RUSSIANS IN POST SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA: IDENTITY IN A NATIONALIZING STATE

Abstract

The main approaches to the definition of the ethnonym «Russians» in Central Asia, mainly on the example of Uzbekistan, is analyzed in the article. In the article is revealed also conditions that make it possible to assign Uzbekistan to «nationalizing states». Summarizing the available field data, the author identifies several aspects which characterize the identity of the «Russians» in Uzbekistan, it might be extrapolated to similar identification processes of Russians in other republics of the region: ethnocultural local identity, adaptation of the «Russians» to the culture of the indigenous population, religious syncretism among people from mixed ethnoconfessional marriages, the preservation of Russian language position, etc.