Moscow University Public Administration Bulletin. 2026. 3.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the main changes in the role and activities of civil society institutions in the ethno-confessional sphere in the context of the adoption of the new Strategy of the state National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2036. A comparative analysis of the state national policy strategies of 2012 and 2025 has shown their continuity in understanding the importance of government interaction with civil society institutions. The emergence of new challenges that pose a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation has necessitated the adjustment of the role and activities of ethno-cultural NGOs. In these changed conditions, civil society institutions are considered not as an implementing partner, but as a “direct co-author” of national policy. The new goal of the state national policy has determined the priority of spiritual and educational activities. The threat of using the resources of ethnocultural NGOs to undermine national security has put on the agenda increased control over their activities, increased transparency requirements, especially in terms of financing and international contacts.

The article is devoted to the issue of the management of missionary activity during the existence of the Novokrestenskaya office. The aim is to consider the Novokrestenskaya Office as a unique church institution created to manage missionary activities and religious diversity in the Volga-Ural region. This was the first experience in the history of Russia of organizing an Orthodox mission within a special institution. The creation of the Novokrestenskaya office should be considered in the context of the formation of a regular state in Russia. Simultaneously with the transformation of public administration in  the first half of the 18th century, the government in the Volga-Ural region carried out reforms in relation to local peoples. The Novokrestenskaya office had a permanent staff and a developed plan of missionary activity, which included a set of missionary and administrative measures aimed at Christianizing the population of the Volga-Ural region. The experience of the Novokrestenskaya office shows a fairly high level of organization of missionary activities, the ability of church authorities to regulate ethnic and religious diversity within the greater Volga-Ural region.

The article develops a conceptual and methodological basis for supplementing the current system of target indicators of the Strategy of the state National Policy of Russia with indicators of the all-Russian cultural identity. The relevance is related to the gap between the integral target indicator of civic identity and the need for factor diagnostics of its cultural foundations in the context of information and cognitive confrontation. Based on the conceptual and comparative analysis of Russian and foreign theories of identity, regulatory analysis of strategic planning documents and theoretical operationalization, a model of socio-cultural identity as a unity of historically established cultural reality and the normative responsibility of the subject, as well as a three-level matrix of indicators of status, vulnerability and sustainability, embedded in the cycle of strategic management and equipped with ethical and legal restrictions, is proposed. The scientific novelty consists in the ontological and normative complementation of approaches that reduce identity to construction or situational recognition, and in understanding the cultural canon as a multilevel, multinational and open core, which includes world culture as a mastered internal component. The work is conceptual and normative in nature; indicators require pilot empirical validation.

This article examines the transformation of ethnic and civic identity within digital environments, drawing on empirical evidence fr om the Republic of Bashkortostan. The study’s relevance stems from the expanding role of social media and online communication as primary arenas for everyday socialization and identity construction, which introduces novel challenges for the implementation of state national policy in multiethnic regions. The research aims to trace the dynamics and structural configuration of ethnic, regional, and civic identities between 2017 and 2025, while identifying the digital mechanisms through which these affiliations are reproduced and symbolically articulated. The empirical foundation integrates longitudinal sociological monitoring data from the Republic’s population with a content analysis of 20,904 publications drawn from ethnic online communities on the VKontakte platform (2022–2025).

Methodologically, the study employs a combined ethno-symbolic and discursive framework that treats identity as a communicative process shaped by symbols, narratives, and routine digital practices. The findings indicate the emergence of a resilient hybrid identity structure in the region, wh ere robust civic loyalty consistently coexists with strong ethnic and regional attachments. The analysis demonstrates that ethnic online communities operate as distinct digital “optics” for interpreting social reality, amplifying symbolic and cultural dimensions of identity without converting them into drivers of mass political mobilization.

From a governance standpoint, the research uncovers a structural divergence between symbolic digital activity and mainstream identification patterns, underscoring the limitations of treating online ethnic engagement as a direct proxy for social tension. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of cross-referencing digital engagement metrics with systematic sociological monitoring to design evidence-based policies for managing interethnic relations in digitally saturated environments.

