The authors consider conceptual approaches to the defi nition of the concept of “patriotism”, analyze this concept within Russian sociopolitical discourse in a historical retrospective, investigate mechanisms of constructing patriotic narratives within the framework of state policy. Methodological toolkit of the study of the phenomenon of patriotism is characterized by complexity and multidimensionality, integrating a wide range of general scientifi c and special methods. The key components of this toolkit are: system analysis, which allows us to consider patriotism as a holistic phenomenon; structural-functional analysis, aimed at identifying internal links and functional features of its elements; comparativist approach, which provides an opportunity for comparative study of patriotism manifestations in diff erent socio-cultural contexts. Discourse analysis and content analysis played a signifi cant role in the research process, which made it possible to study patriotic narratives. The authors of the article note that in modern Russian political discourse, there is a signifi cant dichotomy in the conceptualisation of the phenomenon of patriotism, which gives rise to signifi cant theoretical and methodological divergence. This situation is caused by the presence of two dominant but opposite approaches to the interpretation of this phenomenon. On the one hand, the tendency to reductionist interpretation of patriotism as an abstract aff ective attitude to territorial-political formation prevails. On the other hand, the instrumentalist approach that considers patriotism exclusively through the prism of symbolic politics and ideological construction is gaining strength. This theoretical dichotomy creates certain epistemological challenges for researchers, making it diffi cult to form a coherent and consistent concept of patriotism. Overcoming this conceptual gap is one of the urgent tasks of modern political science and requires the development of integrative approaches that can synthesize various aspects of this multifaceted phenomenon.