Patriotism as a Component of Youth’s Worldviews: The Case of Bashkortostan

Introduction. The study examines patriotism as a component of Bashkortostan’s youth worldviews, which is topical enough since recent decades witness a global struggle of values aggravated by extended mindset control opportunities, including ones targeted on younger generations. The mass attack against traditional values requires deeper philosophical, cultural, and axiological insights for certain countermeasures, lest its consequences should become catastrophic for involved communities. One such ideological basis instrumental in resisting the marginal trends is patriotism supposed to ultimately serve a crucial driver of social development. Materials and methods. The paper analyzes survey materials collected from young individuals residing in the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2023–2024. And it is this age group — their pro-active attitudes and sense of nationhood — that shall determine the country’s future. Results. The article reviews some theoretical approaches to the concept of patriotism, reveals its significance, shows how younger generations tend to perceive contemporary sociopolitical processes, traces mutual impacts of patriotism and various identities. Such public, questionnaire and focus group surveys make it possible to outline the mindset of a particular social cluster, update approaches and methods of education, clarify and actualize related concepts. The obtained data yield an attempted semantic clarification into the concept of patriotism, substantiate processes that influence its shaping and strengthening, and show its relations with identity patterns observed in present-day Russia. The paper depicts the actual state and prospects of patriotism in contemporary Russia, conveys how involved groups tend to understand the essence of this phenomenon. Ultimately, this may help systematize patriotic endeavors for the latter to deliver vivid results. Conclusions. In the context of geopolitical challenges, patriotism gains particular importance. The questionnaire survey of Bashkortostan’s youth shows the issue hits chord with most of them, and only less than 5% of respondents indicated that ‘patriotism is outdated’. Recent studies confirm the strengthening of patriotism nationwide goes hand in hand with the development of all-Russian identity. Moreover, the former becomes a foundation for civic identity and performs identification/integration functions — expected to shape a national idea that would unite Russia’s population regardless of ethnic and religious attributes, this be a key factor to secure the country’s unity and civil harmony in the multicultural society. 

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