Regional Identity of Youth in the Murmansk Region

Abstract

The paper presents the results of sociological research on regional identity of youth in the Murmansk region. There is a considerable loss of population, mainly young people, in the Murmansk region because of special natural and climatic, geographic and socioeconomic conditions. The analysis of the regional identity of young people in the Murmansk region is based on studying their attitude to life in the region and includes the following variables: their attachment to the region, the attractiveness of life in the Murmansk region for young people, their assessment of the prospects of development and changes in the region, as well as migration aspirations. The authors argue that regional identity could be a subjective measure of well-being of a particular territory, a factor in its sustainable development. The study shows that civil and local regional identities depending on the place of birth and the time of arrival into this region dominate in the structure of social identity of youth in the Murmansk region. The study revealed the contradiction in perception of key elements of regional identity connected with nature and climatic features, as well as with the indicators of level of life: one group of respondents consider them as factors of attractiveness, the other - as difficulties. The prospects of development of the Murmansk region is an important question for young people. Moreover, 45,9 % respondents are going to migrate out of this region. In general, the results of empirical research suggest that regional identity is an important part of civil (national) identity.