Stavropol Sherets in the Context of Soviet Nationalities Policy, 1920s–1930s

Abstract

Introduction. In the 1920s and 1930s, one of the most important directions of Soviet nationalities policy was the building of Soviet nations on the basis of various ethnic groups. Utmost difficulties were to be faced when it came to identify small dispersed ethnic communities located in ethnocultural ‘borderlands’. In Stavropol Region, one such community were Sherets to have emerged as a result of historical synthesis of Kalmyk and Turkmen cultures and ethnic environments. Goals. The article seeks to analyze government policies towards Sherets and attempts a scientific understanding of their phenomenon in the Soviet era. Materials. The study examines archival documents housed by the State Archive of the Russian Federation, as well as other archival papers and published sources. Results. The work delineates main approaches to the study of Sherets in the prerevolutionary and Soviet periods. It shows that religion was chosen as a key identification factor for the group by Russian ethnographers and officials, which made it logical enough to cluster Stavropol Sherets with Turkmens. However, the Soviet approach rested on the primacy of primordialism and actual ethnic origins, and proclaimed Sherets an integral part of the Kalmyk people. The paper reveals main directions and mechanisms of work among Sherets at municipal, regional, and republican levels aimed at their rehabilitation and relocation to the native village of Kucherli in Turkmensky District. It is proved that Sherets — despite small numbers — sought to retain their identity based on clan system. The 1930s curtailment of the korenization policy resulted in accelerated assimilation of Sherets into the Turkmen population.