The Issue of Ethnic and All-Russian Identity in the Republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan Revisited

Introduction. In multiethnic societies, the issues of interaction between different peoples is the subject of monitoring, as well as of constant attention, on the part of the government as a measure of preventing any contradictions and complications in this area. The article aims at studying the populations’ attitudes and perceptions in terms of local and national (federal, Russian) identities in the Republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, as well as the degree of their involvement in the global social transformations of the Russian society at large. Data and methods. The research focuses on the analysis of the results of 2020–2021 surveys of the population of the two neighboring republics conducted within the framework of the Project «Preservation and development of the ethnocultural and linguistic diversity of the republics as a condition for promoting Russian federalism». When selecting the objects for the research the authors were guided by the fact that Bashkortostan and Tatarstan are leading subjects of the Russian Federation both in terms of socio-economic development and an awareness of civil and ethnic identities. Results. The study shows that while their ethnic (regional) identities have recently been of relevance for the populations in both republics, at the same time, there is a growing awareness of their national (federal) identity; there is an interest in promoting institutes of civil society, as well as in facilitating greater access to active involvement of the people in the economic, social, and public processes. Sociological surveys help correct approaches, as well as clarify and specify some concepts related to ethnological issues. This article, for example, includes analysis of various types of identities, including such concepts as «all-Russian nation», «ethnic identity», which are in the center of discussions in the scientific community. Granted the data of new ethno-sociological studies, the study attempts to further clarify the conceptual bases of these notions, the processes contributing to their formation, and their relationship with other forms of individuals’ identities and loyalties characteristic of modern Russian society. Conclusion. The process of growing national (federal) identity may encounter some difficulty, granted that there are problems in the economic sphere and everyday life. Positive changes in the economic, political, and social areas that will further a better quality of life and provide greater opportunities for development of human potentialities may significantly improve the situation. A diversity of ethnic, cultural, and confessional backgrounds characteristic of the populations in the regions in question contribute to the specific features of their worldviews, loyalties and perceptions, and the study of the mentalities of the people is of urgent relevance for the development of adequate policies in the area.

1. Preservation and Development of Ethnocultural and Language Diversity in Russia’s Ethnic Republics as a Means to Strengthen Russian Federalism: sociological surveys within the Project (Republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan), 2020–2021.

2. Barrett R. Indexing polyphonous identity in the speech of African American drag queens. In: Bucholtz M., Liang A. C., Sutton L. A. (eds.) Re-Inventing Identities: The gendered Self in Discourse. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. 313–331. (In Eng.)

3. Belinskaya E. P. Modern identity studies: from structural certainty to procedural incompleteness. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Psychology. 2018. Pp. 6–15. (In Russ.)

4. Côtè J. E., Schwartz S. J. Comparing psychological and sociological approaches to identity: Identity status, identity capital, and the individualization process. Journal of Adolescence. 2002. No. 25. Pp. 571–586. (In Eng.)

5. Drobizheva L. M. All-Russian national identity: searching for definition and distribution dynamics. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (Sociological Studies). 2020. No. 8. Pp. 37–50. (In Russ.)

6. Drobizheva L. M. Russian civil identity: dynamics and potential to consolidate polyethnic society. In: Ethnic and Religious Diversity of Russia. Moscow: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (RAS), 2017. Pp. 96–108. (In Russ.)

7. Egorova A. The issue of social class identity: between the social and political. Neprikosnovennyy zapas. 2021. No. 1 (135). Pp. 50–61. Available at: https://magazines.gorky.media/nz/2021/1/problema-klassovoj-identichnosti-mezhdu-soczialnym-i-politicheskim.html (accessed: August 10, 2021). (In Russ.)

8. Faizullin F. S. Ethnicity and its role in the development of contemporary society. In: Bashkir Identity in the Turkic Cultural Paradigm of Russia. Conference proceedings. Vol. 1. Ufa: Samrau, 2020. Pp. 54–64. (In Russ.)

9. Filimonov A. G. Political nation in the modern Russia. Scientific Bulletin of the Omsk Academy of the MIA of Russia. 2018. No. 4 (71). Pp. 76–80. (In Russ.)

10. Ilyin V. A. Ilyin V.A. ‘The casus of reciprocity’ and other ‘inconveniences with identity’. Social Psychology and Society. 2021. Vol. 12. No. 1. Pp. 222–235. (In Russ.)

