Fault Lines in Russia's Discourse of Nation: Television Coverage of the December 2010 Moscow Riots

Slavic Review ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 873-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Hutchings ◽  
Vera Tolz

This article analyzes Russian television news accounts of the December 2010 Manezhnaia riots that followed an ethnic Russian football fan's murder by a group of men from the North Caucasus. It focuses on the narrative struggle to reconcile official nation-building rhetoric with grassroots realities and broadcasters' own assumptions. Using the tools of media discourse analysis, Stephen Hutchings and Vera Tolz demonstrate that national television's conceptual apparatus consists of a multifaceted amalgam in which interpretations of the Soviet period are modified through the influences of late imperial Russian intellectual traditions and western interpretations of societal diversity. Hutchings and Tolz show how the essentialization of ethnic boundaries within this apparatus leads both to the overinterpretation of interethnic aspects of the crisis, and to their occlusion. Rather than submitting to a univocal state machine, post-Manezhnaia broadcasting reveals fault lines whose partial convergence around a single narrative reflects the restricted logic of the conceptual apparatus and a perceived need to reflect the public mood.

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian T. Lanzillotti

Intercommunal, socio-economic, and political relations in the North Caucasus have historically revolved around access to this mountain region's prized pasturage and scarce farmland. Given the centrality of the land question in the North Caucasus, it is unsurprising that historiography on land relations in the region has been highly politicized. This article examines how indigenous writing on the history of land relations in the central Caucasus – a region inhabited by today's Kabardians, Balkars, Ossetians, Ingushes, and Karachais, and dominated by the princely confederation of Kabarda before the tsarist conquest – has been subject to wide revision in response to changes in local and national political dynamics and the emergence of ethnicized identity politics. In the late-imperial and early Soviet periods, Karachai, Balkar, and Ossetian elites-cum-historians, writing for an audience of imperial policy-makers, crafted histories to influence state policies toward land reform. By the 1930s, historians from the region tailored their histories of land relations to the prerogatives of Soviet nationality policies. The ideas contained in these histories impacted the construction of national identities in the Soviet period. Post-Soviet Karachai and Balkar intellectuals, seeking to establish new post-colonial national histories for their peoples, have reinterpreted the history of land relations in order to depict their ancestors as independent of Kabarda's land-based dominance. This revisionism is part of the struggle of the Karachais and Balkars against their historiographical erasure, which was a product of the exclusion of the Karachais and Balkars from the family of Soviet nations during their deportation and exile to Central Asia from 1944 to 1957 and their subsequent political and cultural marginalization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (12-1) ◽  
pp. 150-167
Author(s):  
Alexey Grishchenko

The article tells about the life path and research work of the Don agricultural historian P.G. Chernopitsky. The stages of scientific creativity are determined, the main scientific works in the context of the era are considered, its position on the debatable problems of the Don and North Caucasus history, in particular, on the essence and stages of decossackization is determined. The contribution of P. G. Chernopitsky to the study of the socio -economic history of the Soviet pre -collective farm village, collectivization, the famine of 1932-1933 in the North Caucasus, the history of the Don Cossacks in the Soviet period is demonstrated. Relations with colleagues at Rostov State University are highlighted.


Author(s):  
Tatˈjana Aleksandrovna Nevskaja ◽  
Alla S. Kondrasheva

In the article, the authors attempted to consider changes in the general concept of the Caucasian war during the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, depending on the political and ideological attitudes inherent in various historical stages. The key moments of this complex and ambiguous phenomenon are analyzed, which still cause heated discussions in science and society (name, dating, reasons, Caucasian muridism, problems of Muhajirism).It is indicated that historiography of the beginning of the twentieth century, as in the earlier period, did not dispute the legality of the establishment of Russian orders in the region. It is shown that in the Soviet period, the assessment of the movement of highlanders in the East and West Caucasus depended not only on a change in the historical paradigm, but also on a change in the general direction of state policy in the field of ideology (“national liberation struggle against tsarism”, “Shamil is a protege of Sultan Turkey and British colonialists","the struggle against the colonial policy of tsarism and against their own feudal lords"). Attention is drawn to the fact that the collapse of the USSR, the destruction of the Marxist concept of history, the development of national and separatist movements, the beginning of the Islamic revival in the North Caucasus contributed to the beginning of the active process of revising the assessments and events of the Caucasian War, which was the most striking event in the history of many peoples.The article concludes that, despite the abundance of work, scientists have not only yet to illuminate the little-studied aspects of the Caucasian war, but also to give an objective interpretation to many of its stages, based on scientific approaches, and not following political orders for the sake of one or another ideology.


