ETHNIC AUTOSTEREOTYPE "RUSSIAN" IN THE EYES OF MODERN STUDENT YOUTH
The article presents the results of a study of the perception of modern Russian young people studying at universities in Novosibirsk, the main values of modern Russian society and the most significant features of the national character of Russians. Purpose of the research: analysis of the most significant components of the ethnic auto-stereotype "Russians" among modern student youth. The research was carried out in two stages: the task of the first stage consisted in defining the students and arguing the existence of the basic values of modern Russian society, which they perceived, in comparison with the “traditional” society of the early 20th century. The task of the second stage is to visualize the main characterological traits of the Russian people in conjunction with the traditional (reflected in folklore forms) genres of proverbs and catchphrases. The sample consisted of 94 students aged 19 to 22, the study took place in autumn 2020 - spring 2021 individually in writing. The result of the first stage was the identification of five main groups of values: material values, values of personality popularity, expression of individuality, the value of accepting oneself and others, the value of patriotism. The results of the second part of the study: through the analysis of proverbs and catchphrases, the main features of the Russian national character are highlighted: patience, love for work, striving for freedom, kindness and cordiality, courage and fearlessness. Comparison of the results of the two stages of the study made it possible to conclude that not all significant components of the Russian national character are understood by modern young people. An analysis of proverbs made it possible to discover some traits of the character of Russians that are not formulated as values, but are intuitively perceived by young people as significant in the life of the people. These include patience and hard work, kindness and responsiveness, courage, hospitality, intelligence and ingenuity, fairness and honesty, as well as a sense of humor and optimism. In general, insignificant changes in the modern Russian ethnic auto-stereotype were revealed in comparison with its descriptions at the beginning of the 20th century.