T. D. Nadkin, A. V.Fomin.

The Modovian State Pedagogical Institute, Russia.

Ethnic-Cultural Movement of Mordovian People in the Context of Contemporary Russian Identity Formation

(The early 1990s - 2010s.)

The publication is prepared by financial support of Russian Foundation for Humanities, the project № 15-31-14003/15 “Regional aspects of Russian nation formation”.

The end of 1980s-1990s are characterized by an extensive splash of national self-awareness of people, emergence of national movements in Russian regions and increase of their influence on social and political development. These processes took place, on the one hand, against a background of deteriorated state of life of the main part of population, intensification of international contradictions, on the other hand, attempts of central and regional authorities to make a dialogue between both themselves and local political and national elites. It refers to a great extent to such subject of Russian Federation as the Republic of Mordovia (from 1934 to 1990 –the Mordovian ASSR; from 1990 to 1994- the Mordovian SSR; from 1994 up today- the Republic of Mordovia), which main population is the Russians (over 53 %), the Mordovians (about 40%), the Tatars (over 5%). They were the representatives of Mordovian intelligentsia who in the period of perestroika expressed the initiative of rebirth of Mordovian national movement, the origins of which lay with a well-known educator Makar Yevsevyev in1917.

The separate aspects of formation of Mordovian national movement, the issues of its interaction with authority structures and public organizations, the role of representatives of Mordovian intelligentsia were analyzed in publications of such Mordovian scientists as Abramov V.K., Abramova O.V., Dolenko D.V., Martynenko A.V., Sherbakova T.I., Yurchenkov V.A. and others.

The regeneration of national movement of Mordovian people in the late 1980s- ealy 1990s was conditioned by pressing problem of this ethos, including assimilation and russification, a wide dissemination of “ethnic negativity”, migration etc. At the same time the following problems aroused the interest of the head of the republic (communists and democrates as well) even to consolidate its political power in the fight with rivals.

The Congress “Mastorava” which was held in 1990 and then- the First All-Russia Congress of the Mordovians in 1992 have demonstrated the unity of people to preserve its national and cultural originality.

The experience of the first half of 1990s has proved that hesitation of regional political elite, confrontation of its separate representatives with the central power, radical calls among the Mordovians and Russians could have led to the issue of the existence of statehood of Modovian people itself as a member of Russian Federation.

In the conditions of distrust coming from the Federal Centre to defining national policy new Mordovian leaders set a course for initiating a close interaction with the movement of Mordovian people rebirth, they began relating to cultural and educational problems more thoroughly and in spite of financing difficulties they supported in publishing of newspapers, magazines, books, producing radio and TV programmes in Mordovian, also in functioning of national theatre, philharmonic, museums etc.

The beginning of the XXI century has been already characterized with a specific process of awareness of the Mordovians to belong to All-Russian civil nation, and it was reasoned in a certain extent by the acknowledgement of its role on the state level as one of the biggest Finno-Ugric people in Russian Government history with its more than one hundred-year-old experience.

The decree of the President of Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, ”About celebrating of one thousand-year-old unity between the Mordovians and Russian people” (January 2009) has become a predictable result of partnership between national movement and authorities. Consequent preparation for this celebration included a great number of events to preserve and develop the language and culture of Mordovian people, to strengthen ties with Mordovian community from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, to develop social and economic system of a multinational Republic of Mordovia. As the culmination, the celebrations took place in August 2012 in Saransk, the capital of the Republic of Mordovia, where the state leadership headed by the President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and numerous guests from different Russian regions and abroad took part in.

The experience of Mordovia nowadays shows that finally, all the interested in a steady development of the republic parts have managed to overcome contradictions and this fact has promoted growth and preservation of ethno-political stability, consolidating cultural ties with Mordovian community. All these events have influenced on social awareness and social behaviour of the representatives of Mordovian nationality in the republic and abroad.

References

1. Abramov V.K. Mordovian nation: from Congress to Congress.Saransk, 2004,160 p.

2. Abramova O.V. Mordovian national civil society organizations in modern ethno-political and ethno-cultural space of the Republic of Mordovia. Bulletin of the University of Chuvashia, 2011. №2, рр.3-7.

3. Dolenko D.V., Yuchenkov V.A. The ruling class and the power structures of Mordovia: milestones in history and current state / Mordovia in the reform period, Saransk,2 013. pp.58-83.

4. Martynenko A.V. Ethnical and cultural movements in Mordovia in1990s-early 2000s: potential problems and prospects of development / Mordovian nation within Russian statehood: History and Modernity: collection of articles. Saransk, 2011. pp.174-178.

5. Shcherbakova T.I. Ethnic factor in the Finno-Ugric republics of Russia in the late XX - early XI century: issues and approaches / Social and demographic problems of the Volga region in the ethnic dimension: the materials of the Scientific Conference, Saransk, 22-23 May 2007.Saransk, 2007. pp.249-253.

6. Yurchenkov V.A. The Mordovians in Russian society: History and Modernity/ Yuchenkov V.A. Consolidation of the Mordovians of Russia in the conditions of globalization: the materials of V Congress of Mordovian nation (Moksha and Erzya).Saransk, 2010. p.82.