expected. © -beeblebrox
• Whistle. I'm 23 and I still don't understand how it's done. © Ramguy2014
• Put your hand on the table with your palm down, bending your middle finger, and raise your ring finger. © CerealKid21

• Understand what I'm good at and what I'm bad at. Every time I'm working on a project and my co-workers say I'm cool or brilliant, I feel like I didn't do anything good, or I just sucked. And when it seems to me that I really did something very well, it turns out that it sucks and nothing works. © Mytre-
• Caring for aging parents. They say there comes a time when you need to "become a parent to your parents", but I don't think that's the right analogy. I thought that I would visit them more often, make doctor's appointments, hire a maid and a nurse if necessary, or find a good nursing home. But under no circumstances do they agree to any of this. It's not like "raising a child" at all. I have to constantly beg, beg, demand or yell that they allow me to do at least a minimum so that their life does not fly into hell, pulling mine along with it. © zazzlekdazzle

• Singing. Not professional vocals or performing in front of an audience, but just singing along to the song. I was cleaning houses, and video clips were playing on YouTube. The song "Sweet Child o' Mine" began - I sang along to it hundreds of times, but stopped and began to read the words from the screen. I sang, and damn it was bad. False, not in unison - I did it badly. It took me 53 years to realize this. © pomdudes
• Throw everything you have achieved in life and return to school at 29 years old. Learning isn't as hard as being broke again. Long live student loans! © Kumite_Champion
• Give up sugar. He is literally in everything. © NurseChelsii
• Work as a cashier. I didn't realize how much it sucks the soul out of you and how hard it is to get out of it. The job itself was easy, but I always felt overwhelmed and was squeezed like a lemon after every shift. If I hadn't quit, I would have gone crazy. Cupcakebearxxxx
• Do a squat with an outstretched leg, and then rise. © lonely_umbrella

• My daughter is now at an age where kids say, "I can't wait to grow up." Oh baby, you don't even know what's in store for you. Enjoy what you have while you can. Don't get me wrong, being an adult is cool for a lot of reasons. But, if life decides to give a slap in the face, it will hit very hard. © Recabilly
• Sign up for a dentist. I am 37 and I live alone. There is no one who would put pressure on me and make me do it. Just me, one on one, with this terrible tooth, and I have to muster all my will into a fist, just to make one phone call. © spacegirl3
• Skating. "Dude, watch 7 year olds dance on ice - it can't be that hard!" I fall, I get up, I fall, I get up, I fall, I fall, I hit the side, I fall. Hell! © immperor
• Find a job after graduation. Experience is required to get a job. To gain experience, you need to get a job. © LTman86
• French braids. I can knit, crochet, braid, but my brain doesn't understand how to do French braids. © alltheprettybunnies

• Flirt with women. What I want to say: “Lovely dress. It would look better on the floor." What I'm really saying: "Nice dress. You'd look better on the floor... Damn! I'm leaving. © TykeMithon
• I already gave up. The last three times I tried to flirt, it looked like a scene from a 90s sitcom. Now I've decided that if any woman wants to talk to me, I'll be waiting at the computer in the far corner of the room. © aManPerson
• Good sleep at night. © DootDotDittyOtt
• When I was a teenager, I couldn't understand why people get divorced. Is it really so difficult to solve relationship problems if you care about the person? I was so naive. Still happily married, but this is one of the most difficult tasks that I have ever faced. © Cathode335

Science came into being to answer people's questions. And it seems that most of the complex phenomena have been studied up and down, and “very little” remained - to comprehend the nature of dark matter, deal with the problem of quantum gravity, solve the problem of space-time dimension, understand what dark energy is (and several hundred more similar questions ). However, there are still seemingly simpler phenomena, but which scientists are unable to fully explain.

What is glass?

Nobel laureate Warren Anderson once said:"The deepest and most interesting of the unsolved problems in solid state theory lies in the nature of glass." And although glass has been known to mankind for more than a millennium, what is the reason for its unique mechanical properties, scientists still do not understand. We remember from school lessons that glass is a liquid, but is it? Scientists do not know exactly what is the nature of the transition between liquid or solid and glassy phases and what physical processes lead to the basic properties of glass.

