Problematic aspects of civic identity formation (on the example of student youth of the Yaroslavl region)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to comprehend the problem of the formation of civic identity and its special significance both in the formation of an individual's self-awareness and in the development and consolidation of civic society in the context of an increase in the crisis of global geopolitical processes and sociocultural transformation. According to the authors, the instability of both personal and civic identity gives rise to the problem of forming the activity of the spirit of the younger generation in connection with some anomie that has developed in modern Russian society. The disintegration of the value system is dangerous not only for an individual developing person, but also for the stability of society and the state as a whole, that is why civic identity is an indicator of political stability in the state. The text presents the results of a study of student youth of the Yaroslavl region in terms of the formation of civic identity. Contradictory aspects of this process are shown, when young Yaroslavl residents characterize themselves in terms of citizenship higher than typical citizens of the country, thereby bringing themselves closer to the indicators of an ideal citizen of the Russian Federation. The study revealed some signs of the instrumental status of civic identity among the youth of the region. As a result, the urgent need to use the traditional collectivist basis for the formation of “spiritual activity” and “action activity” among young people is emphasized, which contributes to the formation of Russian civil identity. The result of an active civil society should be a strong democratic, socially oriented state.