Nationhood and Political Identity in Peoples' Mentality from Provincial Towns of the Russian Empire, in XIX - early XX centuries

The article features the historic overview on development of political inceptions towards the state and state power of the Russian Empire in XIX - early XX centuries. The study is based on the analysis of basic ideas, stereotypes, and values of mass political culture of different social layers from provincial towns. The relevance of the topic is determined by the current state in today's Russia, where renewal of the society is very much dependant on public opinion on power structures. Thus, the perceptions of power by different social layers are determined not just through political and socio-economical conditions, but they have also deep cultural roots. The reconstruction of a change of people's mentalities towards the state power in XIX - early XX centuries, gives an opportunity for a deeper analyzing, to explain and understand the processes in the public perceptions of today's citizens of Russia.