Victory in the Great Patriotic War as a value and semantic basis for the formation of patriotism among young people in the North Caucasus

This article considers ways of shaping all-Russian patriotism among multi-ethnic youth of the North Caucasus and the role of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War in this process. The relevance of the topic is determined by the tasks of stabilising the socio-political situation in Russia in the context of the aggravated crisis of international relations and increasing geopolitical threats. After the Russian Spring and the incorporation of Crimea in 2014, the problem of patriotism has acquired great importance in this subject field. The practice of socio-political life has highlighted the need for scientific analysis of everything that affects the formation and development of patriotism as an integrating value and the basis for positive identification processes in a multi-ethnic society. No less significant is the task of identifying, scientifically describing and substantiating the value-meaning bases for the formation of patriotism of modern youth. The aim of this article is to identify the value-symbolic significance of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War as a basis for the shaping of all-Russian patriotism among polyethnic youth in the North Caucasus. The empirical basis of the article is the results of the research project ‘Patriotism through the eyes of youth’ implemented in April-May 2024 in the North Caucasus Federal District. In the course of the study, four focus groups were conducted in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the Stavropol Territory. The participants of the focus groups were leaders and activists of youth organisations in the respective regions. The research was implemented to determine the specifics of perceptions of patriotism, patriotic activities, patriotic symbols, problems and effective practices of patriotism formation in the youth of the North Caucasian Federal District. The results of this study showed that the respondents' recognition of the importance of patriotism for the development of the North Caucasus, Russia as a whole, and society as a whole contrast with their real knowledge of the issue. At the same time, the memory of the Great Patriotic War, the joint feat of the peoples and the common Victory remains the main unifying symbol that contributes to the shaping of patriotism in the multi-ethnic environment of the peoples of the North Caucasus. The authors define the main problems of patriotism formation in the youth environment of the North Caucasus Federal District and suggest possible ways to overcome them.