Perceived Inclusiveness of the Context, Identities and Acculturation of Russians in Kyrgyzstan and Estonia

Abstract

Kyrgyzstan and Estonia are two post-Soviet countries which, after the collapse of the USSR, chose different trajectories of ethnopolitical and socio-economic development, attitudes towards the Russian language, the Soviet period of their history, as well as interaction with Russia in the international arena. The focus of the article is perceived inclusiveness of the modern sociocultural contexts by Russians living in Kyrgyzstan or Estonia as well as its role in their identification and acculturation (N = 630). As a result of the path analysis, it was revealed that the perceived inclusiveness of the contexts of Kyrgyzstan and Estonia by Russians is positively associated with civic (Kyrgyz and Estonian) identity, the strategy of integration and assimilation, and is negatively associated with the strategy of separation. Moreover, the perceived in clusiveness of the Estonian context by Russians is negatively associated with ethnic and religious identity. These and other universal and context-specific patterns of relationships are discussed in the article through the prism of sociocultural contexts of Kyrgyzstan and Estonia.