Patriotism and Nationalism in Russia: Influence on Economic Independence ²⁰⁷⁴

The aim of this research was to test a two-factor model of civil identity on the Russian sample and a model of direct and indirect (i.e. mediated by the attitude to immigrants) impact of two forms of civil identity, patri- otism and nationalism, on the attitude towards economic independence. The model was tested on the sample of Russians (N = 856) from four regions of Russia (average age 36 years, 51 % female) using a survey method. The scales for measuring nationalism, patriotism and attitudes to immigrants were adapted from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP, 2003). In order to measure the attitude towards economic inde- pendence the respondents were also asked to evaluate the following statement: "I know that my well-being depends mostly on my own efforts". As it was revealed, civil identity in Russia is represented not in two, but in three dimensions: nationalism, pride for the nation's achievements, and pride for the country's social and polit- ical system. It was found that while pride for the nation's achievements has no connections with the attitude to immigrants, pride for the country's social and political systems leads to positive attitudes to immigrants, whereas nationalism leads to negative ones. The data obtained in the study prove that patriotism as expressed in the individual's pride for the country's social and political system has a direct and positive impact on his/her attitude towards economic independence, while positive impact of nationalism on the same attitude is mediat- ed by the individual's negative attitudes towards immigrants.

Keywords: civil identity, patriotism, nationalism, prejudices, attitudes to immigrants, economic attitudes, economic independence.

Column: Empirical Research