IMAGE OF THE FUTURE OF RUSSIA AMONG DIFFERENT GENERATIONS: CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND AND EMPIRICAL RESULTS

The image of the country, along with the images of the people, the nation, is one of the most important elements of formation and functioning of civic identity, playing the role of an identification referent with which the thoughts and feelings, attitudes and life aspirations of citizens are compared. This is a complex social construct, influenced by many different forces - political, social and cultural in nature, the analysis of its content is necessary both from scientific considerations and practical necessity, including related to the assessment of the effectiveness of social institutions responsible for the formation of national identity, citizenship, patriotism. The article is based on the results of the analysis of scientific literature and psychosematic experiments conducted in four regions of Russia (Altai and Khabarovsk regions, Kaliningrad and Voronezh regions) aimed at the reconstruction and description of five images of Russia - "imperial Russia", "Soviet Russia", "Russia of the present" , "Russia in the future" and "ideal Russia". The authors reveal the basic characteristics inherent in each image and explore the grounds for their differentiation. A separate direction of the analysis was the identification of intergenerational differences in the perception of images, which, as the authors conclude, were not insurmountable, but reflect expectations and preferences in landmarks and development priorities.