Narratives of Translocation, Dislocation and Location: Armenian Youth Cultural Identities in Southern Russia

Abstract

The findings presented here are based on ethnographic research and are concerned with subjective definitions of ethnic belonging of young Armenians in Krasnodar krai. It is demonstrated that Armenian ethnic identifications are not 'fixed' but rather entwined within a complex web of diverse cultural attachments, involving many 'routes' of translocation, dislocation and location. It was found that most of the research participants saw themselves as Armenian while drawing occasionally on cosmopolitanism as an identity resource. This enabled them to construct a sense of belonging both in terms of ethnicity and of multicultural location. THIS ARTICLE OUTLINES THE RESULTS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC research undertaken inKrasnodar, the capital of the southern Russian region of Krasnodar krai (territory). The main argument is that most young Armenians are inclined to see themselves as Armenian and keep a strong sense of their culture. They are not creating a new hybrid culture, but rather draw occasionally on cosmopolitanism as an identity resource, which denotes a stance toward diversity that enables them to construct belonging in terms of ethnicity as well as multicultural location. Background and research methodology

Belonging and Longing: Armenian Youth and Diasporic Long‐Distance Nationalism in Contemporary Russia

“…7 In contrast to Sargis, Lusine's parents came to Krasnodar from Tbilisi thirty years ago; however it was also for economic reasons. 8 For more details on these annual celebrations, see Ziemer (2009;forthcoming). 9 For a detailed discussion of Armenian girls' contradictory everyday experiences resultant from this gender discourse, see Ziemer (2010).…”

Regrounding Youth Cultural Theory (in Post‐Socialist Youth Cultural Practice)

“…2003); globalization and national identity (Pilkington et al. 2002; Blum 2007; Ziemer 2009; Ziemer 2010); civic participation (Wallace 2003; Tereshchenko 2010); generations theory (Fürst 2010); and deviancy (Stephenson 2011). On the positive side, this has produced greater intersection between ‘domestic’ and ‘outside’ discourses as ‘local’ scholars have been integrated into the international research community and its dominant theoretical paradigms while ‘western’ researchers have undertaken more collaborative research.…”

“…Alternative ('informal') youth and popular music scenes were often read in terms of their political significance, being identified, by some authors, as key players in the collapse of sate socialist regimes (Ryback 1990;Ž ižek 1988 5 ). From the early 1990s, as the potential for conducting primary empirical work by western scholars opened up, the study of youth culture became subject to the application of a range of external social science paradigms including: youth cultural studies (Pilkington 1994); popular music studies (Cushman 1995;Steinholt 2005); youth transitions (Roberts et al 2000;Roberts 2008;Walker 2010); adolescence, integration and identity formation (Markowitz 2000;Horowitz et al 2003); social capital and inclusion ⁄ exclusion (Stephenson 2001;Pilkington and Sharifullina 2009); the sociology of individualization and risk (Williams et al 2003); globalization and national identity (Pilkington et al 2002;Blum 2007;Ziemer 2009;Ziemer 2010); civic participation (Wallace 2003;Tereshchenko 2010); generations theory (Fürst 2010); and deviancy (Stephenson 2011). On the positive side, this has produced greater intersection between 'domestic' and 'outside' discourses as 'local' scholars have been integrated into the international research community and its dominant theoretical paradigms while 'western' researchers have undertaken more collaborative research.…”

Minority youth, everyday racism and public spaces in contemporary Russia

“…Public spaces can become sites of cultural exclusion. Sometimes young Armenians are disturbed by the open, everyday prejudice among Krasnodar's population, especially because for most of them this is the place where they feel they belong (Ziemer, 2009). Being treated as the 'other' can happen in any daily situation, for example, in shops or on public transport: Sometimes when I use public transport … You know, Armenians are always guilty … that's not comfortable, when they insult your people, but you can't be rude because your upbringing doesn't allow it.…”