Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sergei Sokolovskiy
categories, that were coded and counted as separate identities) was not
arranged alphabetically, but organized according to the elaborate hier-
archy which mirrored the administrative and political structure of the
00099.
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
largest group opened the list and fourteen so-called title nations of the
former Soviet republics followed, also not in alphabetical order, but in
the order in which they were listed in the Soviet constitution. I should,
perhaps, add that the arrangement principles within this small subgroup
changed several times. Initially, the so-called nations were listed in
the order in which they had joined the Soviet Union; at a later stage,
the criterion of a nations numerical size had been introduced. During
the preparation of the 1989 census, it was pointed out that Uzbeks had
become more numerous than Byelorussians, and a new principle of list-
ing, in the same order as in the relevant article of the Constitution of
1977, was used to solve the problem of rearrangement in the case of
other possible changes in the numerical order2.
The title nations subgroup was followed by another subgroup of
the main or titular nationalities of the autonomous republics, which
had a lower administrative status than the Soviet republics. The eth-
nic group terms within this subgroup were listed alphabetically but,
again, with some inconsistencies, as there were more titular groups
than republics (several autonomous republics were named after
two peoples, such as Kabardino-Balkaria). Others, such as Dagest-
an, had more peoples who were considered titular or indigenous,
and twice as many who were indigenous to the region but counted
as parts of larger groups3. Out of more than 30 ethnic groups from
Dagestan, only ten, the most numerous ethnic categories were chosen
to be named in the subgroup of autonomous republics peoples4.
With title autonomous peoples from other autonomies this sub-
group contained 28 categories.
Another smaller subgroup was formed from the title peoples of
autonomous regions (oblasts and okrugs). It contained only seven eth-
nic categories5, since most of the indigenous peoples of the north-
ern autonomous territories (okrugs) were listed within the next
subgroup, called nationalities of the North. This well-known
category was composed of 26 peoples of the North ( 1994;
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S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
territory of Russia.
3. Finally, the group belongs to the countrys population if it is
last Soviet the census of 1989 was fairly large; there was no
the practice of various state agencies to this day and lies at the core of
the construction of indigeneity in Russia. The notion of ethnic territo-
rialisation is covertly operative in many administrative state practic-
with otherness, and for sorting various others into more and less
193
Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
both in the eyes of the public and of the state as more indigenous.
The concept of indigeneity seems to be dependent on historically
changing ideas of territorial borders and boundaries that are deemed
essential for its construction. Territorial identities, even for nomadic
groups and recent settlers, who change or have changed places of
lents. Roughly 70-80 years back there was another system of des-
ignations at work, and even professional anthropologists used such
terms as primitive and tribal to denote the groups under this cat-
egory8, and a century back words like savage, backward, early9
peoples (close to German ) were often used to designate
the same groups that were later to be called indigenous.
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
to compare it with other cases. Let us now turn to the brief outline of
-
196
S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which,
having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial
societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves
distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in
those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dom-
inant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop
and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and
their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as
peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social
institutions and legal systems. ( 2829).
The World Bank has, since 1982, in practice used a series of op-
limited in scope than the ILO approach, the term tribal peoples in
the Banks policy directive referred to those ethnic groups that have
stable, low-energy, sustained-yield economic systems, and exhibit
in varying degrees the following characteristics:
1. Geographically isolated or semi-isolated.
2. Unacculturated or only partially acculturated into the societal
norms of the dominant society.
3. Non-monetized, or only partially monetized production largely for
subsistence, and independent of the national economic system.
4. Ethnically distinct from the national society.
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
199
Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
200
S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
Table 1 (continue)
201
Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
.11
three new members of this group: , who
were added to the previous standard Soviet list of 26 peoples.
All three new groups were highly urbanised (at a level of 50-70%).
