FACTORS OF POLITICAL PERCEPTION OF POST-SOVIET COUNTRIES IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN SOCIETY

This article discusses factors of political perception of post-Soviet countries on the basis of the recent study. Authors trace the influence of factors that determine images of post-Soviet countries in Russian society. Analysis of empirical data made it possible to identify the relevant objective, subjective, temporal, territorial, communicative, and cultural factors. Results of the study allow to conclude about varying degree of influence of individual factors on the rational and unconscious levels of perception. Object of perception had the most serious impact on the images of neighboring countries. Strong is the influence of political culture that contributes to the perception of post-Soviet countries as "we". Sociodemographic factors differentiate in their influence on the images of post-Soviet countries: education and gender have low influence, while age is quite important. Psychological condition of our own society appeared to be one of the most important factors. In the images of Ukraine and Belarus the influence of mass media is strong, while in the images of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, a great role is played by the historical and cultural factor and personal experience. The images of all neighboring countries have positive emotional characteristics. This is especially noticeable in those Russian regions that are close to the boundaries and in which respondents have personal experience of communicating with the peoples of these countries.