Author(s):  
А.М. Хатухов ◽  
◽  
Ф.Ж. Берова ◽  

The article discusses the problem of administrative-territorial division (ATD) of one of the national republics of the North Caucasus within Russia – the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR). It is argued that the modern ADT of the republic is a legacy of Russia's colonial policy in the North Caucasus in the 19th century and the command and administrative system of the Soviet period in the 20th century. The results of the study indicate that by the end of the twentieth century, due to the redistribution of the population and integration processes, the ethnic map of KBR came into conflict with the ATD on an ethno-political basis. A new version of the ATD of the region based on the basin principle has been proposed and justified, removing the interethnic contradictions generated by the previous division and guaranteeing the sustainable development of the republic


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
M.M. Aibatov ◽  

The article analyzes the features of the formation of regional party systems in the republics of the North Caucasus since the advent of the multi-party system in modern Russia. It is noted that in the republican parliaments the influence of the institution of parties with the transition to the mandatory mixed system becomes stronger during the elections to regional legislative assemblies, which previously for the most part developed on a non-partisan basis. In the North Caucasus region, the process of party institutionalization took place rather quickly in the municipality, where the proportional system is very widespread. Inter-party agreements, or the dependence of the parties on the authorities, led to the establishment of compromise relations between the parties. In conclusion, it is concluded that the creation of the foundations of a multi-party system in the North Caucasus region is associated more with the diverse interests of elite clans and the flexible tactics of the ruling elite than with a clash of ideologies or social activity.


2020 ◽  
pp. 357-369
Author(s):  
S. G. Ktsoeva

The issue of Abrahamic borrowings in the ethnic religion of Ossetians (the only Iranian-speaking ethnic group in the North Caucasus, which is an ethnic descendant of Scythians-Sarmatians-Alans) is considered, which is a synthesis of monotheism and ancient polytheism. It has survived to this day and even survives a peculiar, renaissance in the post-Soviet period, which explains the relevance of the study. An analysis of the possible presence of Abrahamic reminiscences in the image, characteristics and functions of one of the subjects of the Ossetian ethno-religious pantheon - Safa is made. It is noted that this image is by far the most complex object in relation to both the identification of the theonym and the origin of the sacred subject itself, due to which there is no consensus in science on this issue. A historiographic analysis of scientific positions on the problem is carried out. An attempt to identify the sacred subject is made, and its main possible options are given. The author’s development of archival material - an unpublished article by B. A. Alborov on Safa is presented for the first time. One of the possible options for identifying theonym and characteristics of Safa - Arab-Islamic is introduced into the modern scientific discourse.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.T. Agieva

