Identity of Russians as a consolidation factor of Russian society

Group identities serve as a basis for the consolidation of society or its fragmentation. The grounds for the division between “us” and “them” include generational, national, ideological and other identities, which, according to the data of the IS FCTAS RAS, are quite common. At the same time, identity with the citizens of Russia, which contributes to the consolidation of Russian society, is now clearly expressed by less than 30% of representatives of mass strata. Members of this group are characterized by a commitment to putting the interests of the state first, support for the special military operation, an attitude to the need to sacrifice personal well-being for the sake of higher goals, etc. The identification block of Russians’ attitudes includes several types of identities. These are: self-identifications based on objective characteristics (age, place of residence, etc.); identities related to the specifics of an individual’s self-perception through the prism of achieving success in life; identities reflecting worldview affinity; identities with certain primary groups and identities with groups that differ in their attitude to the special military operation. All of them have different prevalence and specific localization. The system of Russians’ identities over the last quarter of a century has been characterized by a high degree of stability, although it has undergone changes, including a general decrease in the prevalence of symbolic identities due to decreasing popularity of identities with people of the same economic status, profession and nationality against the background of an increase in the share of those feeling a clearly expressed affinity with the inhabitants of their town or village. The dynamics of Russians’ identity system also show that negative identities are more strongly influenced by a person’s emotional state, while clearly expressed positive identities are more strongly influenced by his/her attitudes.