Vectors of Future in Temporary Structures of the Russian Nation and Their Comprehension by the Youth

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Abstract:

The article indicates a new stage of formation of the Russian nation. This stage is characterized by the increasing influence of a traditionalist (conservative) socio-cultural nation building program and the predominance of administrative and mobilization mechanisms in the institutional nation building. The most important basic elements of nation building are the concepts of “greatpowerness” and “special path”. The main instrument of consolidation is the production of a negative identity based on the search of enemies (external and internal) and containment. All this is the base for the formation of an unbalanced temporal structure of the nation with an exaggerated emphasis on the past and inadequate attention to the future. The article presents the results of the sociological study among the youth of Tyumen. The aim of the study was to find out the perception of the future and the desired model of the Russian nation. The method of data collection was the survey of focus groups carried out in February-March 2016. The basic idea of the country’s future is quite stereotyped and it corresponds to the broadcast news items. In particular, there is a clear trend of the dominance of traditionalist orientation, the manifestation of the syndrome of post-imperial traumatized awareness, and the support of the turn “to the east” etc.

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