11. Kozhanov I. V. Civil and ethnic identity of a person: the problem of interrelation and interdependency. Modern Problems of Science and Education. 2013. No. 3. Available at: https://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=9187 (accessed: October 16, 2021). (In Russ.)

12. Lukash S. N. (ed.) Russian Identity: The Constructive Potential of Cossack Culture. Armavir: Armavir State Pedagogical University, 2020. 228 p. (In Russ.)

13. Martynov M. Yu., Purtova V. S. Ethnic and civic identities. Bulletin of Perm University. Political Science. 2013. No. 3. Pp. 149–157. (In Russ.)

14. Migranova E. V. Transformation of the Bashkir religious worldview. Vatandash. 2021. No. 1. Pp. 120–126. (In Russ.)

15. Nationalities Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation to 2025. On: Garant.ru (law information portal). Available at: https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/70184810/ (accessed: August 17, 2021). (In Russ.)

16. Nurgalieva E. N., Mukhtasarova E. A. Rail G. Kuzeev about federalism and civil society. In: The Fourth Kuzeev Readings — Ethnos, Society, Civilization. Conference proceedings. Ufa: Poligrafservis, 2015. Pp. 257–259. (In Russ.)

17. Pain E. A., Fedyunin S. Yu. The problems of the civil nation in Russia and in the West: general and special. The Political Conceptology: Journal of Metadisciplinary Research. 2018. No. 1. Pp. 171–191. (In Russ.)

18. Psyanchin A. V., Karimov A. G., Migranova E. V. Ethnolinguistic portrait of an urban commoner against polyethnic background: a sociological survey in Ufa. In: Urban Bashkirs. Ethnic Identity in Polyethnic Urban Environment. Ufa: Institute of History, Language and Literature (Ufa Federal Research Centre of RAS), 2021. Pp. 140–147. (In Russ.)

19. Sanina A. G. The shaping of Russian identity: a civil-and-state approach. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (Sociological Studies). 2012. No. 12. Pp. 57–65. (In Russ.)

20. Sanina A. G., Pavlov A. V. State identity: towards the definition of a concept and problem statement. Administrative Consulting. 2015. No. 9. Pp. 30–40. (In Russ.)

21. Sogrin V. V. What are Russian civil nation and Russian people: V. A. Tishkov’s summarizing work analyzed. Social Sciences and Contemporary World. 2011. No. 1. Pp. 117–125. (In Russ.)

22. Tishkov V. A. About nation and nationalism. Svobodnaya mysl’. 1996. No. 3. Pp. 30–38. (In Russ.)

23. Tishkov V. A. Requiem for Ethnos: Studies in Sociocultural Anthropology. Moscow: Nauka, 2003. 544 p. (In Russ.)

24. Tishkov V. A. Russia in the 21st Century. In: Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Russia. Moscow: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (RAS), 2017. Pp. 536–550. (In Russ.)

25. Tishkov V. A. Russia’s people and national identity. Russia in Global Affairs. 2008. No. 4 (July–August). Available at: https://globalaffairs.ru/articles/rossijskij-narod-i-naczionalnaya-identichnost (accessed: August 18, 2021). (In Russ.)

26. Tishkov V. A. The People of Russia: History and Essence of National Consciousness. Moscow: Nauka, 2013. 649 p. (In Russ.)

27. Tsvetkov O. M. Russian civic nation: problems of strengthening and integration. Vestnik Adygeyskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 1: Regionovedenie: filosofiya, istoriya, sotsiologiya, yurisprudentsiya, psikhologiya, kul’turologiya. 2009. No. 3. Pp. 189–192. (In Russ.)

28. Zaripov A. Ya., Zaylalov I. I. Searching for Identity in the Postmodernist Era: Axiological Paradoxes of Ethnic Consciousness. Ufa: Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, 2017. 125 p. (In Russ.)

29. Zhade Z. A. The identity issue in contemporary social theories. Philosophy and Society. 2007. No. 2 (46). Pp. 173–184. Available at: https://www.socionauki.ru/journal/articles/254221/ (accessed: August 10, 2021). (In Russ.)

30. Zlokazov K. V. Contemporary models of person’s identity development (in the context of Erikson’s tradition). Pedagogical Education in Russia. 2015. No. 11. Pp. 99–108. Available at: http://elar.uspu.ru/bitstream/uspu/2562/1/povr-2015-11-17.pdf (accessed: August 17, 2021). (In Russ.)