IDENTITY CONFLICT IN THE ROUMEAN COMMUNITY

Abstract

The Roumean ethnic group is located in Priazovye, the Donetsk region of south-eastern Ukraine. The Roumeans, who speak a version of Modern Greek, moved to Priazovye from the Crimea in the 1770s, together with Ouroums (a turkophone Orthodox group) and other Christian ethnic groups. Like many other ethnic minorities, Roumeans are experiencing an ‘ethnic renaissance’ which evolved during the 1980s in what was then the Soviet Union. By ‘ethnic renaissance’ I refer to the creation and propagation of myths and symbols which, first, draw a positive image of the ethnic group needed for its consolidation and mobilization, and, second, utilize its symbolic heritage—cultural traits, prominent figures, language, and historical events—through appropriate interpretation. An important actor in this process is the elite of the group. This article looks at the existing disagreement between the Roumean elite and others in the community on what the appropriate interpretation of Roumean symbolic heritage entails.