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DOI: 10.15201/hungeobull.66.3.3Streletsky, V.N. HungarianHungarian Geographical Geographical Bulletin Bulletin 66 (2017) 66 2017 (3) 219–233. (3) 219–233.219

Ethnic, confessional and cultural patterns of regionalism in the post-Soviet

Vladimir N. STRELETSKY1

Abstract

This paper is focusing on the ethnic, confessional and cultural background of regionalism in Russia. On the one hand, the historically evolved spatial structures are considered; on the other hand, the emphasis is made on transformation processes of the post-Soviet period. The analysis covers: 1) the historical framework of ethnic settlement and ethnic identity patterns in Russia and their dynamics at the end of the 20th and begin- ning of the 21st centuries; 2) the linguistic diversity of the country and the linguistic division of the Russian Federation; 3) the spatial pattern of confessional groups in Russia; and 4) the phenomenon of regional/local identity as one of the key driving forces of regional development. The cultural space of Russia is character- ized by mosaics of various regional and local communities; its transformation is still going on and entails the permanent genesis of new regional structures and clusters as well as some risks, tensions and threats. The “horizontal” socio-cultural differentiation of Russian space is based on huge discrepancies between various historical and cultural , their ethnic and regional diversity. The “vertical”, hierarchical differentiation of cultural space is predominantly characterized by the increasing stratification of various population groups within the Russian regions. The inherited spatial patterns predominate both in ethnic settlement structures and in configurations of regional identity and cultural distinctions. Nevertheless, changes in the cultural geographic pattern could also be observed in the investigated period. The growing share of “titular” ethnic groups in the total population of national of Russia, as well as their growing concentration within the corresponding national units were the main trends in ethnic-geographical redistribution of population in the Russian Federation between 1990 and 2016.

Keywords: cultural regionalism, regional identity, ethnic geography, linguistic groups, confessions, Russia

Introduction tion on industrialization, internationalization and, partly, secularization of social life, both Regionalism is one of the most important in ethnically relatively homogenous and in research issues in contemporary human ge- multi-ethnic countries. Others consider the ography. This is often interpreted as a set of issue a little bit differently, interpreting -re social practices and attitudes of people living gionalism first of all as political movements in the , through their interests, priori- within the regional communities aimed at ties and needs. Furthermore, this implies the achieving a certain institutional status (strug- “shaped” and built-up political that gle for the political or cultural autonomy, focuses on the interests of regions and pre- self-governance of the , ensuring sumes the implementation of various institu- the civil and cultural rights of ethnic minori- tions counterbalancing the trends towards ties, local and regional social groups etc.) unification and centralism. Keating, M. (Hueglin, T. 1986; Schmitt-Egner, P. 2002). (1998) argues that the so-called “new region- In my view the “political-geographical” di- alism” as a specific ideology of political elites mension of regionalism is really very impor- emerged (in Western ) during the era tant, hence I interpret regionalism first of all of Modernity, representing the peculiar reac- as a phenomenon of culture (Streletsky, V.N.

1 Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, , Russia. E-mail: [email protected] 220 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