The article analyzes the conceptual changes in the state national policy of the Russian Federation which were legally formalized in November 2025 and designated by the author as “Big November”. It is shown that the transition to the new Strategy for the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2036 consolidates a shift from the logic of maintaining stability to a model of dynamic development of interethnic relations and the formation of a sustainable multiethnic community of the 21st century. Based on the analysis of a set of solutions (from strategic documents to institutional innovations) the substantive priorities of the new stage are revealed: digitalization of the ethnocultural sphere, updating educational approaches, the economics of interethnic cooperation, and youth policy. Particular attention is paid to the role of local self-government in the implementation of the updated paradigm. The article also substantiates the category of “ethnocultural sovereignty” as a key element of the updated paradigm, although not enshrined in strategic documents. 

This article analyzes the municipal practices of the winners and runners-up of the 2023–2025 All-Russian Competition “Best municipal practice” in the category “Strengthening interethnic peace and harmony, implementation of other ethnic policy measures at the municipal level.” Research and popularization of successful practices is of both scientific and practical interest, as it allows for the use of this experience for the further development of interethnic and interfaith relations in municipalities. The article highlights the growing number of municipalities participating in the competition, demonstrating the interest of municipal authorities and the public in improving interethnic and interfaith relations. In accordance with the Strategy for the state national policy of the Russian Federation through 2036, the most significant areas for effectively addressing state national policy issues at the local level are identified and examples of successful practices in these areas are provided, which can be replicated by regional municipal authorities.

The processes of political centralization in Rus’ in the late 15th and early 16th centuries were accompanied by attempts by Russian intellectuals to understand the new political reality. Th e works of Russian writers of this period reveal several alternative ideologemes that had the potential to develop within the ideology of autocracy. Comparing these ideologemes and examining the history of their construction allows us to identify patterns in the formation of the fundamental principles of political ideology. The problem of finding an answer to the question of the value of the new sovereign state for the Christian ecumene and its pleasingness to God was closely intertwined both with public perceptions of the contradictory processes in Greco-Russian church relations and with the rise of the figure of the Grand Prince of Moscow in the political and ideological discourse of Rus’. In the context of the late Middle Ages, the formulation of new ideological principles was inevitably influenced by the identity of the political collective of the Russian centralized state, which was religious in content but can simultaneously be characterized as a proto-national identity. 

The article compares imperial and national practices of statebuilding using Russia as an example — a large, multi-component state. Due to its scale and ethno-religious diversity, such states develop special political institutions to ensure unity, security, and development. The formation of these states went through an imperial stage, and this is refl ected in contemporary political practices. The author examines various types of nationalism that emerged in post-imperial spaces. The first is ethnic nationalism, built around the myth of a common origin. In contrast to it, there are supra-ethnic models: civic nationalism (based on liberal values and democracy, as in the USA) and state nationalism as in China, where unifi ed national values and the strong role of the state come to the fore). Modern Russia implements a specific variant of supra-ethnic state nationalism: its goal is not assimilation, but the preservation of the distinct identity of peoples while fostering a common Russian civic identity. This approach partly continues the imperial legacy, which envisaged the coexistence of ethnic and common imperial identities. A strong centre played an important role as an arbitrator in conflicts between diff erent groups. Flexible approaches were applied: the inclusion of local elites in the common imperial system, indirect governance, autonomy, the preservation of local traditions, and, in some cases, even the granting of benefits and privileges to minorities. Education, the army, bureaucracy, and a common cultural canon (literature, historical narratives) also served as instruments of integration. Imperial consciousness linked the legitimacy of power to ensuring stability, security, and a worthy place for the state in the world. It presupposed the priority of the common good over local ethno-nationalism and fostered an inclusive understanding of belonging to the state, regardless of ethnicity or religion.