E. I. Dolgaeva. Interpretation of the Factors of the All-Russian National and Civil Identity by the Inhabitants of a Multiethnic Region

E. I. Dolgaeva. Interpretation of the Factors of the All-Russian National and Civil Identity by the Inhabitants of a Multiethnic Region

Acknowledgments: the research was implemented with the support of the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation in the framework of the research project ‘Formation and Harmonization of the All-Russian and Regional Identity in a Multiethnic Region of the Russian Federation taking the Republic of Mordovia as an Example’ (RHSF Grant 16-03-00145 a).

Key words: multiethnic region; hierarchy of identities; national and civil identity; regional differences; religious differences; ethnic differences

Introduction: the formation of a single national and civil identity is one of the important conditions for strengthening the social system of the Russian society. In this regard, a sociological analysis of the factors of integration and disintegration of the Russian civil community on the basis of qualitative methodology from the point of view of the meanings common in the everyday consciousness of the inhabitants of a multiethnic region is relevant.

Materials and Methods: the article analyzes the results of the sociological study ‘The People of Russia: what Unites Us’ conducted in July 2016 in the Republic of Mordovia by means of the method of a focus group interview. One of its tasks was to identify the main factors of social development of the all-Russian national and civil identity taking the Republic of Mordovia as an example.

Results: in the consciousness of the inhabitants of the Republic of Mordovia, there are ideas that strengthen and weaken the all-Russian national and civil identity and therefore require consideration when forming public policy in this area. The following factors have a positive impact on the all-Russian consciousness: perception of cultural diversity of the Russian civil nation as its natural state; conviction in the absence of contradictions between the all-Russian national and civil identity and the ethnic, religious and regional consciousness, the idea of common mentality; recognition of the unifying role of the Russian people, Russian language and Russian culture in building the Russian civil nation; attitude to the state as a guarantor of a single historical, legal and cultural socializing space for the interaction of ethnic groups, religions, regional societies; common understanding of internal problems and external threats, love for the Motherland and readiness to protect it. The following factors weaken the all-Russian national and civil identity: rejection of the socio-cultural heterogeneity of Russia by a part of the society; destructive potential of social inequalities, including regional differences in the level and quality of life; differences in civic awareness of young people and the older generations of Russians due to the different historical experience and content of socialization.

Discussion and Conclusions: in general, the study proved the existence of ideas about the hierarchy of collective identities with the Russian national and civil consciousness at the helm in the everyday consciousness of the inhabitants of the Republic of Mordovia.

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About the author:

Evgenia I. Dolgaeva, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, National Research Mordovia State University (68 Bolshevistskaya St., Saransk, 430005, Russia) (е-mail: ewgiv@mail.ru). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1256-7384.

For citation: Dolgaeva E.I. Interpretation of the Factors of the all-Russian National and Civil Identity by the Inhabitants of a Multiethnic Region. REGIONOLOGIYA = REGIONOLOGY. 2018; 1(26):123—140. DOI: 10.15507/2413-1407.102.026.201801.123-140

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