The data of the recent Russian population census demonstrates that
-
ities have over one third of urban dwellers among their respective
populations, and for ten peoples the level of urbanization is near or
higher than 50%. Moreover, only among six groups (Dolgan, Ne-
nents, Oroch, Chukchi, Enets, and Nganasan) the share of those who
practice traditional subsistence economy reaches 20% (in the case
of Dolgan, almost 30%). Out of approximately 125,000 persons of
working age (among those who reside in the North, Siberia and the
North) only 17,000 (or 13%) are employed in some form of agri-
cultural economy, or indicate as their source of subsistence hunting,
out of the group of more than 140,000 people with IP status , only
a few families, scattered over vast territories of the North, engage
in subsistence economy and need special protection not as cultural
or linguistic minorities but as indigenous peoples maintaining their
unique economies and lifestyles (for details see below).
202
S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Dolgan 7077 1194 16.9 3998 56.5 1176 29.4 19.5 2.3 2.9
Itelmen 2939 1012 34.4 1859 63.3 94 05.1 10.7 4.2 2.0
Ket 1189 199 16.7 715 60.1 27 03.8 08.1 4.1 1.1
Koryak 8271 2368 28.6 5070 61.3 498 09.8 17.3 5.0 2.3
Kuman-
2888 1522 52.7 1867 64.6 84 04.5 04.0 0.5 0.6
da
Mansi 10820 5487 50.7 6273 58.0 384 06.1 11.6 3.5 3.5
Nanai 11569 3278 28.3 7411 64.1 553 07.5 11.1 2.5 2.2
Ngana-
811 147 18.1 458 56.5 85 18.6 16.6 2.4 1.5
san
Neghi-
505 115 22.8 308 61.0 35 11.4 13.0 3.2 0.3
dal
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
Table 2 (continue)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Nenets 39813 6781 17.0 21188 53.2 5449 25.7 11.9 3.0 1.7
Nivkh 4902 2291 46.7 3082 62.9 301 09.8 09.4 2.8 2.3
Oroch 426 150 35.2 268 62.9 63 23.5 07.5 2.6 3.0
Saami 1769 680 38.4 1090 61.6 151 13.9 07.3 6.0 2.4
Selqup 4056 645 15.9 2512 61.9 306 12.2 10.6 5.2 3.6
Teleut 2534 1044 41.2 1597 63.0 77 04.8 05.6 2.6 7.3
Tuba 1533 120 07.8 894 58.3 99 11.1 07.2 1.9 1.7
Todja 4435 3 00.0 2495 56.3 102 04.1 15.5 2.1 0.7
Udege 1531 337 22.0 968 63.2 119 12.3 11.5 3.4 1.7
Uilta
298 169 56.7 196 65.8 24 12.2 08.7 9.7 1.5
(Orok)
Ulcha 2718 413 15.2 1666 61.3 142 08.5 11.7 4.7 1.9
Khant 27655 9190 33.2 16128 58.3 1793 11.1 13.8 4.3 3.2
Chelkan 830 113 13.6 502 60.5 31 06.2 12.7 4.2 2.2
Chuvan 990 295 29.8 581 58.7 74 12.7 20.0 7.9 4.5
Chukchi 14034 2320 16.5 8377 59.7 1598 19.1 18.6 3.3 2.2
204
S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
Table 2 (continue)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Shor 12773 9094 71.2 1831 62.7 199 10.7 05.2 2.5 3.1
Evenk 34610 7901 22.8 20269 58.6 2271 11.2 13.4 5.6 1.9
Even 18642 5831 31.3 10877 58.3 1405 12.9 13.4 5.1 1.5
Eskimo 1534 394 25.7 951 62.0 86 09.0 16.4 7.7 3.2
Yukagir 1176 494 42.0 671 57.1 84 12.5 12.1 8.2 3.9
Total 223694 63749 28.7 124972 55.4 17366 13.1 13.0 4.0 2.3
social services, real estate business, and security. 2,843 persons are
employed in the construction, transport and communication sectors.
