Ethnosociological Studies in the Republic of Mordovia in 1990–2010: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Introduction. Ethnosociological monitoring in a polyethnic region is conducted not only due to the need for an assessment of the public policy regulation in this field, but also due to the increase in the heuristic potential for preventing various kinds of social conflicts. The objective of the paper is to identify the dynamics of the development of interethnic relations in the Republic of Mordovia and the influence of various stratification processes on the development of ethnic relations, based on a comparative analysis of scientific studies. Materials and Methods. Regular sociological measurements carried out by the Research Institute of Regionology under Ogarev Mordovia State University and by the Scientific Center for Social and Economic Monitoring in 1990–2010 were used as the research materials. The interpretation of the results was carried out using the institutional, comparative and natural historical methods. Results. The main trends in the development of mass consciousness of the population of a polyethnic region in the context of various socio-political periods of the development of Russia have been revealed: from the ‘parade of sovereignties’ that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union to the reactualization of the ideology of a strong multiethnic Russian state. It has been emphasized that over the years, the main reasons exerting a negative impact on the nature of interethnic relations have mainly been not the interethnic conflicts, but the politically or economically marked factors (the economic crisis, inflation, appointment to managerial posts based on the ethnicity of a person, income inequality between representatives of different ethnic origins, etc.). Discussion and Conclusion. Although interethnic relations in the Republic of Mordovia has almost never achieved an increased level of conflict, the republic’s leadership was able to build an effective system for regulating them, which made it possible to minimize the degree of social and ethnic tension in society. The article may be useful to scientists and practitioners in the field of the development of interethnic relations and to all those interested in the issues of ethnosociology.