2011a, 2012). Cultural dimension of regional- entiation of the country is reflected especially ism is primary, its manifestations in various well in the regional consciousness of people political forms is always (or nearly always) living in different parts of the country. secondary. Cultural regionalism could be di- According to census data of 2010, there vided into two major strata. The objective are about 160 different ethnic groups in the stratum, based partly on physical and eco- Russian Federation (listed in the census); 40 nomic indicators, includes a combination of among them have more than 100 thousand various cultural features of the region: the people. Ethnic account for about original, often unique and inimitable traits. 77.7 per cent of the total population of the The second, “reflexive” (subjective) stratum Russian Federation which is gradually de- is a purely “mental space” (perceptions of creasing. In 1959 it was 85 per cent (in the the region held by its inhabitants, their re- former RSFSR), in 1989 – 81.5 per cent, in gional identity and regional solidarity, local 2002 – 79.8 per cent (Table 1). patriotism etc.). Regional identity, relating to The main cultural geographic feature of the concept of “us – and the others” is a key Russia is the huge so-called Russian ethnic element of regionalism from a cultural-geo- mega-core, stretching both on the European graphic point of view (Hard, G. 1987; Pohl, and Asiatic parts of the country. Its historical J. 1993; Yaeger, P. 1996; Paasi, A. 2003). nucleus, being located primarily in the central The idea of regionalism as a cultural phe- part of the East European , had largely nomenon is the core issue of the present expanded, partly to the North and South, paper. The vast territory of Russia, its geo- but predominantly eastward, during the graphical and cultural diversity, the country’s Russian colonization of Northern in location at the junction of different cultural the previous centuries. The dominant ethnic realms resulted in a complicated history and mega-core includes the majority of Russian a mix of different ethnic groups and cultures administrative units (so-called “” and (Bassin, M. 1991, 2003; Kappeler, A. 2008). “krays”) where the share of ethnic Russians Migrations of peoples and ethnic groups, their in the total population is much above cultural assimilation, interethnic mixing and the average of the country (above 80%). language transfer, colonization of new lands Exceptions are relatively rare; some examples became important features of the country’s are Orenburg , Astrakhan oblast and regionalization. The main aim of this paper is Ulyanovsk oblast where the share of ethnic to analyse the ethnic, linguistic, confessional Russians is below the national average. The and regional identity patterns of the Russian geographical location of the ethnic mega- Federation at the end of the 20th and begin- core is well illustrated by maps showing the ning of the 21st centuries. On the one hand, share of ethnic Russians in the total popula- the historically inherited and evolved spatial tion by administrative units of the Russian structures are considered; on the other hand, Federation (Figure 1). the focus of analysis is on the changes of the As it is shown the spatial pattern is rela- historically evolved patterns at the end of the tively stable in time; the comparison of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. results of the population censuses 1989, 2002 and 2010 shows that the boundaries of the Russian ethnic mega-core did not significant- Ethnic settlement pattern in Russia and its ly change during the last decades. dynamics The Russian ethnic mega-core of the coun- try is much larger than the ethnic peripher- Ethnic diversity and the spatial configura- ies of the Russian Federation, both in surface tion of ethnic differences are among the main area and in demographic potential. A situa- driving forces of the cultural-geographical tion like this is extremely rare for multi-eth- diversity of Russia. Namely the ethnic differ- nic and multicultural countries. On the other Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 221

Table 1. Ethnic composition of population of the Russian Federation according to the population censuses 1989, 2002, 2010 1989 2002 2010 Ethnic groups 1,000 1,000 1,000 % % % persons persons persons Russians 119,866 81.5 115,868 79.8 111,017 77.7 5,522 3.8 5,558 3.8 5,311 3.7 Ukrainians 4,363 3.0 2,943 2.0 1,928 1.3 1,345 0.9 1,674 1.2 1,585 1.1 Chuvashs 1,774 1.2 1,637 1.1 1,436 1.0 899 0.6 1,361 0.9 1,431 1.0 532 0.4 1,130 0.8 1,182 0.8 544 0.4 757 0.5 912 0.6 1,073 0.7 979 0.7 744 0.5 636 0.4 655 0.5 648 0.5 Azeri 336 0.2 621 0.4 603 0.4 353 0.2 510 0.4 589 0.4 Udmurts 715 0.5 637 0.4 552 0.4 644 0.4 605 0.4 547 0.4 402 0.3 516 0.4 529 0.4 Byelorussians 1,206 0.8 815 0.6 521 0.4 386 0.3 520 0.4 517 0.4 277 0.2 423 0.3 503 0.4 380 0.3 444 0.3 478 0.3 Lezghins 257 0.2 412 0.3 474 0.3 417 0.3 445 0.3 461 0.3 Ingushs 215 0.2 412 0.3 445 0.3 Germans 842 0.6 597 0.4 394 0.3 Tuvinians () 206 0.1 280 0.2 264 0.2 Komi people 336 0.2 293 0.2 228 0.2 Jews 537 0.4 230 0.2 157 0.1 Total population 147,022 100.0 145,164 100.0 142,857 100.0 Sources: Results of the All-Union 1989 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population of the RSFSR. Moscow, Respublikanskiy inform.-izdat. tsentr. 747 p. (in Russian); Results of the All-Russian 2002 Population Census. Vol. 4. Ethnic Composition of Population. Languages. Citizenship. Moscow, IMTS “Statistika Rossii.” 2076 p. (in Russian); Results of the All-Russian 2010 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population. Moscow, Goststatizdat, 2234 p. (in Russian).

hand, the share of ethnic Russians in the total The most important changes in the ethnic population is below 80 per cent in almost all structure of the Russian Federation at the end national republics. The only exception is the of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries of Khakassia in Southern can be summarized as follows. The first ten- where ethnic Russians accounted for 80.3 per dency is a gradual and slow transformation cent of the population in 2010 (Figure 2). of the ethnic structure, due to demographic Outside the Russian ethnic mega-core changes and migration processes (Table 1). there are three large cultural regions in the Ethnic groups with high birth rates increase Russian Federation characterized by striking their number and share in the total popula- ethnic specificities: Northern (to be tion of Russia. more precise, its highland part populated by Other factors of shifts in the ethnic struc- so-called peoples), the - ture were the assimilation processes and multicultural area and the Turkic-Mongolian changes in ethnic self-identification, but belt of Southern Siberia (Buryatia, Tuva, their impact was in the post-Soviet period Khakassia, Altai). relatively weak. 222 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

