National and civilization identity: Russian specificity
This paper analyzes the contemporary situation and prospects of Russian national and civilization identity. Objective and subjective factors of Russian identity and factors of its specific character are considered. The most important objective factors are the following: low density of population, polyethnic structure of Russian population, undeveloped infrastructure and communication difficulties between people from different Russian regions, demographic, political and economic pressure on Russia from the West and the East. The most important subjective factors are the following: low ability of Russian society for self-organization, low ability for coming to agreement and making a compromise, the running to extremes and the formation of various cleavages. Public opinion polls data is presented; this shows that the majority of Russian people think that Russia is a specific national and civilization community differing from both the Western and the Eastern civilizations. The importance of sociocultural identity policy in Russia is demonstrated. The purpose of this policy is the coordination of interests of different social groups and the decrease of living standards disparity between different Russian regions.