Patriotic Organizations in the National Republics of the Siberian Federal District: Between National and Ethnic Identity

Abstract

As a response to the special military operation, the discourse on the “colonial” nature of the Russian Federation and the prominent local identity among students in the national-territorial regions of the SFD, such as the Republics of Altai, Khakassia and Tuva, have amplified. This poses the question of the formation of a civic identity and patriotic feelings among young people as the basis for legitimizing political institutions and structures. Important mechanisms for the consolidation and mobilization of patriotic-minded youth are patriotic organizations. As a result of content analysis of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation’s information portal, social network pages of patriotic organizations (n = 121) and expert polls of leaders and members of organizations (n = 85), the authors have identified several categories of patriotic activities, which are aimed at the formation of a civic identity and patriotic feelings among young people in the mentioned regions. It was found that in all the regions studied, organizations of a military-patriotic and military-historical orientation, focused on forming a national identity, predominate. The ethnic component in the activity of patriotic organizations is more present in Khakassia and Tuva, however, in general share of patriotic organizations its representation is insignificant. The processes of standardization and unification of methods of work, formats of events and governing structures of these organizations, associated with the majority of youth patriotic organizations coming under the patronage of the federal movement “Yunarmia”, on the one hand, level out local and ethnic identities, and on the other hand, contribute to the formation of a statist model of patriotism among youth.