printIdentities of Urban Ethnic Communities in the Situation of Modern Uncertainty
Gabdrakhmanova G.F.
Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Assoc. Prof., Head of Department of Ethnology, Institute of History named after Sh. Mardjani, Kazan, Russia medi54375@mail.ru
Gabdrakhmanova G.F. Identities of Urban Ethnic Communities in the Situation of Modern Uncertainty. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 1. P. 75-87
The article problematizes the issue how the ongoing global changes have affected the identities of ethnic groups living in the cities of the Tatarstan Republic. The author draws on ideas from the sociology of social change by P. Sztompka to solve this issue. Following the theorist, the sociocultural transformation experienced by Russian society is assessed from the standpoint of its positive functionality for social development and the formation of a new cultural system. The work presents materials from two surveys of Russians and Tatars from six cities of the Republic of Tatarstan (2021, 2024), two focus groups and a series of interviews with expert, activists and teachers involved in language and cultural issues. The studies revealed a restructuring of self-identification among urban ethnic communities. Among them there are more of those who began to feel a strong connection with most social groups. The most significant communities turned out to be citizens of Russia, residents of the region, city, representatives of ethnic and religious groups. The appeal to traditional markers of identities – territory, language, culture, religion – has increased. This situation can be called an adaptive strategy, since the strong dynamics of solidarity confirms the desire of Russians to find resources to cope with stressful social changes, to support their emotional state. The equally expressed collective feeling of uncertainty among the contacting ethnic groups contributes to the stability of interethnic relations in the urban environment. It is ensured by the state of the modern ethnic identity of Russians and Tatars of the Tatarstan Republic. Representatives of ethnic groups are ready to have professional, friendly contacts with other peoples. The study recorded the actualization of linguistic and cultural interests. They are not deep, mass in the cities, but have a positive dynamics.
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