Civic identity and acculturation expectations of Muscovites and Tallinn residents: the role of perceived threat. 2021

Abstract

Currently, Russia ranks fourth in terms of the influx of migrants (officially, their number in the country is 12 million), with most of them concentrated in Moscow. In Estonia, the influx of migrants is significantly lower, however, after the collapse of the USSR, quite a lot of Russians ended up in the status of an ethnic minority. At the moment they make up almost a quarter of the population of Estonia (the total number is more than 300 thousand people). This study examines the role of perceived threat as a moderator of the link between civic identity and acculturation expectations in two different ethnic groups in two different countries. The aim of the study is to provide the answers to the questions: What role does perceived threat play in the relationship between civic identity and the acculturation expectations of the host population? Is the perceived threat a moderator? What are the differences in the role of the perceived threat in different contexts: from Muscovites (ethnic Russians) to migrants and from Tallinn residents (ethnic Estonians) to Russians who are an ethnic minority? This study was conducted using an online socio-psychological survey. The responses of the survey participants determined the level of civic identity, perceived threat and acculturation expectations. The sample consisted of 214 ethnic Russians living in Moscow and 288 ethnic Estonians living in Tallinn. The results of the study showed that the perceived threat is a moderator of the connection between civic identity and integration among Muscovites. It is significant that here the cultural and economic threat became the moderator, and the physical threat turned out to be significant only at the level of tendencies. For Tallinn residents, the perceived economic threat turned out to be a moderator of the link between civicl identity and the "melting pot", and the physical threat - a moderator of civic identity and "segregation." Thus, the cultural threat did not show any influence among Tallinn residents. It should be noted that the moderation effect worked differently in each group. For Muscovites, the perceived threat was associated with integration attitudes. In Tallinn, it has shown links with two strategies that imply a complete lack of integration.