INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF RUSSIA AGAINST THE WAR: NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STAGES OF ETHNIC IDENTITY AS A RESOURCE OF ACTIVISM

Ekaterina Zibrova

doi:10.23858/ethp.2024.45.3753

Published: 2024-12-17

Vol. 45 (2024)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF RUSSIA AGAINST THE WAR

Ekaterina Zibrova

Ethnologia Polona

Section: Main topic of the issue

https://doi.org/10.23858/ethp.2024.45.3753

Abstract

This paper explores the role of ethnic identity among the Indigenous Peoples of Russia as a resource for anti-war resistance. It focuses on the qualitative processes of ethnic self-identification and self-determination at the individual level, addressing a gap in the social and political analysis of activists’ behaviour in Russia. By employing the framework of identity as a narrative, it analyses interviews with ethnic decolonial anti-war activists who possess Indigenous heritage and represent various ethnic groups across Russia. The research highlights the developmental stages of ethnic identity that activists have experienced, particularly emphasising the stages that serve as resources for activism. Moreover, it emphasises the fact that for individuals who have established contact with their ethnic identity, activism emerges as an inherent and dynamic response to historical oppression. Additionally, the paper distinguishes the role of ethnic identity among Indigenous peoples from their racial identity, by providing a nuanced understanding of the specific challenges and dynamics faced by Indigenous peoples in their activism.

Keywords:

Indigenous Peoples of Russia, ethnic identity, activism, identity, narrative analysis

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Zibrova, E. (2024). INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF RUSSIA AGAINST THE WAR: NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STAGES OF ETHNIC IDENTITY AS A RESOURCE OF ACTIVISM. Ethnologia Polona, 45, 127–147. https://doi.org/10.23858/ethp.2024.45.3753

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Balzer, Marjorie Mandelstam. 2022. Galvanizing Nostalgia? Indigeneity and Sovereignty in Siberia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Scholarship Online. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501759796
Google Scholar

Brubaker, Rogers, and Frederick Cooper. 2000. “Beyond ‘identity’.” Theory and Society 29 (1): 1–47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007068714468
Google Scholar

Buckingham, David. 2008. “Introducing identity.” In Youth, Identity, and Digital Media, edited by David Buckingham, 1–24. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Google Scholar

Cohen, Jean L. 1985. “Strategy or identity: New theoretical paradigms and contemporary social movements.” Social Research 52 (4): 663–716.
Google Scholar

Collins, Patricia Hill. 2022. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. 30th anniversary. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003245650-15
Google Scholar

Connor, Walker. 1994. Ethnonationalism: The Quest for Understanding. Princeton University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691186962
Google Scholar

Dennis, Andrea L. 2016. “Black contemporary social movements, resource mobilization, and Black musical activism.” Law & Contemporary Problems 79: 29–51.
Google Scholar

Erikson, Erik H. 1994. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: WW Norton & Company.
Google Scholar

Fish, Jillian, et al. 2021. “When the personal is political: Ethnic identity, ally identity, and political engagement among Indigenous people and people of colour.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 27 (1): 18–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000341
Google Scholar

Hammack, Phillip L. 2008. “Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 12 (3): 222–247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868308316892
Google Scholar

Kornbluh, Mariah, Charlie Collins, and Danielle Kohfeldt. 2020. “Navigating activism within the academy: Consciousness building and social justice identity formation.” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 30 (2): 151–163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2434
Google Scholar

Ksenofontov, Stanislav Saas, and Alexander N. Petrov. 2024. “Global change impacts on Indigenous sustainability in Sakha Republic: A synthesis of knowledge.” Sustainability 16 (3): 1157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031157
Google Scholar

Lee, Emma, and Jennifer Evans. 2021. Indigenous Women’s Voices: 20 Years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Google Scholar

Manekin, Devorah, and Tamar Mitts. 2022. “Effective for whom? Ethnic identity and nonviolent resistance.” American Political Science Review 116 (1): 161–180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421000940
Google Scholar

Lin, May. 2020. “From alienated to activists: Expressions and formation of group consciousness among Asian American young adults.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 46 (7): 1405–1424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1495067
Google Scholar

Nasheeda, Aishath, Haslinda B. Abdullah, Steven E. Krauss, and Nobaya B. Ahmed. 2019. “Transforming transcripts into stories: A multimethod approach to narrative analysis.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 18: 1609406919856797. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919856797
Google Scholar

Neville, Helen A., and William E. Cross Jr. 2017. “Racial awakening: Epiphanies and encounters in Black racial identity.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 23 (1): 102–108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000105
Google Scholar

Romanucci-Ross, Lola. 1995. Ethnic Identity: Creation, Conflict, and Accommodation. London: Rowman Altamira.
Google Scholar

Rivas-Drake, Deborah, Bernardette J. Pinetta, Linda P. Juang, and Abunya Agi. 2022. “Ethnic-racial identity as a source of resilience and resistance in the context of racism and xenophobia.” Review of General Psychology 26 (3): 317–326. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680211056318
Google Scholar

Sarivaara, Erika, Kaarina Maatta, and Satu Uusiautti. 2013. “Who is Indigenous? Definitions of indigeneity.” European Scientific Journal 1: 369–378.
Google Scholar

Tajfel, Henri. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar

Townsend-Cross, Marcelle, and Kathomi Gatwiri. 2024. “‘A Roar of Rage,’ ‘Toddlers with Guns,’ and ‘Eternal Bloody Protest’: Some First Nations Peoples’ Perceptions about #BlackLivesMatter Activism in Australia.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 47 (15): 3280–3301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2024.2311136
Google Scholar

Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J., Ani Yazedjian, and Mayra Bámaca-Gómez. 2004. “Developing the ethnic identity scale using Eriksonian and social identity perspectives.” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research 4 (1): 9–38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0401_2
Google Scholar

Yusupova, Guzel. 2019. “Exploring sensitive topics in an authoritarian context: An insider perspective.” Social Science Quarterly 100 (4): 1459–1478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12642
Google Scholar

Yusupova, Marina. 2021. “The invisibility of race in sociological research on contemporary Russia: A decolonial intervention.” Slavic Review 80 (2): 224–233. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/slr.2021.77
Google Scholar

Yusupova, Guzel. 2024. “Mapping the future of Russian studies.” SYGMA, May 22. Accessed May 31, 2024. https://syg.ma/@sygma/abgTvw6gCjXcfQ.
Google Scholar

Zibrova, Ekaterina. 2023. “Ethnicity as a resource for anti-war resistance: Indigenous Peoples of Russia and the role of ethnic identity to withstand Putin’s war.” International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies 5 (2): 54–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/intecritdivestud.5.2.0054
Google Scholar