Fig. 1. Share of ethnic Russians in the total population of administrative units of the Russian Federation, 1989, 2002 and 2010. Sources: Results of the All-Union 1989 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population of the RSFSR. Moscow, 1990. Results of the All-Russian 2002 and 2010 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population. Moscow, Goststatizdat (in Russian). Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 223

%

Fig. 2. Share of ethnic Russians in the total population of national republics and autonomous units of Russia, 1989, 2002 and 2010. Data refer to the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic in 1989 and separately to Chechnya and in 2002 and 2010. Sources: Results of the All-Union 1989 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population of the RSFSR. Moscow, 1990. Results of the All-Russian 2002 and 2010 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population. Moscow, Goststatizdat (in Russian).

The second clear tendency is the growth late Soviet time, but after the collapse of the of the share of “titular” (indigenous) ethnic USSR it strengthened significantly. groups in the total population of national re- The third tendency is the growing con- publics of the Russian Federation. Between centration of “titular” (indigenous) ethnic 1989 and 2010 the share of Tatars increased groups within “their” political units (national from 48 to 53 per cent in the Republic of republics). The rate of concentration of “titu- , similarly the share of lar” people within their national republics is rose from 45 to 56 per cent in the Republic of very different among the ethnic groups. In Kalmykia, the share of Ossetians increased some case we find high concentration rates, from 52 to 65 per cent in the Republic of for instance 94 per cent of Tuvinians live in Northern , and the share of Yakuts Russia in the Republic of Tuva (2010), 89 per grew from 33 to 49 per cent in the cent of Komi people in the (Yakutia) republic (Figure 3). etc. But there are also ethnic groups with Main reasons for that are the significant more dispersed settlement patterns. For differences in demographic conditions of instance, 62 per cent of Tatars live outside ethnic Russians living in these national re- Tatarstan in Russia, 55 per cent of Mordvins publics and the “titular” people (especially live outside Mordovia. Nevertheless, the Muslim groups with higher rates of natu- general trend is now the increasing concen- ral increase). In some cases, for instance in tration of ethnic groups in their own national Sakha-Yakutia, the transformation of the republics. This trend is relatively new. Before ethnic structure was influenced significantly the disintegration of the USSR the concentra- by the considerable out-migration of ethnic tion rates of “titular” ethnic groups tended Russians to other regions of the country. The to decrease (with some exceptions), how- outflow of Russians from the autonomous ever, nowadays it is increasing everywhere republics of the RSFSR began already in the (Table 2, Figure 4). 224 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

%

Fig. 3. Share of “titular” peoples in the total population of national republics and autonomous units of Russia, 1989, 2002 and 2010. For additional data and sources see Fig. 2.

%

Fig. 4. Concentration rate of “titular” peoples of national within “their” national adminis- trative units, 1989, 2002 and 2010. For additional data and sources see Fig. 2.

Linguistic diversity and spatial linguistic an evident contradiction between the exclu- patterns sive linguistic diversity of Russian and the predominance of the Russian The spatial configuration of linguistic differ- language in the country overall. According ences within the Russian Federation is very to official data of the 2010 Population census, similar to that of ethnic differences. There is approximately 98 per cent of people living in Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 225

