Intercultural Dialogue in the Context of External Migration to Russia
Elnara Dumnova
The article examines the problem of building an interethnic dialogue in Russian society in the context of external migration. It reveals the main contradictions in the formation and management of cultural diversity at the current stage
of development of Russian society, which include the presence of a sociocultural frontier, the lack of language profi ciency among migrants, and the specific nature of their views on adaptation. The article substantiates the importance of
migrants’ choice of integration strategies for adaptation and the possibility of their incorporation in the format of intercultural dialogue. The article examines the essence of intercultural dialogue as a social practice that involves mutual understanding and two-way engagement, as well as the necessary conditions for its maintenance. It identifi es signifi cant contradictions that can potentially hinder intercultural
dialogue, but can be addressed through effective and consistent management decisions. The article also explores the concept of interethnic dialogue from the perspective of interaction between representatives of different ethnic
cultures, on the one hand, and the local population, who represent the national culture, on the other. The article analyzes the role of ethnicity and ethnic identity
in the process of incorporating migrants. The strengthening of ethnic identity through the closure and reproduction of ethnicity in a new sociocultural environment
is a way of preserving the cultural identity of an ethnic group. Based on the author’s research experience and the analysis of existing studies by other scholars, it can be concluded that Muslims, who make up the majority of external
migrants in Russia, have the most stable ethnic identity and the least ability to integrate. This circumstance makes it extremely diffi cult to engage in an intercultural
dialogue, which involves the mutual infl uence of cultures. The local population is an equally important participant in the dialogue, and in particular, their willingness to engage in dialogue and their awareness of the inevitability of
the transformation of the sociocultural space as a consequence of this dialogue, which determines the prospects for an empirical study of these populations to
determine whether their mutual social expectations underlying the intercultural dialogue align.