Diasporas and interethnic competition as factors of ethnoconfessional tension in modern Russia

Abstract

The changing nature of migration processes in the post-Soviet space, the sharp asynchrony of the demographic behavior of various ethnic groups and other modern factors are aggravating society’s attitude towards diaspora practices. The main motive for uniting the diaspora is ethnofavoritism. It
is possible to interpret both tribalistic and familistic preferences, characteristic of traditional societies, as manifestations of “extended egoism.” These preferences undermine the multi-level and extremely complex system of impersonal trust in a multicultural society and reduce the overall quality of its social capital. Today we are faced with an obvious contradiction in the issue of managing ethnocultural diversity: on the one hand, the diaspora model of behavior in a multicultural society is inevitable, on the other hand, government bodies, civil society institutions, and the media are not coping with the task of stopping the
influence of diaspora practices on increasing interethnic competition in the Russian society.