2408-932XResearch Result. Social Studies and Humanities2408-932X10.18413 /2408-932X-2014-1-2-17-28152RESEARCHESDOMESTIC ETHNIC CONFLICT: THE FACTORS OF SOCIAL TENSION IN THE NARRATIVES OF THE RESIDENTS OF SAINT PETERSBURGDOMESTIC ETHNIC CONFLICT: THE FACTORS OF SOCIAL TENSION IN THE NARRATIVES OF THE RESIDENTS OF SAINT PETERSBURGOkladnikovaElena AlekseevnaOkladnikovaElena Alekseevnaokladnikova-ea@yandex.ruHerzen Russian State Pedagogical University20141200

The purpose of this article is to present the results of the sociological research of emotional and rational ideas about the so-called “domestic ethnic conflict” (intra-state ethnic conflict – a social conflict between the citizens of the Russian megalopolis and labor migrants) of citizens of St. Petersburg. This study was done with the help of a qualitative method of narrative interviews. The majority of respondents have acknowledged the real threats of domestic ethnic conflict. According to the theorem of U. Thomas, if people perceive a situation as real, the consequences of this situation will be real. Therefore, based on the analysis of the texts of interviews, it can be concluded that such consequences for the residents of St. Petersburg are: 1) the further growth of nationalist sentiments, 2) lower tolerance in relation to representatives of labor migration, 3) the growth of social tension, including actions against corruption and ethnic crime. Our study is a contribution to general sociological monitoring of Russians in relation to the problem of domestic ethnic conflict. Such monitoring reveals the following opportunities: 1) to predict the further development of protest activity and its drift between sectors, regions and types of conflicts, 2) to identify sources of potential and real security threats that people speak of in interviews in greater detail and more willingly than when completing written questionnaires; 3) to develop unconventional scenarios of formation of a tolerant society based on the information contained latently in an interview.

The purpose of this article is to present the results of the sociological research of emotional and rational ideas about the so-called “domestic ethnic conflict” (intra-state ethnic conflict – a social conflict between the citizens of the Russian megalopolis and labor migrants) of citizens of St. Petersburg. This study was done with the help of a qualitative method of narrative interviews. The majority of respondents have acknowledged the real threats of domestic ethnic conflict. According to the theorem of U. Thomas, if people perceive a situation as real, the consequences of this situation will be real. Therefore, based on the analysis of the texts of interviews, it can be concluded that such consequences for the residents of St. Petersburg are: 1) the further growth of nationalist sentiments, 2) lower tolerance in relation to representatives of labor migration, 3) the growth of social tension, including actions against corruption and ethnic crime. Our study is a contribution to general sociological monitoring of Russians in relation to the problem of domestic ethnic conflict. Such monitoring reveals the following opportunities: 1) to predict the further development of protest activity and its drift between sectors, regions and types of conflicts, 2) to identify sources of potential and real security threats that people speak of in interviews in greater detail and more willingly than when completing written questionnaires; 3) to develop unconventional scenarios of formation of a tolerant society based on the information contained latently in an interview.

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