Table 2. Concentration rate of “titular” peoples of national republics of Russia within “their” national administrative units according to the population censuses 1989 and 2010 “their” national “their” national Total number in Concentration rate Concentration rate Russian Federation administrative units administrative units administrative units administrative administrative units, administrative Total number within Total number within within “their” national within “their” national Total number in RSFSR republics of Russia 1989 2010 “Titular” peoples of national 1,000 persons % 1,000 persons % 79 125 63.2 46 61 74.8 Komi people 292 336 86.9 202 228 88.7 95 123 77.2 107 125 85.6 129 150 86.0 194 218 89.1 40 51 78.8 56 73 77.4 Kabardians 363 386 94.0 491 517 94.9 71 78 91.0 109 113 96.1 Ossetians 335 402 83.3 460 528 87.1 Ingushs 164* 215 76.2 **386 445 86.8 Chechens 735* 899 81.8 ***1,207 1,431 84.3 Kalmyks 146 166 88.0 168 183 88.9 Tatars 1,765 5,522 32.0 2,013 5,311 37.9 Mordvins 313 1,073 29.2 333 744 44.8 Chuvashs 907 1,774 51.1 815 1,436 56.7 Mari people 324 644 50.3 291 547 53.1 Udmurts 497 715 65.3 411 552 74.4 Bashkirs 864 1,345 64.2 1,172 1,585 74.0 Altaians 59 69 85.5 69 74 93.0 Khakasses 63 79 79.7 64 73 87.1 Tuvinians (Tuvans) 198 206 96.1 249 264 94.4 Buryats ****250 417 60.0 *****287 461 62.2 Yakuts 365 380 96.1 432 443 97.6 *In the Chechen-Ingush ASSR; ** in the Republic of Ingushetia; *** in the Chechen Republic; **** in the Buryat ASSR; ***** in the Republic of Buryatia; taking into account the former Aginski and former Ust-Ordynski Buryat autonomous districts as well. the concentration rate of Buryats within “their” national administrative units in 2010 should account for 84 per cent. Sources: Results of the All-Union 1989 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population of the RSFSR. Moscow, Respublikanskiy inform.-izdat. tsentr. 747 p. (in Russian); Results of the All- Russian 2010 Population Census. Ethnic Composition of Population. Moscow, Goststatizdat, 2234 p. (in Russian).

Russia understand and speak Russian fluent- a) The first cluster is made up by some ly; this share exceeds 95–96 per cent also for small indigenous living in the the majority of the ethnic groups in the Rus- Russian North, Siberia and (e.g. sian Federation. These figures illustrate the Yukaghirs, , Telenghits etc.). But enormous importance and integrative role of it should be emphasized that the contrary the in the Russian cultural situation among small nationalities is also area. Three clusters of ethnic groups are less frequent. Many of them know Russian much integrated into the Russian speaking area better than their own languages. The oblivion and the level of Russian language fluency is of native languages, ethnic traditions and far below the national average among them. customs, the inherited land use and nature 226 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

management patterns are the “reverse” of guages, as a rule, more effectively than other long-term social integration and cultural ethnic groups. So, the ethnic native languag- assimilation of small nationalities of the es are mother tongues for 98–99 per cent of Russian North and Siberia. Karachais, Kabardians, Ingushs, Chechens, b) The second cluster includes the former Tuvinians. This share is much lower for some migrants (or their descendants) from some “titular” peoples constituting ethnic minori- Asiatic and other Non-European countries ties even in “their” national republics. It ac- outside the CIS region. Good examples are counts for approximately 70 per cent among migrants of Chinese or Vietnamese origin, Udmurts, Komi and Mordovians, 60 per cent living in the Russian Federation. As a rule, among Bashkirs and less than 50 per cent this group does not include migrants from among Karelians. the former Soviet republics, involved and integrated for several decades or even cen- turies into the Russian linguistic space. Confessional landscape of Russia c) The third cluster embraces some smaller ethnic groups of Northern Caucasus, particu- The main features of the confessional land- larly in (e.g. Ghinoukhs, Andians scape of Russia are the following: etc). ––Exclusive confessional diversity (hetero- Compared to the national average, this geneity); share is relatively low for some more numer- ––Predominance of the quantitatively prevail- ous peoples of the Eastern Caucasus; it varies ing confession (the Orthodox ) between 80–90 per cent among the Dargins, over the majority of the country’s territory; Avars, , Chechens, Ingushs and is a ––Confessional cleavages and gradients as little bit higher among the and Kumyks. basic elements of the Russian cultural More than 80 among the 150 main lan- space; guages of the ethnic groups living in Russia ––Sustainability and historical continuity of represent the cluster of the so-called “literary main spatial patterns of confessional land- languages” (or, in other words, written lan- scape; guages). Approximately one third of the total ––Different ways of spatial self-organization number of ethnic languages in the Russian by various confessions (Streletsky, V.N. Federation are specific for ethnic groups that 2011a). have the main area of their settlement out- The revival of religious life in post-Soviet side Russia. 94.7 per cent of the inhabitants Russia and the growth of confessional con- living in Russia have their own ethnic native sciousness of various population groups languages as mother tongues. have moved the confessional issue into the The main focuses of linguistic assimilation foreground in cultural studies. Many aca- in the Russian Federation (including substi- demic papers have been published since the tution of native languages for the Russian early 1990s focusing upon the geography of language) are the following: the leading Russian confessions, local and ––Dispersal of ethnic groups in cities. specific ethnic-religious groups, providing ––Ethnic groups living outside “their” ad- holistic and complex studies of confessional ministrative territories (republics, autono- regions. Some research was also devoted to mous districts) and surrounded by other the principal pattern of confessional space in (more populous) ethnic groups. contemporary Russia as a whole (Krindach, ––Small-numbered aboriginal (native, indig- A.D. 1996a,b; Safronov, S.G. 2001a,b). enous) peoples in areas of their settlement. The description of the confessional land- The “titular” ethnic groups inhabiting the scape of Russia cannot be based on official sta- areas of national republics in the Russian tistics. It is necessary to use indirect indicators Federation preserve their own native lan- and results of various surveys and researches. Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 227

