Symbolic Construction of Patriotism: Images of the Hero and Anti-Hero in the Axiosphere of Russian Identity among North Caucasus Youth

<jats:p>The purpose of this article is to identify the mechanisms of the symbolic construction of patriotism based on a quantitative measurement of the significance of the hero and anti-hero images value markers within the axio-sphere of North Caucasus youth combined with a qualitative analysis of their emotional-semantic articulation as well as to determine the nature of group differentiation in the respondents’ patriotic priorities and life strate-gies. In the course of the study, a two-step mechanism of polar auto- and hetero-identification was validated on the basis of the dichotomy of “ours” (heroes as the pole of prosocial solidarity) and “aliens” (anti-heroes as the pole of antisocial individualism) within the axiosphere of the Russian identity among student youth in the North Caucasus. It is shown that the dichotomous distinction between these images possesses a high degree of symbolic “rigidity”, while a shift in perceptions of heroism from an action-volitional model to a value-ethical one is recorded. It is revealed that the representations of the image of “hero” and “anti-hero” in the respondents’ minds rely on strong, unambiguously articulated affective attitudes with a concentration of verbal units in two polar dominant categories accompanied by a emotional-evaluative component. The presence of group differ-entiation in the respondents’ life strategies and patriotic priorities, which determines the degree of permeability of the established boundaries during the transition from affective evaluations to real practical actions is estab-lished, while maintaining universal basic auto-identification foundations – love for the Motherland and readi-ness to help the country.</jats:p>