Cultural Ethnic Initiatives and the (De)Politicization of Ethnicity in Russia

Abstract

The article examines the contemporary politicization of ethnicity among ethnic minorities in authoritarian settings. The research background of this paper are the changing language policies in Russia, which abolish the obligatory teaching of indigenous minority languages in local schools. Drawing on complexity theory in nationalism studies, the authors show how the activity of cultural entrepreneurs results in the ethnicization of mundane practices and everyday life; these, in turn, affect ordinary people's reflections on the issues of ethnic identity - and cultural and identity politics more generally. At the same time, the repressive context of an authoritarian state does not allow ethnopolitical entrepreneurs to make open demands regarding changes in ethnic politics or concerning the peculiarities of the Russian federative system. As a consequence, the political claims of ethnic groups make themselves heard through grassroots activities at the everyday level. This precipitates the rise of various bottom-up cultural initiatives, which leads to a growing number of people being interested in the ethnicization of their social environment and the subsequent politicization of their minds. The authors argue that - despite the initial goal of the repressive environment to suppress political activities of ethnic minorities - it only intensifies their politicization.