Sociological polls show that the share of reli- since the 13th–14th centuries, among the gious people (believers in traditional sense) is Komi-Permyaks since the 15th century. Peak somewhere between 6-8 per cent to 13–15 per of conversion of the Volga-Ural Finnish peo- cent of the total population. Religious people ples (Udmurts, Mari people, Mordvins) as are identified as people going to church ser- well as the -Ugric ethnic groups ( vices at least once a month (the share of the and ) took place in the 18th–19th so-called passive believers is much higher). centuries. The Finno-Ugric peoples have The share of the religiously indifferent peo- preserved their Pre-Christian beliefs for a ple is about 11–15 per cent (Streletsky, V.N. long time; and signs of revival of paganism 2011b). At the beginning of the 21st century as a new trend in religious life in Russia be- it is slowly decreasing (at the end of the 20th came evident at the end of the 20th and at century it had declined abruptly). the beginning of the 21st centuries. Orthodox From a cultural geographic point of view, Christianity is also traditional confession it is important to emphasize that different for Ossetians, Georgians, some groups of confessions have different patterns of spa- and widely spread among tial self-organization. On the one hand, there some peoples of Turkic origin – Chuvashs, are confessions closely linked with the ethnic Yakuts, Altaians, and partly Khakasses. composition of population, and geographi- As a consequence of Russian colonization, cally spread in areas inhabited by distinct the Orthodox faith was also adopted by ethnic groups. On the other hand, there are Samoyedic ethnic groups, including the big- also confessions whose geographical distri- gest among them – and some bution is not ethnically determined. dispersed smaller groups living in different Examples of the first group are confessions areas of Siberia, the and the traditional for Russia: Orthodox Christianity, Euro-Asian North. Islam, Buddhism, Judaism. The Russian The second most wide-spread confession Federation ranks first in the world regarding in Russia is Islam. The majority of Muslims the number of Orthodox Christians (up to in the Russian Federation are Sunnis. Shiism 65 million believers, according to calculations is less spread (being confessed, first of all, by of the Service Ortodoxe de Presse, 2015)2. But Azeri people living in Russia). Small groups at the same time, among all the countries of of Shiites also live in Dagestan, in towns of the so-called Orthodox realm (i.e. the states the Lower Volga, in Moscow. The Muslims in- where Orthodox Christianity is a dominant habit, first of all, the Northern Caucasus and religion), the share of Orthodox Christians in the Volga-Ural region. Islam has been pen- the total population is smallest in the Russian etrating into the Volga-Ural region since the Federation. 10th century, but became firmly established in The ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and the 14th century (in the age of ). Byelorussians account for about 95 per cent It has conserved up to now as a traditional of the believers of the Russian Orthodox confession for Tatars and Bashkirs. Tatars are Church in the Russian Federation. The Finno- the biggest among peoples of Ugric peoples of the Russian Federation the Islamic cultural realm in Russia. are predominantly Orthodox Christians as In the Northern Caucasus Islam has been well (up to 3% of the Orthodox Christians partly rooted since the Arabic invasions of in Russia). The Finno-Ugric ethnic groups the 7th and 8th centuries, nevertheless, the were converted into Christianity consider- Islamization of aboriginal mountain peoples ably later; the Orthodox faith has taken root has lasted until the 18th century. Most peoples among the Karelians and the Komi-Zyrians of the region are of the Mohammedan confes- sion nowadays, except for the Ossetians who re- 2 It should be mentioned that, according to alternative mained (predominantly) Orthodox Christians. calculations, this figure might be over-estimated or, vice versa, under-estimated. The peculiarities of cultural evolution of abo- 228 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