The process of glass formation cannot be explained using any of the current tools of solid state physics, multiparticle theory, or fluid theory. In short, liquid molten glass, as it cools, gradually becomes more and more viscous until it becomes rigid. While in the formation of crystalline solids, such as graphite, atoms at one moment form the usual periodic structures. Tarun Chitra, a molecular dynamics researcher, explains the organization of molecules in different substances using dance as an example:

The ideal rigid body is like a slow dance where two partners, along with other couples, move around their starting position on the dance floor.

The perfect liquid is like a dating party where everyone tries to dance with everyone in the room (this property is called ergodicity), while the average pace with which everyone dances is approximately the same.

→ Short film about the art of glass blowing

Glass, by this analogy, is like a dance, when a group of people is divided into smaller subgroups and each is spinning in its own round dance. You can change partners from your circle, and this dance goes on forever.

Glass behaves in such a way that it cannot yet be described by equilibrium statistical mechanics. In particular, subexponential autocorrelations and the glass cross-correlation function can be obtained by an infinite number of random processes. Up to a certain point, the system "works" more or less clearly and predictably, but if you observe it long enough, you begin to see how certain features are better described by the theory of probability and random processes.

Why doesn't the bike fall on its side?

The design of the bike is quite simple, and it seems that it has long been understood how and why a two-wheeled vehicle maintains excellent stability. It has always been believed that two mechanisms play the most important role in maintaining the balance of a bicycle. The first is automatic steering, or castor effect: if the bike leans in one direction, the front wheel itself turns in the same direction, after which centrifugal force returns the wheel to its original position. The second mechanism is associated with the gyroscopic moment of the rotating wheels.

American engineer Andy Ruina and his colleagues undertook to refute both of these statements. They designed a bicycle similar to a scooter, in which the front wheel touches the support in front of the point of intersection with it of the axis of the front fork, which "cancels" the effect of the castor. And besides, the front and rear wheels are connected to the other two, rotating in the opposite direction, and thereby nullifying the gyroscopic effect.

However, this bike doesn't fall over on its side that quickly. In fact, he keeps the balance no worse than a conventional bike and even demonstrates the same automatic steering. Based on the results of the experiment, the authors concluded that both effects - both the castor and the gyroscope - play an important role in maintaining the balance of a riding bicycle, but both are not critical for it.

Why the bike does not fall is not completely known. According to the latest assumptions of engineers, a special load distribution plays a key role in this.

How does placebo work?

Placebos, or substances that do not have obvious medicinal properties, but have a positive effect on the body, have long been known. The placebo effect is based on psycho-emotional impact. But researchers have proven time and time again that a placebo with no active ingredients can stimulate real physiological responses, including changes in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as chemical activity in the brain. The placebo also helps relieve pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and even some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

How our minds may affect health is still not fully understood, and scientists cannot unravel the mechanisms underlying physiological responses to placebo. Obviously, many different aspects are woven into the effect, while dummy drugs do not affect the source or cause of the disease. It has been experimentally established that the reaction of the body differs depending on the method of delivery of the placebo. (when taking pills or injections). Also, placebos give only the expected, that is, known in advance, therapeutic effect. And the higher the expectations, the stronger the placebo effect. In addition, it is known that it can be enhanced with active verbal influence on the patient. Not everyone is affected by placebo. More often, placebo acts on extroverts, people with increased levels of anxiety, suspiciousness, and self-doubt.

In October 2013, a study was published demonstrating that the placebo effect is associated with an increase in brain alpha activity. Alpha waves occur in a relaxed state, which is similar to a light trance or meditation - that is, in the most suggestible state. The placebo effect has a significant effect on the human nervous system in the region of the spinal cord. But so far no one has been able to describe in detail the mechanism of its influence.

What did the wow signal from deep space mean?

On August 15, 1977, one of the most mysterious events in the history of space exploration took place. Dr. Jerry Eyman, while working on the Big Ear radio telescope as part of the SETI project, recorded a strong narrow-band space radio signal. Its characteristics (transmission bandwidth, signal to noise ratio) as expected from an extraterrestrial signal. Amazed by this, Eiman circled the corresponding characters on the printout and signed "Wow!" in the margin. This signature gave the signal its name.

The signal came from a region of the sky in the constellation Sagittarius, about 2.5 degrees south of the Hee star group. However, after years of waiting for something like this to happen again, nothing happened.

