Threats to Russia’s Security in the Sphere of Ethno-National Relations

The article studies the state of the ethno-national sphere in modern Russia, which is characterized by the growth of ethnic self-awareness of various social groups. This growth often acquires distorted forms and often leads to the emergence of ethnocentrism, chauvinism, radical nationalism. The negative role of radical nationalism, which seeks to drastically and radically change the existing social and state institutions for benefit of distinct national communities, as a rule, to the prejudice of other ethnoses, is revealed. In these conditions a conflictogenic potential is being formed in a number of country’s regions.Particular attention is paid to the analysis of forming of latent interethnic tension, expressed in speculative readiness of a sufficiently large number of Russian citizens to take to spontaneous methods for resolving ethnic conflicts, including those of violent nature.The article reveals the way the migration processes aggravate ethno-national relations in the country. Migration has a high conflict potential, having a negative impact on the social situation, expanding opportunities to activate extremist organizations and ethnic organized criminal groups, forming conditions for corruption, deforming the internal labor market, expanding the shadow economy, and worsening the crime rate. A negative consequence of large-scale migration is also the generation of mono-ethnic enclaves, which worsen the interethnic situation in the country.The results in the article show that ethno-national tension, various manifestations of radical nationalism, ethnic conflicts, ethnic crime and corruption always contain serious real and potential threats to national security at the local, regional and all-Russian levels. These threats require constant sociological monitoring, in-depth scientific analysis and timely response from the state and society.