Russia for Russians: mental representations of image of the country

Abstract

The article analyzes several components of the image of Russia in borderlands: the Altai krai, the Amur oblast, the Jewish Autonomous oblast, the Transbaikal krai, the Kemerovo oblast, the Omsk oblast, the Orenburg oblast, and the Republic of Altai. Noting, the positive features of the image correlate with international prestige of Russia, historical achievements and cultural heritage, and the negative ones are determined by low standards of living, social inequality and decline of the economy. We found that the parameters of one of the components of Russia’s image (identification with a community of citizens) vary considerably depending on the social demographic characteristics: age, sex, and level of material wellbeing, as well as the region of residence.