Ildar Masgudovich Yusupov,
Institute of Economics, Management and Law,
42 Moskovskaya Str., Kazan, 420111, Russia,
knyaz5491@mail.ru.
The article presents the results of an empirical study of the Russians, the Chuvash and the Tatars living in Tatarstan. As a result of the multi-axis analysis of the ethno-psychological distancing of these peoples on national, age and social criteria, it was found that the Chuvash show a greater tendency towards cultural integration and assimilation with the peoples of Tatarstan, and the lowest tendency is noticed among the Tatars. Moreover, villagers are characterised with a clearer ethnic distancing compared to urban residents. The educational level of the population does not influence the index of ethnic distancing. The greatest propensity to the integration in interethnic relations is manifested by young people of Tatarstan under the age of 30. Senior age groups of the republic’s population (those who were born in the years of the Great Patriotic War and earlier) show a lesser degree of readiness for cross-cultural interaction with neighbouring ethnic groups and are most distanced in relations with them, being limited to professional cooperation with people from neighbouring cities. The current ethno psychological situation in Tatarstan is characterised as satisfactory for living for multifaceted ethnic communities.
Key words: ethnic group, interethnic distance, tolerance.