Представления современной студенческой молодежи о российской действительности

Abstract

Introduction. The perceptions of Russian reality and the image of Russia in the worldview of modern youth play an important role in the processes of young people’s self-identification and social integration. The study of perceptions of Russian reality acquires special significance when it concerns students, who are the basis for the reproduction of political, managerial and intellectual elites of society. The aim of this article was to study the transformation of perceptions of Russian reality by modern student youth. Materials and Methods. The study involved 615 university students in megalopolises, cities and towns (197 men and 418 women). The method of free descriptions of a typical Russian citizen and his/her possible statements about the country was used, along with a questionnaire, in order to achieve the goal of the study. The results were processed using content analysis and frequency analysis. We also carried out a comparative analysis of qualitative characteristics of the perceptions of Russian reality by modern students and students who studied in Russian universities at the end of the 2010s. The results showed that modern students are less inclined to support “black political myths about Russia” and tend to be proud of their country. However, the emotional component in modern students’ perceptions of Russian reality is expressed insignificantly. The image of a typical Russian citizen is primarily shown in ambivalently presented communicative qualities. Also modern students were more inclined to assign depressive qualities to the typical Russian citizen, pointing to the lack of internal and external resources for coping with difficult life situations.