Nation-building, Nationalism and the New 'Other' in Today's Russia (NEORUSS), 2016

In “Nation-building, Nationalism and the New 'Other' in Today's Russia (NEORUSS), 2016” the aim was to analyze the new preconditions for nation-building in Russia and the formulation of policies on the 'national question'. Four issues were targeted:

1) Changes in the state's policies and political signals. We examined statements by Medvedev and Putin, as well as by leading members of Duma parties and Kremlin policy advisers. In particular, we analyzed the relative strength of state-oriented and ethnicity-oriented vectors in the nationality concept. As a target topic we chose to focus on federal migration policies. To what degree do the state authorities explain to the public that the immigration is an indispensable necessity in the Russian economy?

2) The nationality issue in the opposition. What alternative does the anti-system opposition represent when it comes to the formulation of a national idea? Is there a tug of war going on in this movement between liberals and nationalists? Most Western researchers have tended to focus on the extreme right. While this should not be ignored, we believed it was equally important to study attitudes among the pro-Western liberals. Have the liberals formulated their own national idea?

3) The role of the media. Media, and in Russian TV in particular, are crucial in forming popular opinion on sensitive issues. We singled out three major TV channels and how they are covering issues of ethnic and national cohesion, for special examination. In addition we examined a selection of mainstream newspapers, highbrow elite publications, and popular internet sites.

4) Changes in the public mood. Researchers disagree about the strength of support for xenophobic nationalism in Russia and more research is needed in the form of large-scale surveys. This is particularly important in the situation of the recent renewed popular mobilization against the regime. We conducted a survey with 4,500 respondents using the same polling institute as we used in another NRC funded research project ten years ago.

For more information regarding "Nation-building, Nationalism and the New 'Other' in Today's Russia (NEORUSS), 2016", please contact the principal investigator.