Endryushko A.A. Ethnosocial distance and ethnic stereotypes: methodology of study and dynamics of change against the backdrop of the Northern Military District. Questions of national and federal relations. 2023. Vol. 13. No. 12 (105). Pp. 4973-4985. DOI 10.35775 ...

Abstract

The article presents the results of an intelligence study on the dynamics of interethnic attitudes of Russians (Russian majority) towards Chechens against the backdrop of the special military operation (SMO) and changes in the information background in the media in relation to them. Comparisons are made with other ethnic groups – Uzbeks (as associated with immigrants) and Belarusians (as closest to Russians). The empirical basis of the study was the data from an online survey in the Moscow region (autumn 2023, 498 respondents). The results showed that the change in discourse in the media against the backdrop of the SMO at this stage did not have a significant impact on the interethnic attitudes of the Russian majority towards people of other nationalities, in particular, towards “Caucasians”. Attitudes towards Chechens are (as before the SMOO) on the same level as attitudes towards Uzbeks - to both groups, Russians express a much lower degree of readiness to interact in different spheres of communication than to Belarusians. The article also proposed and tested an approach to the study of ethnic stereotypes based on the synthesis of the social distance scale and the model of the content of stereotypes (according to S. Fisk). Evidence suggests that testing stereotypes at different levels of social interaction may indeed be beneficial. However, this is more likely to be typical for groups towards which there is a fairly high degree of non-acceptance - in this case, ethnic stereotypes may differ at different levels of social distance.