Sociocultural Integration of Russian Society under the Influence of the Ukrainian Crisis of 2013–2022 and the Identity Policy’s Purposes

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to establish changes in the degree of integration of Russian society under the influence of the Ukrainian crisis of 2013–2022, to argue proposals for improving the effectiveness of the identity policy of the Russian Federation. The topic was considered at the federal and macro-regional (South of Russia) levels. The research methodology is social constructivism in terms of the spheres of national identity and interethnic relations. Methods of analysis — questionnaire survey, secondary analysis of the results of sociological surveys. The results of the study substantiate a new understanding of the socio-cultural integration of a multi-ethnic society. Changes in the perceptions of Russians during 2000–2021 about the goals of social development and basic values, about the relationship between the state and society, about the desirable goals of the state policy of identity are revealed. These changes are developing in the direction of conservative values, recognition of the independence of Russian society from the West, but paradoxically combined with the preservation of a number of liberal values and orientations. Differences in the state of identity between the age and territorial groups of Russian society are established. In this context, the ideas of the residents of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the Republics of Donbass about their identity are important, confirming the increased conservatism and Russiancentricity in comparison with the metropolitan megacities of Russia. Ukraine as such is on the periphery of the geopolitical picture of the world of Russians, at the same time, it acts as a contrasting “Other” — a negative example of the consequences of choosing the Western path of development. The 2022 special military operation became a catalyst for value changes that have been brewing in Russia for a long period. Russian Identity Politics Influenced by the Ukrainian Crisis of 2013–2022 becomes more than before, aimed at the formation of the Russian multiethnic nation, the strengthening and integration of the state, the education of a positive perception of history. At the same time, these changes are not sufficiently fixed in the educational, symbolic and informational policy of the Russian Federation, new trends contradict the former course towards the socio-cultural integration of Russia into the globalized world through westernization. The author argues proposals for reforming the state identity policy of the Russian Federation.