→ That same wow signal sound

Scientists argue that if the signal was of extraterrestrial origin,
then the beings who sent it must belong to a very, very advanced civilization. To send such a powerful signal, you need at least a 2.2 gigawatt transmitter, which is much more powerful than any of the terrestrial (for example, the HAARP system in Alaska, one of the most powerful in the world, is supposedly capable of transmitting a signal up to 3600 kW).

As one of the hypotheses to explain the strength of the signal, it is proposed that the initially weak signal was greatly amplified by the action of a gravitational lens; however, this still does not exclude the possibility of its artificial origin. Other researchers suggest the possibility of rotation of the radiation source like a beacon, a periodic change in the frequency of the signal or its single occurrence. There is also a version that the signal was sent from a moving alien starship.

In 2012, for the 35th anniversary of the signal, the Arecibo Observatory sent a response of 10,000 coded tweets towards the alleged source. However, whether anyone received them is unknown. Until now, the wow signal remains one of the main mysteries for astrophysicists.

How does non-living matter become alive?

The scientific world today is dominated by the concept of biological evolution, according to which the first life arose by itself from inorganic components as a result of physical and chemical processes. The theory of abiogenesis describes how life comes from inanimate matter. However, it has a lot of problems.

It is known that the main components of living matter are amino acids. But the probability of a random occurrence of a certain amino acid-nucleotide sequence corresponds to the probability that several thousand letters from typesetting type will be thrown from the roof of a skyscraper and folded into a certain page of a Dostoevsky novel. Abiogenesis in its classical form suggests that such a “dropping of the type” happened thousands of times - that is, as many as it took until it formed into the required sequence. However, according to modern estimates, this would take much longer than the entire universe exists.

At the same time, under laboratory conditions, all attempts to create an artificial living cell have never been successful. A complete set of amino acids and nucleotides and the simplest bacterial cell are still separated by an abyss. Perhaps the first living cells were very different from those that we can observe now. Also, a large number of scientists support the hypothesis that the first living cells could get to our planet thanks to meteorites, comets and other extraterrestrial objects.

Why are people divided into left-handers and right-handers?

Over the past 100 years, scientists have studied the problem quite well, why people predominantly use one hand and why it is more often the right hand. However, there is no standard empirical testing of right-handers or left-handers, as scientists cannot fully understand what mechanisms are involved in this process.

Scientists disagree on what percentage of humanity is right-handed and what is left-handed. In general, it is believed that most (from 70% to 95%)- right-handed, minority (from 5% to 30%)- left-handers, there is also an indefinite number of people with observable full symmetry. It has been proven that left-handedness and right-handedness are influenced by genes, but the exact “left-handed gene” has not yet been identified. There is evidence that social and cultural mechanisms may influence the propensity to use the right or left hand. The most characteristic example of this is how teachers retrained children, forcing them to switch from their left hand to their right when writing. At the same time, at the moment, more totalitarian societies have fewer left-handers than more liberal societies.

→ Portrait of Paul Broca

Some researchers talk about "pathological" left-handedness associated with brain injuries during childbirth. In the 1860s, the French surgeon Paul Broca noted the relationship between the activity of the hands and the cerebral hemispheres. According to his theory, the halves of the brain are connected to the halves of the body crosswise. But at the moment it is known that these connections are not as simple as Brock described them. Studies conducted in the 1970s showed that most left-handed people have the same left hemisphere activity, which is typical for all people. At the same time, only a part of left-handers have various deviations from the norm.

Studying the problems of left-handedness and right-handedness of primates, scientists have found that the majority of animals in a particular population are either left-handed or right-handed. In doing so, individual monkeys often develop their individual preferences.

As a result, we still have only a general idea of ​​the causes of right-handedness, and researchers still have to understand in detail all the mechanisms of their formation.

Why are we sleeping?

We sleep 36% of our lives, but scientists cannot fully explain its nature. People tend to sleep, because it is in our genes, but why such a state appeared in the process of evolution is a mystery. Except for warm-blooded animals (mammals and birds), none of the living beings have these forms of sleep, and what the benefits of sleep are is still not clear.

Scientists have already found out that during sleep, muscles grow faster, wounds heal better, and accelerates protein synthesis. In other words, sleep helps the body make up for what it lost while awake. Recent studies have shown that during sleep, our brain is cleared of toxins, and if a person interferes with this process (in other words, not sleeping) he may develop mental disorders. In addition, during rest, the connections between cells in the brain are weakened or disconnected, thus we “free up space” for new information to come in. New synapses are generated in the brain, so lack of sleep threatens to reduce the ability to acquire, process and recall information.

