The article is devoted to the problem of methodological reflection of the concept “nationalism” considered through the prism of “sociological sign” of Russian intellectual heritage. The subject is actualized by the care for national interests and dignity of modern Russia, by the creation of state projects, which are due to become national pride of the Russians “broadcasting” to the outer everyday world the concept “nationalism”, ambiguous for socio-cultural judgment. The concept “nationalism” in social, informational and semantic fields posesses the segment marked by ethnic criteria, filled with both positive and destructive social practices. The defining signs of the concept “nationalism” give the chance to define existence or absence justice violation symptoms in the ethnic question in each concrete daily situation. The type of sociological discourse, presented in philosophical, publicistic and scientific works of the Russian thinkers by classical social doctrines, offers various interpretations of historical process and development of society as a whole through the prism of nationalism. It is noted that the analysis of sociological discourse of nationalism is most reasonable in the course of identification of dominating styles or types of judgments taken together with social conditions of their production.