Mainstream Russian Nationalism and the "State-Civilization" Identity: Perspectives from Below. Issue 1 (18th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Blackburn, Matthew
• Is Part Of: Nationalities papers. Volume 49:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 89
• Page End: 107
• Publication Date: 2021-01-18
• Subjects: nationalism, -- ethnicity, -- post-Soviet, -- national identity, -- interviews; Ethnology -- Europe, Eastern -- Periodicals; Ethnology -- Former Soviet republics -- Periodicals; Immigrants -- United States -- Periodicals; 305.8
• DOI: 10.1017/nps.2020.8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0090-5992

Abstract

Abstract: Based on more than 100 interviews in European Russia, this article sheds light on the bottom-up dynamics of Russian nationalism. After offering a characterization of the post-2012 "state-civilization" discourse from above, I examine how ordinary people imagine Russia as a "state-civilization." Interview narratives of inclusion into the nation are found to overlap with state discourse on three main lines: (1) ethno-nationalism is rejected, and Russia is imagined to be a unique, harmonious multi-ethnic space in which the Russians ( russkie ) lead without repressing the others; (2) Russia's multinationalism is remembered in myths of peaceful interactions between Russians ( russkie ) and indigenous ethnic groups ( korennyye narodi ) across the imperial and Soviet past; (3) Russian culture and language are perceived as the glue that holds together a unified category of nationhood. Interview narratives on exclusion deviate from state discourse in two key areas: attitudes to the North Caucasus reveal the geopolitical-security, post-imperial aspect of the "state-civilization" identity, while stances toward non-Slavic migrants in city spaces reveal a degree of "cultural nationalism" that, while sharing characteristics with those of Western Europe, is also based on Soviet-framed notions of normality. Overall, the article contributes to debates on how Soviet legacies and Russia's post-imperial consciousness play out in the context of the "pro-Putin consensus."