During sleep, the brain often “replays” some of the episodes that happened to us during the day, and, according to researchers, this process helps strengthen our memory. Although the content of dreams is determined by real experiences, our consciousness in sleep is different from our consciousness during wakefulness. In a dream, our attitude turns out to be much more figurative and emotional. We see various pictures, we worry about them, but we cannot properly comprehend them. Scientists believe that the synchronizing mechanisms that dominate the sleepy brain are more related to the first signaling system and the emotional sphere. But what dreams are, it is still impossible to answer unambiguously.

Why do cats purr?

No one knows for sure why cats purr. Purring differs from many other sounds made by animals in that vocalization occurs throughout the respiratory cycle. (both inhale and exhale). It was once thought that sound was produced by blood flow through the inferior vena cava, but now most scientists agree that the larynx, laryngeal muscles, and a neural oscillator are involved in the production of sound.

Kittens learn to purr as soon as they are a couple of days old. Veterinarians assume that their purr means something like the human words "mom", "I'm fine" or "I'm here." These sounds help to strengthen the bonds between the kitten and its mother.

→ Cat purring

But when a kitten grows up, it also continues to purr, and many researchers are convinced that in adulthood this sound is associated with pleasure and joy. Sometimes cats purr when they are injured or sick. Dr. Elisabeth von Muggenthaler suggests that purring and the low frequency vibrations it produces are a "natural self-healing mechanism" and strengthen, heal wounds and relieve pain.

The vocal feature of domestic cats is not unique. Other felines such as bobcats, cheetahs and cougars also purr. Although some big cats (lions, leopards, jaguars, tigers, snow leopards and clouded leopards) are unable to do this.

Novaya Gazeta talked to Vladimir Chetvernin, professor of law at the Higher School of Economics, about libertarianism and behind-the-scenes games of the Constitutional Court

- Vladimir Aleksandrovich, in your opinion, are analogies between Soviet times and modern times appropriate?

Yes, it is to some extent appropriate, but at the same time not entirely. Much of what is happening in Russia today formally resembles some kind of Soviet order, but in essence it is heaven and earth. I can freely tell students what I think even about Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin himself. In the classical Soviet Union, I would have been imprisoned or shot for hinting at such a story.

Parody of Stalin's times

- And in the Brezhnev era?

In the Brezhnev era, of course, they would not have been imprisoned or shot, but they would have been sent to work as a janitor.

- So you can say that now the time is more democratic and calm?

It is not calm. This is what makes life in Russia so interesting, because there is nothing calm here and cannot be, as long as this “Russian system” exists. The classical communist system broke down somewhere in the 1950s, and it is objectively impossible to restore it. It can be said that both in Brezhnev's and Putin's times, the authoritarian system remained the same as it was. From the point of view of repressiveness, it is now tougher, but only because the Soviet repressive period passed basically before the Brezhnev era. So now - a parody of Stalin's times. In addition, the mentality of people has changed so much that the fear that determined the life of a person in the Soviet system is no longer in the main mass. And if under Stalin there was an iron curtain, under Brezhnev there were psychiatric hospitals, a ban on emigration, then in the last ten or fifteen years people have simply been squeezed out of Russia: if you don’t like such a socioculture, well, go where you like.

- It turns out that the system in Russia is getting stronger at the same time as objectionable ones are being squeezed out of the country?

Yes, this is a way to change the ratio of people with different values. In general, all the best over the past 15 years is leaving here. There is a growing proportion of lumpenism, which does not simply agree to put up with what is happening, but believes that it should be so: a higher power that provides them with social benefits. Those who are “our Crimean”, this is what they are - today they determine the specifics of Russian socioculture.

- Can the current mood of the majority turn the country into another North Korea?

No you! Even under Stalin, there was still no North Korea. The evolution of large complex systems is in any case irreversible. Even a return to the level of the Stalinist USSR is impossible. The more the repressiveness of the current system grows, the sooner everything will collapse and great Russia will fall apart.

- How did you manage to form such a worldview in yourself at a time when propaganda actively imposed completely different values ​​on students?

