The Role of Soviet Identity in the Relationship of Multiculturalism and Boundaries Permeability for Russians in Armenia

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Abstract

The article considers whether support for multicultural ideology by the ethnic majority leads to a more inclusive sociocultural context for ethno-cultural minorities. We investigate the role of common superordinate identity in these relations on the example of Soviet identity in Armenia. A socio-psychological survey was conducted among 213 representatives of the ethnic majority of Armenia using the scale of multicultural ideology of J.W. Berry (2020), the scale of Soviet identity by K. Velkova (2020) and the scale of the permeability of social boundaries as adapted by M.R. Ramos et al. (2016). The results show that support for multicultural ideology by Armenians is positively associated with the permeability of social boundaries for Russians only if the Soviet identity is highly important for Armenians. To conclude, recategorization is influential for building inclusive sociocultural context and harmonizing intercultural relations.

General Information

Keywords: multicultural ideology, social boundaries permeability, inclusiveness context, superordinate identity, soviet identity, Armenia

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2021170406

Funding. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project № 20-18-00268).

Received: 18.08.2021

Accepted:

For citation: Bultseva M.A., Bushina E.V., Berberyan A.S., Kodja E.A. The Role of Soviet Identity in the Relationship of Multiculturalism and Boundaries Permeability for Russians in Armenia. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2021. Vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 56–64. DOI: 10.17759/chp.2021170406.

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Information About the Authors

Mariya A. Bultseva, Junior Research Fellow, Center for Socio-Cultural Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5899-9916, e-mail: mbultseva@hse.ru

Ekaterina V. Bushina, PhD in Psychology, Senior research fellow, Center for Socio-Cultural Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9560-9609, e-mail: evbushina@hse.ru

Asya S. Berberyan, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, Yerevan, Armenia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0321-0161, e-mail: aspsy@inbox.ru

Ekaterina A. Kodja, PhD Student, Research Intern, Centre for Sociocultural Research, HSE University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6316-3275, e-mail: ekodja@hse.ru

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