The Turkic Peoples of Russia: Historical Ethnopolitical Perspectives and a Case Study of Bashkortostan

Abstract

An historical investigation leads us to believe that the process of restructuring ethnic relations is continuous. Further, it leads us to assume that developments in the territory of modern-day Russia – which is currently characterised by fragmentation, the restructuring of interethnic, international and interstate relations, and even conflicts and local wars – will result in the establishment of a new type of cooperation between peoples. The factors that will promote progress in this direction are not only the will and aspirations of democratically minded people, who are tired of chaos and uncertainty, but also a growing acceptance in all strata of society of the need for cooperation and economic and cultural integration. The basis of such an optimistic assumption is the prolonged period of interethnic peace on the territory of the former Soviet Union and long-term cooperation between the different peoples living in the Eurasian region. This cooperation may be subject to stress, even partial destruction, but it must not be lost altogether and allowed to sink into oblivion.KeywordsIndigenous PeopleUral RegionNational AutonomyNational MovementTurkic PeopleThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.