All-Russian National Identity on the Orthodox-Islamic Borders
The article analyzes trends in the formation of national all-Russian identity in various ethnic and religious environments using the example of research in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The republics can be considered as “dense” spaces of the Orthodox-Islamic cultural borderland, creating a dialogue between the two most prominent religious traditions in the public space with a high significance of the corresponding ethno-confessional identities. It is noted that the Orthodox discourse fixes Russian ethnicity as the basis of all-Russian national identity, while the Muslim one seeks other models for its defining. The existing ethno-confessional borders do not prevent the formation of a single field of intercultural integration in the republics. The inclusion of Islamic cultural elements in the all-Russian representative culture could contribute to the actualization of the national identity of autochthonous Muslims. At the same time, the spontaneous integration of the Islamic cultural component into the all-Russian representative culture is hindered by public fears associated with the risk of possible radicalization and politicization of Islam.