Between Cultures: Philosophical Reflections on the Personal Transformations of Russian Students in China

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that in the context of the formation of a new paradigm of Russian‑Chinese educational cooperation, based on civilizational dialogue, a paradoxical situation is observed: with the expansion of interstate cooperation in the educational sphere and a systematic increase in the number of Russian students in Chinese universities, the problems of their resocialization, caused by the disharmony of the dual identity of this special group of international migrants, are becoming more acute. The goal of this study is to trace the characteristics of the personal transformation of Russian students in the foreign cultural field of the Chinese academy. In this regard, the following tasks were set: 1) to suggest an original concept of resocialization in the framework of theories of intercultural communication; 2) to clarify the possibilities and limits of the practice of resocialization of Russian students in China; 3) to identify the heuristic potential of the philosophy of culture in the analysis of resocialization, emphasizing the contribution of Chinese researchers to the development of this optics; 4) to trace the structure of resocialization of Russian students in China; 5) to describe its mental and physical components. The materials included fieldwork conducted at Tianjin Normal University over three years from 2016, as well as extensive research literature on the issues of resocialization and intercultural communication. This study utilizes a comprehensive methodological approach, combining a meta‑analysis of multilingual academic sources and interdisciplinary literature to construct a multidimensional analytical model of Russian student resocialization in the Chinese sociocultural and academic environment. This approach also leverages the author's empirical research, which combines personal experience of resocialization in China with academic observations and develops a participatory research paradigm. This approach enabled the creation of a mechanism for two‑way theoretical and empirical validation. As a result, a model of resocialization (defined as a multi‑level transformation of personality) of Russian students in China was developed. Conclusions: 1) in the context of intercultural dialogue, resocialization is a complex process of bicultural identity formation through dialogical consciousness development; 2) the basic components of the resocialization of Russian students in Chinese universities (language, educational standards, access to resources) are complemented by Confucian moral values  (respect for elders, collectivism); 3) the basis of such resocialization is the principle of cultural relativism and mutual recognition of cultural differences; 4) resocialization combines three dimensions: individual cognitive reconstruction, reconstruction of the network of social relations, and physical representation of cultural practices; 5) structurally, it consists of mental and physical practices reflecting personal trajectories involving the choice between positive and negative scenarios of resocialization. Further research can enrich the understanding of the philosophical foundations of students’ anthropological transformation and the metamorphosis of their cultural identity in the context of dialogical existence in a multicultural environment.

1. Bannykh, G. A. and Kostina, S. N. (2021) ‘Professional resocialization in the context of digitalization: content and factors of success’, Social and labor studies, (2), Pp. 119–131. (In Russian) https://doi. org/10.34022/2658‑3712‑2021‑43‑2‑119‑131

2. Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. (Rus. ed.: (2008) Tekushchaya sovremennost'. Saint Petersburg: Piter Publ.).

3. Bennett, M. J. (1986) ‘A Developmental Approach to Training for Intercultural Sensitivity’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10(2), pp. 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147‑1767(86)90005‑2

4. Bennett, M. J. (2013) Basic concepts of intercultural communication: paradigms, principles, & practice: selected readings. Boston: Intercultural Press, A Nicholas Brealey Pub. Company.

5. Gao, H., Gao W. (2021) ‘Qian xi wenhua xiangdui zhuyi zhi yu wenhua wu du [A brief analysis of cultural relativism and cultural misunderstanding]’, Dazhong Wenyi, (19), Pp. 217–218. (In Chinese) https://doi. org/10.3969/j.issn.1007‑5828.2021.19.103

6. Garcia Peraza, P. D. et al. (2021) ‘Biculturalism and Self‑Esteem: Differential Associations Based on Cultural Domain’, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 43(4), pp. 335–352. https://doi. org/10.1177/07399863211042523.

7. Heidegger, Martin (1927) Sein und Zeit. Tubingen: Max Niemeyer Verlog. (Russ. ed.: (1997) Bytie i vremja. Moscow: Ad Marginem Publ.).

8. Kennedy, D. B. and Kerber, A. (1973) Resocialization: an American experiment. New York: Behavioral Publications.

9. Khan, A. (2021) ‘Resocialization of Immigrants’, International Journal of Law Management and

10. Humanities, 4(2), pp. 516–523. http://doi.one/10.1732/IJLMH.26091

11. Kobylkina, A. V. (2024) ‘The Concept and Essence of Resocialization in the Social and Philosophical Sciences’, Society: Philosophy, History, Culture, (1), pp. 60–65. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.24158/ fik.2024.1.9

12. Kobylkina, A. V. (2025a) ‘Dialogue based on the principle of cultural relativism: the path to existentialontological transformation of the personality of a resocializing individual’, Manuscript, 18(1), pp. 337–341. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.30853/mns20250049

