Is multiculturalism in Russia possible? Intercultural relations in North Ossetia-Alania

IntroductionA major challenge confronting Russian society in the 21st century is finding effec­tive strategies for managing cultural diversity. Researchers have discerned some basic principles that underpin the processes and outcomes of intercultural relations in plural societies. In our survey we used three hypotheses of intercultural relations offered by Berry (2013): the multiculturalism hypothesis, the contact hypothesis, and the integration hypothesis.The basic notion of the multiculturalism hypothesis is that only when people are secure in their identities they will be in a position to accept those who differ from them. Conversely, when people feel threatened, they will develop prejudice and engage in discrimination. The multiculturalism hypothesis is confirmed in many studies. For example, in two national surveys in Canada (reviewed by Berry & Ka­lin, 2000), measures of cultural security/threat and economic security/threat were created with respect to extant diversity and the continuing flow of immigration. These two security scores were correlated with each other and with various inter­cultural attitudes. Cultural security was negatively correlated with ethnocentrism and positively correlated with multicultural ideology and with the perceived con­sequences of multiculturalism. Economic security had a similar pattern of correla­tions with these variables.Ward and Masgoret (2008) found that more frequent intercultural contact led to decreased intergroup anxiety, which, in turn, predicted lower perceptions of threat and more positive attitudes toward immigrants in New Zealand. A study of Estonian Russians showed that the high perception among Estonians that Russia presents a threat is an obstacle to the adaptation of Russians in Estonia (Kruusvall, Vetik, & Berry, 2009). Rohmann, Florack, and Piontkowski (2006) examined acculturation prefer­ences and desired intergroup contact in connection with the Integrated Threat Theory. They found that the same threats -- culture discordance and contact dis­cordance -- predicted both negative attitudes toward minority groups (Italians and Turks) among German hosts and negative attitudes toward the majority group (Germans) among immigrants. Moreover, the effects were stronger among and toward Turks than among and toward Italians. A study in the Netherlands (Van Oudenhoven, Groenewoud, & Hewstone, 1996) showed that a secure attachment style was related to a preference for integration in both immigrants and the Dutch. In Russia, Lebedeva and Tatarko (2013) studied intercultural relations between mi­grants from the Caucasus and Muscovites. They found that cultural security pre­dicted tolerance, a preference for integration, and social equality in both groups, but to a lesser extent among the Muscovites.The contact hypothesis suggests that negative attitudes held by one group to­ward another are caused by a lack of knowledge about that group. When individu­als of two groups come into positive, personal, and cooperative contact with each other, they will get to know each other, and doing so leads to the elimination or reduction of prejudice. However, there are two important conditions: there must be (1) equal status of individuals or groups in contact and (2) support for intercultural contact by the society. Under these conditions mutual attitudes and interactions will become increasingly positive -- for instance, through a growing recognition of similarities (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew, 1997). A good deal of research has been carried out to test this hypothesis (e.g., Petti­grew & Tropp 2011; Van Oudenhoven et al., 1996). An example of the application of the contact hypothesis to the migration context can be found in Voci and Hewstone (2003) in an Italian study and by Van Oudenhoven and colleagues (1996) in Dutch research; both studies demonstrated that intercultural contact significantly im­proved attitudes toward immigrants.In addition, an analysis of the research showed that cross-ethnic friendships are positively related to social competence and life satisfaction (e. …