Abstract Although the Russian Constitution formally prohibits an official state ideology, the Putin regime has consistently pushed ideological components such as patriotism, traditional moral values, and civilizational exceptionalism. Drawing on a nationally representative 2021 survey, this study finds that nearly 80 percent of respondents endorse the idea that Russia needs a state ideology. However, analysis of their preferences reveals significant diversity and ambiguity: while national-conservative orientations predominate, they do not comprise a cohesive, state-codified doctrine. This study suggests that what is labeled “state ideology” in Russia functions less as a unified doctrine than as a discursive framework in which elite messaging and popular values interact, overlap, and compete – what I call a dynamic “semantic ecology.” This underscores the blurred boundary between top-down ideological promotion and bottom-up cultural conservatism in Russia.
Marlène Laruelle (Fri,) studied this question.
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