ABSTRACT
The “acculturative stress” of ethnic Russians in the post-Soviet states is considered in the spectrum of the crisis of social (ethnic) identity. Correlation analysis of the results obtained in the study of changed identity of two samples of respondents (N = 700) opting for strategies of Integration and Separation revealed the core problem. It lies in the separationists’ disturbed relationship between positive ethnic identity and ethnic tolerance. It is assumed that a cluster of features that can be called the syndrome of imposed ethnicity causes the disturbance. The syndrome is characterized by a high valency of ethnic belonging combined with the negative valency of ethnic identity. The finding was obtained through principal components factor analyses of items related to ethnic identity and ethnic tolerance across the two groups of respondents. Correlation analysis revealed acculturation and personal characteristics influencing the valency of ethnic identity. Strategies of coping with the syndrome of imposed ethnicity are also described. Maintaining positive ethnic identity can be viewed as a basic condition of successful acculturation. On a broader scale, the maintenance of positive ethnic identity should be seen as a socio-psychological mechanism for maintaining a given cultural whole.