riginal highlander societies in the Northwest The list of confessions closely connected to Caucasus and the Northeast Caucasus were as- ethnic composition of population has to be sociated, to a considerable extent, with different supplemented by Catholicism. It is predomi- madhhabs of Islam, historically rooted in those nantly confessed in the Russian Federation large areas (Radvanyi, J. 2011). by ethnic , and partly by In the Northwest Caucasus the Hanafi Germans (about one third of the Russian madhhab is rooted, being widely spread Germans are Roman Catholic). Some prot- among all Circassians, or Adyghe peoples estant denominations can also be mentioned – Adygeans in the Republic of Adygea, e.g. Lutheranism is practiced in Russia main- Cherkessians in Karachay-Cherkessia, ly by ethnic Germans, , . Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria and The most important changes in the geo- Shapsugians in the Krasnodar kray; all the graphical distribution of confessions in the four are essentially the same people resid- Russian Federation at the end of the 20th and ing in different administrative units. The beginning of the 21st centuries are as follows: turkic peoples of the Northwest Caucasus ––The first tendency is a rapid expansion of (Karachays and Balkars) are also predomi- Islam due, predominantly, to demograph- nantly Hanafi Muslims, as well as several ic shifts. According to some estimations smaller groups of Ossetians. (Malashenko, A.V. 1998), the total num- At the same time, ethnic groups of the ber of Muslims in the Russian Federation Northeast Caucasus, including Nakh peo- exceeded 15 million people at the end of ples (Chechens and Ingushs), as well as the 20th century; nowadays it should be as Daghestani peoples (including Turkic- high as 20 million persons. speaking Kumyks, but excluding also Turkic ––The second tendency is a long-term re- – followers of Hanafi school) are vival of paganism (including shaman- mostly Shafi’i Muslims. That’s why Sufism, ism) in some areas of Russia. This trend which is organic to Shafi’i madhhab, is root- is typical not only for smaller indigenous ed much more in the Northeast Caucasus; ethnic groups in Siberia, but also for some the region was the main focus of Muslim re- peoples (of Finnish origin particularly) in sistance against Russian expansion in the 19th the European part of the country (in the century. Islamic traditions were conserved in Republic of Mary-El, etc.). the Northeast Caucasus (though not officially ––The third tendency is the reinforcement declared) even in the Soviet times, and the of some protestant denominations, espe- post-Soviet renaissance of Islam developed cially in Siberia and in large cities in the here much faster and more significantly than European part of Russia. in the Northwest Caucasus. The main regions of Buddhism in Russia are Kalmykia (the only compact area of Development patterns of cultural Buddhist culture in Europe) as well as Tuva regionalism in Russia and Buryatia in the Asiatic part of the coun- try. Buddhism is represented in all three Cultural regionalism is a historically rooted regions in the form of its northern derivate phenomenon in Russia and its study has a – Lamaism. Buryatia is more heterogeneous long academic tradition. The famous his- than Tuva in confessional dimension. On the torian Kostomarov described the origin of one hand, western Buryats have been practic- the historical Russian regions as far back as ing the settled way of life for a long time; and in the 19th century (Kostomarov, N.I 1860, the share of Orthodox Christians is consid- 1995 [1863]). The cultural peculiarities of the erable among them. On the other hand, the “parceled” Russian lands have emerged and eastern (Transbaikal) Buryats are predomi- developed under conditions of political divi- nantly and keeping Lamaism. sion processes in as long as Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 229

since medieval feudalism. A similar point of European countries with strikingly different view was shared by many other historians cultural patterns. (Shchapov, A.P. 1861a,b; Milyukov, P.N. The Russian geographical space is also char- 1896; Lyubavsky, M.K. 1909) and geogra- acterized by strong “vertical” socio-cultural phers (Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, P.P. 1892; differences: urban areas – rural areas, big city Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, V.P. 1910). Ac- – small town etc. While these distinctions cording to this viewpoint, cultural regions emerged long ago, they have significantly in the historical core of Russia are predomi- strengthened during the 20th century, under nantly successors of ancient Russian lands. conditions of the Soviet over-centralization. This means that cultural regionalism is an The “vertical” socio-cultural contrasts are old phenomenon in Russia, at least in its Eu- marked in the Russian geographical space ropean part. The historically rooted regional more strongly than the “horizontal” distinc- identity is a strikingly distinctive feature of tions between various cultural regions of the its cultural geographic space. country. Sometimes the over-centralization Nevertheless, to be compared with other really hinders the cultural regionalization of countries, other nations, other cultures, var- the society, erodes the territorial integrity of ious regional identity patterns are in some local communities, entails slackening of re- cases overlapped in Russia by national gional consciousness, and even contributes and ethnic identity patterns. Some authors to “frustration” of certain regional identity (Smirnyagin, L.V. 1999) argue that Russian patterns, especially on the local level. People culture is, in a certain sense, “a-spatial” (that living in large cities (like Omsk and Irkutsk, implies the absence of significant regional Perm and Vladivostok etc.) often have much cultural contrasts within the space of Russian more common cultural features among them- ethnic settlement structure and, as a result, selves as urban residents than between them weak point of local patriotism). Russian peo- and inhabitants of the surrounding rural areas ple settled within an enormous space, on a located closely to the major regional centres. vast territory with relatively small natural The excessive, hypertrophied significance barriers and . Russian people did not of in various strata have to fundamentally change their way of of Russian society is also to be mentioned in life in the process of long-distance migra- the context of the “a-spatiality hypothesis”. tions. Due to these conditions the cultural Administrative boundaries often divide up traits did not change significantly from place the organically evolved cultural and his- to place, from area to area. In other words, torical regions of the country, strongly de- the remained to be relative- termining regional development processes. ly uniform in spatial dimension, “a-spatial” To some extent, administrative division is in terms of the aforementioned concept a phenomenon that significantly influences (Smirnyagin, L.V. 1999). regional consciousness and regional identity This idea has equally strong and weak patterns in Russia. points. On the one hand, the arguments in But on the other hand, the historical ex- favour of this concept are the predominance perience of the development of cultural re- of all-Russian cultural features on a huge ter- gionalism in the European part of Russia also ritory of the ethnic mega-core of the country contradicts the hypothesis of “a-spatiality” and its relatively small variability among of Russian culture. The cultural originality Russian cultural regions. In comparison to of historical Russian lands, which emerged other cultural realms, the distance between in medieval times, is a real and strong pre- contrast cultural regions in Russia is very condition of Russian regionalism. Spatially long. The vast and relatively homogene- changeable patterns of the role of traditions ous cultural areas in Russia could exceed, shape the contemporary regional identities of sometimes, the aggregate surface of several Russians (for example, Krylov, M.P. 2010). 230 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

