The National, Civic, and Ethnic Identity of Russian Young People in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): Perception Dynamics

Abstract

This paper studies the levels and nature of the national, civic, and ethnic identity of Russian young people in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). We analyze identity dynamics and nature, using representative data from large-scale surveys conducted in 2012 and 2019, in addition to focus groups of Russian young people that were studied in the city of Mirny over the same years. Our research shows that the sense of civic identity in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has been diminishing both among young Russians and young Sakha. A shared home country continues to be the key integrating factor that allows young people to identify with other Russians; the importance of this factor in the eyes of Russian young people has been increasing, while the importance of other factors (such as history, culture, and a shared language) has been decreasing. The factor of living within the same territory has retained its importance. The “feeling that you are responsible for the country’s future” has been losing impact as an integrating factor, which means that, on the one hand, we can still speak of a national and civic identity based on living within the same territory, but less so of an overall civic identity. Our study shows that Russian young people have fewer consolidating ethnic identity factors than Sakha young people, although the cultural, traditional, and territorial integrators have been becoming somewhat more important over the course of 2019. By contrast, an increase in the importance of ethnic and cultural integrating factors for Sakha young people has been far more evident. Religion as an integrating factor for ethnic identity has been losing its importance for local Russian young people. The above allows us to conclude that, regardless of the current ethnic policy objectives, Russian young people in the Republic of Sakha are not becoming more consolidated based on ethnic identity. Nor is this being compensated by other identity types covered by this study, including ethnic identity. That said, the importance of ethnic and cultural factors has been on a slight rise, which is likely due to the Republic’s specific environment.