13. Kobylkina, A. V. (2025b) ‘Transformation of an Individual’s Personality in the Process of Re‑Socialization’,

14. International Research Journal, (2), p. 6. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.60797/IRJ.2025.152.45

15. Kovaleva, A. I. and Perinskaya, N. A. (2016) ‘Resocialization’, Knowledge. Understanding. Skill, 1, Pp. 297–300. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.17805/zpu.2016.1.26

16. Ledеneva, V. Yu., Abdullaev, R. and Guseynova, L. (2022) ‘The System of Sociocultural Adaptation of

17. Foreign Students at Leading Russian Universities (On the Example of Azerbaijani and Chinese Students)’,

18. Higher Education in Russia, 31(10), pp. 118–134. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.31992/0869‑3617‑2022‑3110‑118‑134

19. Lin Z. (2024) ‘Cunzai zhuyi dui xian dangdai yishu de yingxiang [The influence of existentialism on modern and contemporary art]’, Package and Design, (5), Pp. 116–117. (In Chinese) https://doi.org/10.3969/j. issn.1007‑4759.2024.05.017

20. Lurie, S. V. (2020) ‘On the Theory of Culture from the Point of View of Orthodox Anthropology’, Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, (3), pp. 110–133. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.47132/2541‑9587_2020_3_110

21. Malota, E. and Mucsi, A. (2025) ‘The impact of acculturative stress and sociocultural adaptation on international student satisfaction and loyalty’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 109, p. 102292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102292

22. Mansouri, F. and Elias, A. (2021) ‘The Intercultural Dialogue Index (ICDI): An Index for Assessing Intercultural Relations’, Social Indicators Research, 155(2), pp. 411–453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205‑02102616‑8

23. Martínez‑Echazábal, L. (1998) ‘Mestizaje and the Discourse of National/Cultural Identity in Latin America, 1845–1959’ Latin American Perspectives, 25(3), pp. 21–42.

24. Mikhelson, S. V. (2023) ‘Understanding the “other” in the dialogue of cultures’, Man and Culture, (5), pp. 47–60. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.25136/2409‑8744.2023.5.40953.

25. Nguyen, A. D. and Benet‑Martínez, V. (2010) ‘Multicultural Identity: What It Is and Why It Matters’, The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity. Malden: Wiley‑Blackwell, pp. 85–114. https://doi. org/10.1002/9781444325447.ch5.

26. Purpuri, S. et al. (2024) ‘Inside the kaleidoscope: unravelling the “feeling different” experience of bicultural bilinguals’, Frontiers in Psychology, 15, p. 1376076. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1376076

27. Rehman, S. U., Saleem, S. and Gabr, F. A. (2024) ‘Social Media’s Role in Intercultural Adaptation of Students: A Bibliometric and Content Analysis Review’, Journal of Mass Communication, 31. https://doi. org/10.46568/jmcd.v31i2.371

28. Schwartz, S. J. and Unger, J. B. (2010) ‘Biculturalism and Context: What Is Biculturalism, and When Is It Adaptive?’, Human Development, 53(1), pp. 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1159/000268137

29. Segersven, O. (2024) ‘Searching for lasting biculturalism: An Imitation Game inquiry’, Acta Sociologica, 67(1), pp. 32–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993231156488

30. Smirnov, V. A. (2025) ‘Models of Student Re‑Socialization in New Russian Regions’, Higher Education in Russia, 34(5), pp. 87–102. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.31992/0869‑3617‑2025‑34‑5‑87‑102

31. Su Zhenjia. (2023) ‘The Way the Beings to Exist in the World: On the Essential Meaning of “Dialogue” in Hermeneutic Thought’, Journal of Yibin University, 23(11), Pp. 58–66. (In Chinese).

32. Useem, J., Useem, R. and Donoghue, J. (1963) ‘Men in the Middle of the Third Culture: The Roles of American and Non‑Western People in Cross‑Cultural Administration’, Human Organization, 22(3), pp. 169–179. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.22.3.5470n44338kk6733

33. Vygotsky, L. S. (2024) Istoriya razvitiya vysshikh meditsinskikh funktsiy [History of the Development of

34. Higher Mental Functions]. Moscow: Urayt Publ. (In Russian)

35. Vystropova, O. S. and Podurueva‑Miloevich, V. Yu. (2023) ‘Socialization of foreign students in conditions of education at the medical university’, Artium Magister, 23(3), pp. 5–9. (In Russian)

36. Yang Junhong. (2019) ‘Zai hua eluosi liuxuesheng kua wenhua shiying zhuangkuang tanjiu [A Study on the Cross‑Cultural Adaptation of Russian Students in China]’, Management Engineer, 24(6), Pp. 68–75. (In Chinese)