Authors
Federica Prina1; 1 University of Glasgow, UK Discussion
In the past decade, spiritual-moral values have been instrumentalised by the Russian political elite to advance a sense of ontological security (understood as a stable sense of self). The paper examines the promotion of these values in their intersection with ethnic diversity management.
Using selected statements by Putin and influential members of the political elite, as well as policy documents, the paper addresses the ontological (in)security of the Russian population. The promotion of moral values has created a Manichean division between ‘Russian’ and ‘Western’ values. It has also promoted an illusion (a ‘national fantasy’) of a population which is homogeneous in terms of values, even in the presence of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity.
Anti-Westernism and moral values can in principle be reconciled with minority cultural identities within Russia. However, legal and moral practices restrict the activities of ethnic institutions, confining them to ‘patriotic-in-form’ civic engagement, which allows for only a superficial articulation of ethnocultural identities. Consequently, the paper argues, the ontological security of the Russian majority tends to engender the ontological insecurity of minorities. It also creates a fragile sense of self for the majority, as it is defensive in nature, defined primarily in opposition to foreign elements and an external enemy. 
