Islamic Immaterial Culture and Ethnopolitical Symbols in Georgia and the Russian Federation

Abstract

This article discusses the ethno-political and immaterial cultural representations of Russia’s and Georgia’s Muslim minorities as reflected in their anthroponyms, toponyms, flags and coats of arms. It is obvious that Such representations reflect cultural expressions, as they may depict ethnic or religious symbols. Both Russia’s and Georgia’s attitudes towards Islamic cultural expressions are rather liberal. Symbols and names tell a lot about a people’s cultural freedom and orientation. However, it appears from research that religious practice and freedom do not necessarily correlate perfectly with representation of symbols. In accordance with the legacy of the Soviet nationalities policy, by which certain ethnic groups were afforded privileges in an autonomous region, the current representations of immaterial culture and ethno-political culture seem to have a territorial rationale.