Legitimization of Civil Nationalism and Political Repression in the Context of Hybrid Conflicts in Russia
We consider Russian society as multination and multireligious society with new-authoritarian regime which surely needs special mechanism of legitimation. Spreading and supporting different kinds of nationalistic ideas at all level of state power become one of these mechanism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and a short period of de-ideologization, the Russian government has repeatedly attempted to develop a nationwide general civil ideology, mainly using the concepts of the "Russian world" and of “neo-Eurasianism”, considered as neo-imperial ideologies that determined the content of public discourse in Russia. Paper is based on content and discourse analysis data collected by discourse analysis of apeeches of politicians and articles issued from July, 2013 to July, 2014 and from July, 2022 to July, 2023. The general sample includes 521 articles
Nationalism is both an ideology and a political practice based on the nation's value as the highest form of social unity. States widely use this kind of nationalism through official rhetoric, symbols and ideological institutions (education, social sciences, mass media) to assert civil loyalty and disseminate national legal norms and cultural values. As the enemies of the Russian society in actial political discourse are considered oppositionists and everybody who do not support the special military operation and policy of President in general). The fact of existing enemies mainly is interpreted as necessity to defend them and exclude from Russian society. Civil Nationalism and neo-conservative ideology becomes the sociocultural base of the whole process of power legitimization, leaving little space for democratic confrontation and electoral alternation.