Russian Identity and Civic Engagement of Students. The Case of Moscow, Kirov region and North Ossetia

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2023-4/74-88

Abstract

In the article the author considers the formation of civil society in Russia by analyzing the its two fundamental elements — national identity and civic activity in the student environment. The empirical base of the strudy consisted of the data of mass surveys conducted in December 2020 in Moscow, the Kirov region and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. According to the obtained data, national identity is the leading among territorial self-identification components and unites from two thirds to 80% of the surveyed students, therefore suggesting formed Russian self-consciousness among the young generation. Volunteering at significant state events and participation in voting on the 2020 amendments to the Russian Constitution were selected for study as examples of civic engagement. At this stage there is a remarkable regional specificity, which is expressed, among other things, in a certain political indifference of Ossetian higher education students as compared to the higher activity of their peers from Moscow and Kirov displayed during the voting and assessment of amendments to the Constitution. Nevertheless, students have expressed similar opinions on the main positions regardless of the region of study.