Nation-building and nationalism in today’s Russia (NEORUSS)

This project investigated the developments of nation-building, nationalism and notions of the other's in today's Russia.
The nation-building program designed by Yeltsin for post-Soviet Russia is under strain. Central to this program is the concept of the ‘Rossiiskii’ nation, signaling a non-ethnic nation model with significant cultural and political rights to non-Russians, but held together with a high degree of common values and traditions. Today, the loss of the large, multiethnic Soviet state is accepted by an increasing number of Russians, but in the process also the civic understanding of the nation is being jettisoned, and Russian nationalism, for the first time in it history, seems to be turning towards a focus on ethnicity: ‘Russian’ is increasingly being understood as ‘ethnic Russian’ (‘Russkii’).

Ethnocentric and xenophobic sentiments were prominent in the anti-Putinist rallies that attracted large crowds in winter 2011/2012. Especially notable were slogans against culturally alien migrant laborers from Central Asia and North Caucasus – the ‘new Other’.

This project examined the nationality question in Russian discourse and aims to determine to what extent the Russian national identity is shifting from an imperial (and implicitly multiethnic) understanding of the nation, towards an ethnic and exclusive one. We also looked at the potential consequences this shift might have for Russian politics.

Key issues
In order to document and analyze the new preconditions for nation-building in Russia, four key issues will be taken up for separate scrutiny;
- Changes in political signals as well as the state’s actual policies
- The nationality issue in the opposition and political fringe groups
- Role of the media
- Changes in the public mood

Data is licensed under Open Data Commons Attribution License v1.0

本项目针对当代俄罗斯的国家构建、民族主义以及“他者”（Other）观念的演进展开了系统性调研。
叶利钦为后苏联时代俄罗斯制定的国家构建方案正面临压力。该方案的核心是“公民俄罗斯（Rossiiskii）”民族的理念，这一理念代表了一种非族裔化的民族模式：为非俄罗斯公民赋予充分的文化与政治权利，同时以高度统一的共同价值观与传统维系整个民族共同体。如今，越来越多的俄罗斯人接受了庞大多民族苏联国家解体的事实，但在此过程中，对民族的公民式认知也被逐渐摒弃；俄罗斯民族主义在其历史上首次似乎转向了以族裔认同为核心的方向：“俄罗斯人”愈发被理解为“族裔俄罗斯人（Russkii）”。
2011至2012年冬季吸引大量民众参与的反普京集会中，族裔中心主义与排外情绪尤为凸显；其中尤为引人注目的是针对来自中亚与北高加索地区文化异质性移民劳工的抗议口号——这些群体正是新的“他者”（Other）。
本项目调研了俄罗斯公共话语体系中的民族性议题，旨在厘清俄罗斯民族认同在多大程度上正从帝国式（暗含多民族属性）的民族认知框架，转向排他性的族裔式认知框架；同时还探讨了这一认知转向可能对俄罗斯政治产生的潜在影响。
核心研究议题
为记录并分析俄罗斯国家构建的全新前提，本项目将围绕四大核心议题展开单独研讨：
- 政治信号与国家实际政策的演变
- 反对派与政治边缘群体中的民族性议题
- 媒体的角色
- 公众情绪的变迁
本项目所使用的数据集依据开放数据 Commons 署名许可协议（Open Data Commons Attribution License）v1.0 进行授权。