Specific Features of Ethnic Identity in the Regions with Varying Degrees of Ethnic Diversity

Abstract

Ethnic diversity describes the plurality of ethnicities within a group of people coexisting in one territory. The permanent presence of other cultures’ representatives can trigger a sense of jeopardy; a feeling that the prevailing way of life, its norms, and its values are challenged by strangers, which results in hostility to ethnic minorities living in the same territory. In this context, the study aimed at investigating specific features of the individual’s ethnic identity determined by the degree of the ethnic diversity of their living environment is of relevance. In order to define regions for the study, the comparative analysis of the ethnic diversity of Russian regions was conducted. Two regions for the study were defined: the Sverdlovsk region as a territory with average ethnic diversity and the Republic of Bashkortostan as a highly diverse region in terms of ethnicity. The respondents from less ethno-diverse areas exhibit global self-identification, the awareness of being a part of the world, and territorial identity. Differences in the degree of sustainability and the intensity of ethnic self-identification of the subjects from regions with varying degrees of ethnic diversity were revealed. Significant distinctions in the meaning of ethnicity for the compared groups of the respondents were found.

Keywords

• ethnic identity
• ethnic diversity
• poly-ethnicity
• tolerance