School students in St.-Petersburg: between xenophobia and tolerance

Large-scale migration is a natural phenomenon in the life of a large city. The host country should focus on tens and even hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, taking into account ethnic and confessional features of social relations. Tolerant attitude towards migrants increases the possibility of their successful adaptation, forms an atmosphere of social harmony, creates a safe social environment. If these mechanisms do not work, spheres of social tension emerge. At any moment, they are ready to develop into conflicts, and with strong xenophobia they tend to be politicized. Of particular importance for longterm regulation of the processes of integration of migrants in the host community is attitude of young people. The article presents an analysis of the social attitudes of tolerance/intolerance of adolescents in relation to migrants and the migration problem, based on the data of the authors’ empirical study conducted in the St. Petersburg schools. Comparative characteristics of schoolchildren and adults are distinguished in terms of the perception of the degree of conflict between interethnic relations and the assessment of the problem of national unity and harmony.