Ryzhova S.V. The Foundations of Russian Identity in the Context of Social Turbulence. Issues of National and Federal Relations. 2025. Vol. 15. No. 11 (128). Pp. 2293-2303.

Abstract

The results of a sociological study of the structural components and value bases of Russian identity in the context of current geopolitical challenges are presented. The empirical basis is the data of the all-Russian representative sociological surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the National Research Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2020 and 2024 using the individual interview method. The methodological basis of the research is conceptual approaches to the study of social identity, its structural and value components, as well as approaches to the study of the processes of formation of a political nation. Projects of the Center for Research of Interethnic Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, conducted since the early 2000s, allow us to conclude that a number of stable basic identifiers act as the structural foundations of Russian identity ("state", "territory", "responsibility for the fate of the country", "historical past", "culture", "Russian language", "state symbols"), the hierarchy of which is shown when answering the question, what unites the respondent with the citizens of Russia. The conducted research allows us to draw a number of conclusions.  In the period 2020-2024. The hierarchy of the structural components of Russian identity has undergone a change. If in 2020 and earlier studies preceding the period of social turbulence, the leading component (identifier) in its structure was the state, then in 2024 the community of the territory comes out on top, and the state comes in second place, indicating the trend of the formation of Russian identity as a territorial state. The study allows us to conclude that in the face of external challenges, a positive assessment of Russia is growing in society, Russian identity acquires the features of a macropolitical identity, which is formed on top of ethnic, cultural, status and other divisions based on the commonality of the territory. The consolidating potential of Russian identity in the face of external pressure is provided by a combination of conservative ("faith in Russia", "common moral values") and classical liberal ("respect for the rule of law and citizens' rights, economic and political freedom") values that form the basis for the formation of the Russian political nation.