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Беларусь глазами молодых россиян в контексте оценки их отношения к сближению двух стран
Context and relevance. Maintaining effective integrative cooperation between Russia and Belarus
is particularly important in the current context. This requires studying the attitudes towards
integration between Russia and Belarus among Russian youth. It is important to study the representations
of Russian youth, as young people are a social group that shows the greatest variation
in priorities and values compared with other age and generation groups in Russia.
Objective. The aim of the study is to analyze the attitudes of young Russians towards the rapprochement
between Russia and Belarus and possible socio-psychological factors that promote
or hinder the positive attitude of young people towards cooperation between the two countries.
Research question. Are there preconditions for the negative attitude of Russian youth towards
the rapprochement between Russia and Belarus, and if so, what can they be related to?
Methods and materials. The authors compared the results of 14 focus groups (N = 179) and
online survey (N = 174). The participants of the study were university students aged between 18
and 25. Data were collected in May 2025 on two independent samples using author’s questions.
Results. Representations of Belarus among Russian students are mostly positive. In the samples,
the students’ attitudes towards the rapprochement of the two countries are positive, but the students’
awareness about the directions of current cooperation between Belarus and Russia is low.
A small number of students showed a neutral or negative attitude towards the convergence of countries. According to the representations of young Russians, Belarus is not a threat to Russia.
Conclusions. The results of the study show favorable socio-psychological conditions for maintaining
a positive attitude towards rapprochement between Belarus and Russia among most respondents.
Barriers in the way of forming a positive attitude to cooperation between the two
countries may be low awareness of forms of cooperation among students, low personal importance
of this cooperation, lack of experience of visiting Belarus, as well as the representations of
Belarus as a closed country with low innovation potential and low uniqueness.