Well, this is somehow formed regardless of the university, although I studied with Valery Zorkin ( now Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Law, from 1967 to 1979 - Associate Professor of the Law Faculty of Moscow State University. - Approx. ed.) and, most importantly, Nersesyants ( Russian legal scholar, specialist in the field of philosophy of law. - Note. ed.) after university. But there are different mental-anthropological types. And I belong to the personality type. I tried to exist in an environment that did not put too much pressure on me. I have always been a freedom-loving person. And I was no longer born in Stalin's times, so it was possible to adapt and survive without any problems. When I finally left for Germany in 1990 on a scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, I was determined never to return.

- Even so?

Exactly! In Germany, it was easy, calm, free for me. But then such interesting events began that I returned. By the way, I am the only one of my Russian Humboldtian friends of that time who returned back to Russia.

- It turns out that it was the events of the early 1990s that became the impetus for your return?

My German colleagues then told me: “If people like you stay here, then you will get in Russia what you are afraid of.” And I decided to come back, and at first I really liked it. The events of August 1991 - everything began to spin, and I felt great on this wave. For example, I brought my German friend to the newly appeared Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, who was then an assistant to the chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany. I helped establish contact between two courts. Then I lived in a state of euphoria, I was friends with the judges of the Constitutional Court ... But all this quickly ended.

- Please explain what are the main differences between liberal ideology and libertarianism?

Briefly, we can say this: the main thing is the meaning that is embedded in the word "freedom". For libertarians, freedom exists only in a society that is built on people's recognition of the self-ownership of every adult and mentally normal person. And liberals today are those who believe that freedom is what is permitted by the Master, known as the "State". For libertarians, freedom is the right of everyone to dispose of themselves and their property and the prohibition to touch others and their property without their consent. Otherwise it is called "property". And in different directions of liberalism, what should be allowed by the state is defined differently, but at the same time, liberals always demand or deny what is beneficial or, accordingly, disadvantageous to them.

Those who today are called liberals are convinced that social order can only be created by force. And libertarianism distinguishes between two types of social structure: potestary, built on force, and legal, based on the recognition of people as autonomous subjects, on the prohibition of aggressive violence. From a libertarian perspective, aggressive violence is the denial of other values ​​of self-ownership.

In fact, the correct name for libertarianism would be "socialism." Society is society. And libertarianism is just about society, not about the state. About how society can be arranged on voluntary interactions. About the ability of people to cooperate, using state power only to suppress aggressive violence. So it turns out that the statists usurped the name "socialism", distorted its meaning, and it turned out that socialism, as Spengler said, is power, power and once again power.

- How many followers of your views in Russia do you think?

The personal type of mentality is less than ten percent. And of the legal mental type, that is, those who are ready to recognize the self-ownership of others, there are even fewer of them, probably five percent. There are more students.

The Russian system in its essence cannot be changed

- What advice would you give to young people who want to maintain an independent view of reality today? Is it possible for such people to succeed in today's society?

It is unprofitable to recognize the self-ownership of others when others do not want and will not recognize it in relation to you. But people know how to adapt to each other, to socioculture - I also adapted to life in the USSR. A person either adapts to culture, or it squeezes him out. And to be young people and therefore happy can be up to twenty years old. Then you have to decide: either you can adapt and be successful in a society where the most profitable strategy is to participate in power and income from natural resources, or leave. The Russian system in its essence cannot be changed, and if there is much that fundamentally does not suit you here, then do not waste your time in vain, leave immediately.

- Recently, people in our country go into emigration - internal or external. What can this lead to?

It all depends on the individual position. I can only speak for myself. At the age of forty-five, I finally realized that nothing good would happen here. Then I thought it was too late to leave. And now I understand that it was not too late then. But then I would not have believed that it would come to “our Crimea”, but now I have already come to terms with it. Obviously, other people also tend to hope and think that it will not get worse.

Dzerzhinsky is credited with the following words: “Life must be lived in such a way that later it would not be excruciatingly painful for the aimlessly lived years,” and in Soviet times this phrase sounded a little different in my environment: “Life must be lived there so that later it would not be excruciatingly painful ...”

- Recently, libertarian views have become quite widespread in the post-Soviet space. What is Georgia alone worth, where Mikheil Saakashvili and Kakha Bendukidze attracted young libertarians to carry out reforms and govern the country. Now a similar thing is happening in Ukraine, although to a lesser extent. Does this await Russia?

