School students in St.-Petersburg:
between xenophobia and tolerance
Savin S.D.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Associate Professor St. Petersburg State University, Visiting researcher of Saint-Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Peterburg, Russia. ssd_sav@mail.ru
Moskalchuk E.I.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Senior Lecturer, Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology, St. Petersburg, Russia elena.udenko@yandex.ru
Savin S.D., Moskalchuk E.I. School students in St.-Petersburg: between xenophobia and tolerance. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2018. No 4. P. 54-60
Large-scale migration is a natural phenomenon in the life of a large city. The host country should focus on tens and even hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, taking into account ethnic and confessional features of social relations. Tolerant attitude towards migrants increases the possibility of their successful adaptation, forms an atmosphere of social harmony, creates a safe social environment. If these mechanisms do not work, spheres of social tension emerge. At any moment, they are ready to develop into conflicts, and with strong xenophobia they tend to be politicized. Of particular importance for longterm regulation of the processes of integration of migrants in the host community is attitude of young people. The article presents an analysis of the social attitudes of tolerance/intolerance of adolescents in relation to migrants and the migration problem, based on the data of the authors’ empirical study conducted in the St. Petersburg schools. Comparative characteristics of schoolchildren and adults are distinguished in terms of the perception of the degree of conflict between interethnic relations and the assessment of the problem of national unity and harmony.
Badyshtova I.M. (2003) The Attitude of the Local Population to Migrants (on the Example of the Privolzhsky Federal District). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological studies]. No. 6: 38–46. (In Russ.)
Bavin P.S. (2006) Social Geography of Xenophobia and Tolerance. POLIS. Politicheskie issledovaniya [POLIS. Political Studies]. 2006. No. 6: 37–58. (In Russ.)
Chernova O.V. (2005) Ethnic tolerance of high school students: the main results of empirical research. Jurnal prikladnoi psihologii [Journal of Applied Psychology]. No. 2–3: 82–100. (In Russ.)
Crul M. (2016) Strangers no more. Debunking major theoretical assumptions. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Т. 39. No. 13: 2325–2331.
Halliste O.V. (2011) New problems of integration of Russian-speaking youth of Estonia. Jurnal Sociologii i Socialnoi Antropologii [Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology]. No. 3. Volume XIV: 161– 176. (In Russ.)
Harris A. (2014) Conviviality, Conflict and Distanciation in Young People’s Local Multicultures. Journal of Intercultural Studies. Т. 35. No. 6: P. 571–587.
Mastikova N.S. (2017) Dynamics of the attitude of Russian youth to migrants on the basis of ESS materials. In Rossiya reformiruyushchayasya [Russia reformed]: yearbook: issue 15. Ed. by. M.K. Gorshkov. Moscow: The New Chronograph: 273–288. (In Russ.)
Moiseeva V.S. (2012) Education of tolerant attitude towards children of other nationalities in schoolchildren of St. Petersburg. Obshchestvo. Sreda. Razvitie (Terra Humana) [Society. Environment. Development (Terra Humana)]: 60–63. (In Russ.)
Mukomel V.I. (2017) Xenophobes and their antipodes: who are they? Mir Rossii [The World of Russia]. No. 1: 32–57. (In Russ.)
Mukomel V.I. (2017) Xenophobia in the youth environment. In: Russia reformed: yearbook: issue 15. Ed. by. M.K. Gorshkov. Moscow: The New Chronograph: 228–258. (In Russ.)
Rapp C. (2017) Shaping tolerant attitudes towards immigrants: The role of welfare state expenditures. Journal of European Social Policy. Vol. 27. No. 1: 40–56.
Sheregi F.E. (2010) Ethnic and Religious Tolerance of Youth. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological studies]. No. 3: 5–14. (In Russ.)
Soldatova G.U. (1998) Psychology of interethnic tension. Moskow: Sense (In Russ.)