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Khamidullin A. The Subregional Identity of the Izhma Komi as an Aspect of its Ethnodemographic Dynamics

A. Khamidullin
The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0009-0005-4480-8284
E-mail: a.r.khamidullin@yandex.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The author undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the Izhma Komi population dynamics in the context of spatial differentiation among local communities. This differentiation results from the historical resettlement of the Izhma Komi as an ethnographic group. The regional differences have had an impact on the heterogeneity of demographic processes and the perception of the identity among the Izhma Komi. As a result, the local communities have been classified based on territorial principles. However, the use of the term “the Izhma Komi” for this ethnographic group is not entirely relevant, as it merely reflects trends in changes of the group’s identity. Therefore, the author refers to the Izhma Komi as a community for which the Izhma identity is most topical. The size of this community is a result of the actualization and support of this identity. The variability of this community, whether based on ethnicity or geography, has a significant impact on the practice of self-identification among the Izhma Komi. The decline in population can be attributed to an identity crisis among the Izhma Komi. This crisis has led to a decrease in the importance of ethnic uniqueness and an increase in the importance of the spatial factor in the elements of Izhma identity. In order to predict these processes, the author introduces the concept of “subregional identity” and provides a preliminary conceptualization of this term. This concept could be instrumental in consolidating the Izhma Komi local communities on a higher level of the territorial hierarchy.

 

KEYWORDS: Komi, Izhma Komi, Izvatas, population census, ethnicity, territorial identity, subregional identity

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2024-2(24)-167-185
UDC 314.148 

 

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