In my view, the real phenomenon interpret- oblasts stimulated the search for their own ed sometimes as “a-spatiality” is not a “ge- regional identity in areas that were devoid of netic,” ancestral, inherited feature of Russian specific ethnic patterns and attributes. culture. It is rather the result of the deforma- After the breakdown of the USSR, the cul- tion of traditional rural culture during the tural regionalization of Russia embraced first Soviet period (Streletsky, V.N. 2011b). of all two vast areas (macro-regions). One of The main factors determining the devel- them is European South of Russia (predomi- opment patterns of cultural regionalism in nantly the belt of and forest-steppes) Russia are the following: where some groups have been preserving 1. The crucial role of the inherited cultural their local consciousness even during the geographic distinctions within the historical Soviet period. The Caucasus as part core of the European part of Russia. of the European South of Russia is at the same 2. The long-distance transfer of people and time a spacious and extended contact zone their cultural traits from the historical core in that links cultural “heartland” of the coun- Eastern Europe into Northern and the try with diverse and mosaic cultural realm impact of that process on regional identity of Mountain Caucasus. Ethnic and cultural patterns. interaction of both realms was also promoted 3. Cultural borrowings from aboriginal by their economic complementary reciprocity. populations. In historical retrospective, the interactions 4. A continuing cultural interchange be- between North and South in the European tween the ethnic “megacore” of the coun- part of Russia were always complicated. try and the ethnic peripheries of the former Traditionally, the South of Russia accepted . endless streams of fugitive peasants from 5. Drastic social transformations during the the historical core of the country, becoming Soviet period and their impact on the erosion a refuge and asylum for different groups of of local consciousness, regional identity and religious and political dissidents and being cultural regionalism patterns. at the same time the main hearth of distur- The end of the 20th century and the begin- bances and revolts. The political culture in ning of the 21st century is a new period in the so-called “Cossack regions” of Southern the cultural regional development in Russia. Russia has been determined for a long time This new period is characterized by the evi- by ethos of military , and the so- dent revival of regional and local identity in cial institutes were often based, to a certain various parts of Russia, including both the extent, on principles of self-organization. European part of the country and Siberia. During the Civil War (1918–1920), the The increase of cultural geographic distinc- Cossack population in the European South tions within the space of Russian ethnic settle- of Russia was politically divided: numerous ment is a gradual new phenomenon. The re- groups of Cossacks were involved into the vival of regionalism in the Russian Federation and fought for it, but the major- in the last decades was accompanied by ity of them (especially in the region, the strengthening comprehension of regional region and the Terek region), on the interests by the local population. Slogans of contrary, participated in the White move- regional interests were broadly adopted by ment. The of so-called “decossackisa- local authorities and regional political elites. tion” (in Russian – raskazachivaniye) pursued The transition from the unitary centralized by the Communist authorities in Soviet Russia state to the federal also influ- and the USSR after the Civil War was aimed enced the upsurge of regional consciousness at the extermination of Cossacks as a sepa- in ethnically ”Russian” oblasts and krays. The rate subethnic, cultural and military entity. constitutional fixation of “titular” distinctions According to some historical interpretations between “ethnic” republics and “Russian” (Holquist, P. 2002), the Cossacks had disap- Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233. 231

