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Andreev A., Isalimova A. Statistical Measurement of the Index of Politicized Ethnic Identity among the Kazakh Population of the Russian Border Region (Data from a Pilot Project)

A. Andreev
Saint Petersburg State University
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-0431-2648
E-mail: a.a.andreev@spbu.ru  

 

A. Isalimova
Saint Petersburg State University
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0009-0005-4939-8325
E-mail: isalimova04@mail.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The politicization of ethnicity, driven by multiple factors such as interethnic tension and state national policy, is present to some extent in all regions of the Russian Federation. It becomes most evident in situations described in scholarly literature as Brubaker’s Triad. The Russian-Kazakh borderland serves as a unique “mirror” triad case, since both Russians and Kazakhs reside on each side of the border. At the same time, the Kazakh population of Russian border regions is of particular interest, as Kazakhstan itself more fully represents a “nationalizing” state. This article presents the results of a pilot study measuring the level of politicization of Kazakh ethnic identity in these territories. For a comprehensive analysis, an Integrated Politicization of Ethnicity Index was developed, combining four indicators: representation, conflict, mobilization, and localization. The empirical basis consists of 115 questionnaires collected via an online survey among ethnic Kazakhs, with quotas by gender and settlement type. The findings show a low level of ethnic politicization among Kazakhs in the borderland, despite a high degree of ethnocultural identification and internal consolidation. The results indicate the dominance of the cultural and symbolic dimensions of ethnicity over political activity, suggesting a latent phase of politicization among the Kazakh population of Russia’s border regions.

 

KEYWORDS: identity, ethnicity, politicization, borderlands, ethnopolitical processes, national policy

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2026-1(31)-274-293
UDC 316.75

 

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