THE IMAGE OF RUSSIA IN THE PRESENT AND FUTURE IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE RESIDENTS OF CRIMEA

Objective of the study is to sociological analyze of the ideas of Crimean residents about the present and future of Russia in the context of the social situation that determines the need for the integration of Russian citizens into a single whole in the context of new territoriality. The methodological basis of the research is based on the results of a focus group study conducted in October 2023 in the Republic of Crimea. The participants in the focus groups were residents of Crimea from different regions and ages (N = 11), as well as students (N = 12) studying in various courses, including 5 people from the LPR and DPR. In addition, the work used the results of sociological surveys of the all-Russian (All-Russian Center for Sociological Research, FNISC RAS, etc.) and regional scale, which made it possible to identify the general and specific in the ideas of Crimean residents about the present and future of Russia. Research results. The concept of the image of the future can be interpreted in the coordinates of the projection of collective ideas about society formed in the present onto its future state. The Special military operation, tense relations with Western countries, the sanctions regime Special military operation these are the key realities that set the vector of high uncertainty, psycho-emotional tension, insecurity, socio-economic instability and influence the perception of the future of the country by its citizens. The results of the focus groups made it possible to identify the outlines of the modern image of Russia that are characteristic of the entire Russian society. For the youth of Crimea, Russia in the present is also associated with fear, loss and pain, which should be considered as a consequence of the ongoing special military operation. At the same time, residents of Crimea of ​​different generations demonstrate the highest level of solidarity in the optimism revealed regarding the future trajectory of the country's development. At the heart of Crimean optimism is a sense of faith in the best, in a prosperous Russia, as well as conviction in the correctness of the course chosen by the country's top leadership in the context of an international crisis. Prospects of the study are related to the possibility and necessity of further sociological study of identification, adaptation and integration processes in Crimea and new territories in the context of the analysis of changes in the mass consciousness of residents in the current situation based on qualitative methods of sociology.