No, in what is called Russia, this is impossible. In Ukraine, such figures are not yet seen. As for Georgia, this is just an example of what is impossible. For example, I did not believe in their “miracle”. These were authoritarian, imposed reforms, and as soon as free elections were held, it became clear that the majority of the population did not agree to move towards a legal order in the libertarian sense. In general, what today is called universal suffrage is an attribute of socialism.

A few seats in parliament is nothing

- Is it possible that in the medium term your ideological comrades-in-arms will get seats in parliament, government posts, or are these empty illusions?

A few seats in parliament is nothing. In general, the answer to this question has long been given. My ideological comrades-in-arms are an insignificant minority, and in conditions when they are being squeezed out of the country, it is foolish to hope for this. We can only talk about the fact that there will be more left-wing liberals. There won't be any libertarians. For example, Andrei Illarionov, who can be characterized as a libertarian, wanted to see in Putin a person like Franco. He would advise the president, and the president would listen to him.

But he soon realized that it wasn't.

Yes, he understood it almost immediately. But it seems to me that it is appropriate here to quote the well-known psalm of David: “Blessed is the man who does not go to the counsel of the wicked…”. And he thought that he would go there and redo everything. Or, for example, Gadis Abdullaevich Gadzhiev is a very good person who is convinced that if it were not for him in the Constitutional Court, it would be even worse.

- Recently, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has been accused of excessive politicization. The Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin reacts very emotionally to such statements. How do you assess this trend?

I have not read everything that comes from Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin for a long time. I do not read the decisions of the Constitutional Court because I care about my health. Some decisions make me so indignant that I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack while reading some of their next resolutions or rulings.

In general, in a system that is moving from democracy to totalitarianism, there can be no Constitutional Court in the sense of legal culture. An attempt to establish a constitutional order in Russia is meaningless, because as long as the Russian system exists - medieval and fundamentally unreformable, non-modernized, there can be no Constitution here. Let me remind you of an anecdote: "Putin does not violate the Constitution, he simply does not use it." But in reality, it is not quite so: the Constitution in Russia is how one person understands it, because the Russian system is fundamentally monocentric. And the Constitutional Court in this system is the “fifth wheel”, it was not just that they were exiled to St. Petersburg. It's good that they were sent here, and not to sunny Magadan.

- Now there is even talk about the abolition of "dissenting opinions" for judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

That's right, the system does not need any "dissenting opinions", the opinion of the boss is enough. In this regard, I remembered how the former judge of the Constitutional Court Nikolai Vitruk told me about Judge Kononov: “Tolya Kononov is a human rights activist, and a human rights activist cannot be a judge of the Constitutional Court!” So in Russia to be a human rights activist is to oppose the state, and judges are the sovereign's people, they cannot be human rights activists. These may be honest people, but they are statesmen, and they cannot contradict the sovereign, with his understanding of the constitution.

Waits for nothing. The question should be about what awaits this Russian system as a whole. And she will fall to pieces. As soon as it turns out that there are already few management resources in the center, all the local elites will immediately take the Russian space to their own corners and under more reliable roofs: something will go to China, something to the USA, something to Turkey. And Moscow and St. Petersburg will be the easternmost regions of the European Union. Russia may not be in a few years. By and large, resources have run out.

- What should the Russians prepare for then?

I read a very clever phrase from Andrey Anatolyevich Pilipenko, a culturologist: “When a culture dies, it does not mean that people die. And trams will run, though less often. In place of the collapsed cultural system, new ones will be built. And then young people who are ready to create something new will open up the widest space of opportunities. The Russians have not yet understood this. One American psychologist identifies five stages of accepting the inevitable: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Most Russians still cannot understand: great Russia has long been gone. In the stage of anger, people look for imaginary enemies in their troubles, blame them for everything ...

Doesn't it remind you of anything? And when the last stage comes, people will finally start building, creating something new. I still hope that I will live up to this time.

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Vladimir Alexandrovich Chetvernin (born December 27, 1954, Moscow, Russia) is a Russian jurist, a well-known theorist of law and state, a follower and original interpreter of the libertarian legal theory of law and state. Professor of the Department of Theory of Law and Comparative Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics. PhD in Law (since 1982).