peared as a relatively secluded regional entity between Russian colonists and aboriginals in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The collectiv- became a mighty driving force for consoli- ization campaign of the 1920–1930, pursued dation of the regional identity and cultural by on fertile Cossack homelands regionalism, strengthening of the so-called of the European South of Russia, could be re- “regional tendency” (in Russian language – garded as a turning point. Nevertheless, the oblastnicheskaya tendenciya). Cossack identity survived in latent forms for The views of Russian geographer and several decades of the Soviet epoch. ethnologist Potanin, G.N. (1906) and other The rapid revival of Cossack consciousness Siberian regionalists (“sibirskiye oblastniki”), appeared only at the end of the Soviet epoch. for example, Yadrintsev, author of the book Several groups of Cossacks nowadays tend “Siberia as a colony” (Yadrintsev, N.M. 1882) to position themselves as separate ethnic en- became very popular among the Siberian tities. According to the Russian Population intellectuals on the eve of the 20th century, censuses in 2002 and 2010, some of them which connected the future welfare and de- were registered as ethnic groups (never- velopment prospects of Siberia with the lev- theless, being included in generalized sta- el of its autonomy. Separatist aspirations of tistical data into the total number of ethnic certain groups etc of Siberian intellectuals as Russians). According to the last Population well as representatives of some other strata Census, more than 95 per cent of Russian (landowners, Cossacks, merchants, entrepre- Cossacks live in the European south of the neurs) continually strengthened at the begin- country (in the Southern Federal District ning of the 20th century and that process was and North Caucasian Federal District). The not without importance for the course of the Rostov region (which embraces the Don area, Civil War in Siberia and the Russian Far East. the traditional and most important territory New tendencies became apparent again in of Cossack settlement) contains 62.5 per cent Siberia towards the end of the 20th century. of all Cossacks currently living in Russia. The unity of the country was reinforced dur- On the other hand, the cultural peculiar- ing the socialist period, not least due to the ity of the European South of Russia is not so-called “iron curtain,” which separated its reinforced by the common and broad indivis- regions from external cultural, economic and ible regional identity of “Southern Russians.” political impacts. Under the circumstances of In the European South of Russia, local con- the globally-oriented market economy, the sciousness patterns prevail over the “com- vast macro-region of Siberia should focus mon” (for a whole region) regional identity its outer linkages, to a certain degree, upon patterns. Furthermore, the crucial cultural neighbouring countries. Simultaneously, cul- geographic feature of the European South of tural expansion from the neighbouring states Russia is the lesser integration of ethnic mi- into Siberian geographical space is gradually norities in the regional society in comparison increasing. And last but not least: the crash of with the situation in the Russian North. the communist project entailed a search for The other macro-region, permanently gen- alternative “modus” of public consciousness, erating its particular and specific identity, is and in this context the “Siberian idea” has Siberia. Being an important part of Russian chances for success. cultural space, Siberia belongs in terms of As we demonstrated the revival of cultural geopolitics and geo-economics to the Asiatic- regionalism is a new and important trend of Pacific area. Historically, it has experienced, regionalization of Russia in the 1990s–2000s. in its essential territorial parts, the deep cul- It should be emphasized, however, that cul- tural influence from civilizations of Central tural regionalism is something quite differ- Asia, , Korea and . The originality ent from regional . Despite sev- of the ethnic and cultural development pro- eral forecasts of disintegration of the Russian cesses in Siberia due to the intensive mixture Federation recently, it can be ascertained 232 Streletsky, V.N. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 66 (2017) (3) 219–233.

that the of some regions with an well) where the perception of historical re- ethnically predominating Russian popula- gional identity is gradually decreasing under tion (in Siberia etc., similar to the scenario of conditions of globalization (see, for exam- self-determination of settlers of Anglo-Saxon ple, Vaishar, A. and Zapletalova, J. 2016), or Spanish origin in the New World in the post-Soviet Russia experienced a real boom 18th–19th centuries) is rather unlikely in the of regional consciousness and the revival of foreseeable future. regional identity at the end of the 20th and Regional and cultural diversity, multicul- at the beginning of the 21st centuries. In a turalism, historically rooted regional identity, certain sense, this process can be regarded territorial solidarity, and local patriotism are as a response to the previous erosion of re- important aspects of the sustainability of soci- gional identity in the Soviet period. There is ety. Political separatism is rather a pathology no doubt that regional identity is one of the of cultural regionalism, but on no account a most important preconditions for sustain- natural stage or grade in its development. ability of the Russian society, ensuring its capacity for modernization.

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