The paper deals with the problem of social solidarity in the Orient which represents a universal challenge for the states of the region. The “Orient” is not a geographic notion but rather a region with the identical socio-cultural characteristics in many respects different from the Occident. The differences are a product of the specifics of the evolution dependent mostly on either the internal factors (the Occident), or external (the Orient), i.e. owing to the influence of the borrowed western institutes (cultures). The “traditional society” has been taken as the starting point for the social development of both the Orient and the Occident. Social solidarity in the oriental states is built around the charismatic authority. Charisma was always inherently present within the structure of the “power vertical” which originated already at the chiefdom stage and maintained its basic characteristics throughout entire history. The charisma of a chief was designed by means of the "power of tradition" tools which supported the potestary relations within the primary society and appealed to the irrational levels of the human mind. The most stable political regimes of the Orient were built by the leaders, whose charisma was based on the “archaic” behavioral models. The “abnormal behavior” defining the charisma determined the innovative potential of authority, the capability of the leader to overcome the conservatism of the general population. That is why it was the authority of the leader (the “heroes”) that was the source of all social and political changes during the age of tradition. Authoritative leadership plays a similar role in the process of modernization of the Orient supporting the social solidarity necessary for the sustainable development (modernization) of the nation.