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
-
come attached to the process by which these people came to be side
by side in that territory. Thus, the principle holds that lip service to
the principle of soil (ethnicity territorialisation) or attempts to cor-
rect historical injustices, instead of paying close attention to present-
ly existing inequality and discrimination might in fact be the source
of new injustices. Instead of further essentialisation of the links be-
tween groups and territories we should try, as I suggested elsewhere
(Sokolovski 2004), to work out new specialized protective programs
by targeting different groups within the Russian legal category of the
small-numbered indigenous peoples via special and differentiated
legislation (standard minority protective measures for well integrat-
ed autochthonous minorities; economic development programs for
groups of indigenous peoples, residing in urban settlements of the Eu-
ropean and Siberian North; and special protective measures designed
for those who practice a traditional subsistence economy, in this latter
case, irrespective of the persons ethnic identity).
1
Slovari natsionalnostei i yazykov dlia kodirovaniia otvetov na 8 i 9 voprosy
perepisnykh listov (o natsionalnosti, rodnom yazyke i drugom yazyke narodov
206
S. Sokolovskiy. Indigenous identity and the construction of indigeneity
3
These were twelve minority peoples of the so-called Andi-Dido peoples of
counted previously as Avars, and two additional minorities counted in 1989 and
prior censuses as Dargins.
4
In alphabetical order: Agul, Avars (Maarulal), Dargins (Dargwa), Kumyk
(Qumuq), Lak (Laq), Nogai (Noghai), Lezgin, Rutul, Tabasaran, and Tsakhur
5
Adygei (Adyge), Altai, Circassian (Cherkess, Adyge), Jews, Karachai (Qara-
chaili), Khakass (Khaas), and Komi-Permiak.
6
Chukchi, Dolgan, Evenk, Khant, Koriak, Mansi, and Nenets.
7
It has been claimed that 1) many of the categories from this group are essen-
tially country-of-origin designations and do not refer to ethnic identity (such
designations as Americans, French, Italians, Spaniards, and Cubans); 2) many
have left the country since 1989 (among them Albanians, Cubans, Croats, Serbs,
Czechs and Slovaks); 3) some categories were expected to be so numerically
small, that could be relegated without much concern to the residual category
other nationalities (Austrians, Albanians, Amhara, Baluch, Czechs, Croats,
Dutch, Italians, Japanese, Montenegrins, Portuguese, Punjabi, Serbs, Slovaks,
and Swedes)
8
Cf.: Dozier E.P. The Concepts of Primitive and Native in Anthropology //
Yearbook of Anthropology. 1955. P. 187-202.
9
Herskovits M. Economic Anthropology. N.Y.: A. Knopf, 1952. P. V-VI.
10
O gosudarstvennykh garantiiakh i kompensatsiiakh dlia lits, rabotaiushchikh
i prozhivaiushchikh v raionakh Krainego Severa i priravnennykh k nim mestnos-
tiakh of February 19, 1993.
11
Art. 4 of the Decree O naznachenii pensii litsam, rabotaiushchim i prozhivai-
who work and reside in the regions of the Far North]: Ministry for Social Protec-
tion Decree No. 657, Aug. 04, 1994; registered at the Ministry of Justice by No.
651 on the same date.
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Spain, Russia and the challenges of the multi-ethnic state
2003 . The Indigenous Peoples Cat-
egory in Russian Legislation // Anthropological News, December
2003. Vol. 4. No. 9. Pp. 67.
2007 . Indigeneity Construction in the
Russian Census 2002 // Sibirica, 2007. Vol.6. No. 1. Pp. 5994.
2010 . Aboriginality and territorial
//
Ab Imperio, 2010. No. 4. Pp. 393413.
2011 . Russian Legal Concepts and the
Demography of Indigenous Peoples In: -
Pp.
239-251 (Edited by Per Axelsson and Peter Skld). N.Y.: Berghahn
Books, 2011. 354 pages, ISBN 978-0-85745-000-5 Hb).
208