TRADITIONAL CULTURE AND PATRIOTISM: THE NEW "FASHION FOR RUSSIANNESS" THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUTH

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the analysis of the phenomenon of the growing «fashion for tradition» among modern Russian youth. The authors of the publication attempt to identify the key areas of everyday life in which this trend finds its expression. A significant place is given to the attempt to conceptualize the concept of «tradition» in the context of youth perception. Within the framework of the «tradition/modernity» dichotomy, special attention is paid to the role of civic identity as a significant factor influencing interpretations and practices of traditional expression. Methodology and methods. The methodological basis of the research is a synergetic approach combining elements of symbolic interactionism and social constructivism. Combining these approaches makes it possible to interpret the object of research as artificially constructed (both by political actors and by ordinary people, including young people) and functioning in a special symbolic space. The specific research methods were a representative telephone survey (n=1200) and three focus groups with youth representatives of different age cohorts. Analysis. While maintaining significant intergenerational differences in assessments of the importance of observing traditions and spiritual principles, research data demonstrate an increasing trend towards the practice of representing traditionalism in culture. The trend is being formed under the influence of government structures that set themselves specific tasks: solving the problems of low fertility and the formation and strengthening of civic identity. At the same time, tradition does not become the reason for the mass formation of countercultures, but is organically integrated into youth everyday life, which is manifested in an increased interest in national cuisine, music, films and other cultural products. Results. The intermediate conclusions of the study fix the existence of a duality of the indicated trend towards «Russianness». On the one hand, it acts as an identification resource, a way of expressing something special, as an object of pride in the uniqueness of culture in the context of an identification crisis (as an attempt to overcome it). On the other hand, some young people perceive this trend as an imposed, synthetic construct that has no real historical basis. This ambivalence reflects the complex and heterogeneous nature of the processes of formation and expression of traditionalism among modern Russian youth.