Феномен абречества исследуется в русле комплекса проблем, связанных с историей национально-освободительной борьбы народов Северного Кавказа. Методологической основой явился принцип эволюционного развития, примененный к анализу социальных процессов. Материалами стали архивные источники, исследования историков, данные толковых и энциклопедических словарей. Прослежена эволюция значения термина абрек , изучено развитие самого абречества как формы социального протеста, привлечен фактографический материал, касающийся жизни одного из самых известных абреков Ингушетии Зелимхана Гушмазукаева. Термин абрек , первоначально означавший разбойника и изгоя, постепенно изменил смысл, приобретя значение борца за свободу против царских войск и администрации. Суть и внутреннее содержание абречества со временем эволюционировали аналогичным образом. Наличие у абречества социальной опоры обусловило вывод о том, что оно было ответом горского общества на политическое бесправие и экономические проблемы.The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of abrechestvo in line with a complex of scientific problems related to the history of the national liberation struggle of the peoples of the North Caucasus against the colonialist policy of the tsarist administration. The methodological basis was the principle of evolutionary development applied to social processes. The author used a set of methods inherent in historical science (historical-chronological, historical-comparative, diachronic, and others), as well as methods related to the interpretation of texts and concepts. The materials for the research were archival sources, studies of historians and data from explanatory and encyclopedic dictionaries. The term abrek is analyzed in detail, its variations in the languages of different peoples of the North Caucasus are given. Further, the author traces the evolution of the meaning of this concept in the Russian language for more than 120 yearsfrom the dictionaries of the mid-19th century to the last edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. The development of abrechestvo as a phenomenon of social life is investigated. The factual material relating to the activities of one of the most famous abreks of Mountain Ingushetia, Zelimkhan Gushmazukaev, is involved. The author comes to the conclusion that the term abrek, originally meaning a robber and an outcast, changed its meaning over the century, acquiring, in addition to a romantic connotation, the meaning of a freedom fighter against the tsarist troops and administration. Similarly, over time, the essence and inner content of abrechestvo evolved: from a forced exile and vagrancy to activities of social protest and of fighting for justice. These ideals were supported by the majority of representatives of the North Caucasian ethnic communities, who openly supported abreks, not fearing the possible reprisals from the authorities. At the same time, public consciousness quite clearly separated true abreks from those who did evil under their name and authority. The author claims that abreks resorted to robberies only selectively and avoided murders. They used the stolen property for buying weapons, for helping the needy and families who lost their breadwinners. Abreks had societys support, which led the author to the conclusion that it was a response of the highlanders society to political lawlessness and economic problems that constantly accompanied its development during the pre-Soviet period.The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of abrechestvo in line with a complex of scientific problems related to the history of the national liberation struggle of the peoples of the North Caucasus against the colonialist policy of the tsarist administration. The methodological basis was the principle of evolutionary development applied to social processes. The author used a set of methods inherent in historical science (historical-chronological, historical-comparative, diachronic, and others), as well as methods related to the interpretation of texts and concepts. The materials for the research were archival sources, studies of historians and data from explanatory and encyclopedic dictionaries. The term abrek is analyzed in detail, its variations in the languages of different peoples of the North Caucasus are given. Further, the author traces the evolution of the meaning of this concept in the Russian language for more than 120 yearsfrom the dictionaries of the mid-19th century to the last edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. The development of abrechestvo as a phenomenon of social life is investigated. The factual material relating to the activities of one of the most famous abreks of Mountain Ingushetia, Zelimkhan Gushmazukaev, is involved. The author comes to the conclusion that the term abrek, originally meaning a robber and an outcast, changed its meaning over the century, acquiring, in addition to a romantic connotation, the meaning of a freedom fighter against the tsarist troops and administration. Similarly, over time, the essence and inner content of abrechestvo evolved: from a forced exile and vagrancy to activities of social protest and of fighting for justice. These ideals were supported by the majority of representatives of the North Caucasian ethnic communities, who openly supported abreks, not fearing the possible reprisals from the authorities. At the same time, public consciousness quite clearly separated true abreks from those who did evil under their name and authority. The author claims that abreks resorted to robberies only selectively and avoided murders. They used the stolen property for buying weapons, for helping the needy and families who lost their breadwinners. Abreks had societys support, which led the author to the conclusion that it was a response of the highlanders society to political lawlessness and economic problems that constantly accompanied its development during the pre-Soviet period.


Author(s):  
Svetlana K. Bashieva ◽  
◽  
Ariuka I. Gelyaeva ◽  
Irina R. Tabaksoeva ◽  

The article is devoted to the study of tolerance and intolerance in the linguistic consciousness of modern student youth. The relevance of the problem is due to the increased attention to such a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional area as the North Caucasus region. The purpose of the study is to identify the degree of formation of tolerant consciousness of students born and raised in the post-Soviet period in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, in one of the polylingual subjects of the Russian Federation. In the article, tolerance is considered as a value significant in the life of society and ensuring positive interaction. Its semantic core in the linguistic consciousness of students, according to the quantitative and qualitative characteristics obtained, is made up of such associations as respect, tolerance, as well as the sets of unwritten moral and ethical standards of behavior such as namys, habze, adet, which integrate the complex of important, value-oriented components of universal human and national traditions. The work has been carried out on the basis of the receptive and free associative experiments data, which, on the one hand, verify the maintenance of dictionary definitions, and on the other – show verbal associative reactions representing rather deep understanding of the essence of the concepts ‘tolerance’ and ‘intolerance’ by the respondents. The latter demonstrates the fixedness in the above-mentioned concepts in the conceptual system of the student’s youth.


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