Ethnic Tatars in contention for recognition and autonomy: bilingualism and pluri-cultural education policies in Tatarstan

Abstract

This article explores the development of language and education policies in the Republic of Tatarstan, a constituent of the Russian Federation, in the context of continued decline in minorities’ political nationalism between 2000 and the 2010s. The new “model of Tatarstan” relies on a close partnership with Moscow reaffirmed by an exclusive treaty on the division of powers. However, this formality does not eliminate Tatars’ cultural contention for recognition and autonomy. The case of Tatarstan speaks to both the potential and the constraints of autonomous territories that are incapable of satisfying the needs of co-nationals living beyond their administrative borders. Language policies and education practices have become a relatively autonomous area for claim-making in defense of Tatar culture as well as bilingualism and multicultural education in the region. This study reveals the interrelationship between the two components, Tatar ethno-culturalism and “pluri-culturalism,” and the encouragement of the region's diversity in the public domain of Tatarstan. Valuable in itself, the latter in a wider context appears to be a necessary condition for protecting minority groups in multinational Russia. Thus while promoting the interests of the “titular” nationality – ethnic Tatars – Tatarstan also serves the advancement of multicultural values in present-day Russia.

Keywords:

• national minorities
• multicultural education
• Tatar language
• Tatarstan republic
• Russian Federation

Notes

1. The sociological survey “The State and Dynamics of Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Religious Relations in the Republic of Tatarstan” was conducted in 2012 by the Department of Sociology at Kazan (Volga) Region Federal University (Head of the research project – R.G. Minzaripov, research team: S.A. Akhmetova, G.Ya. Guzelbayeva, L.R. Nizamova, A.N. Nurutdinova, M.Yu. Yeflova). The quota sample of 1590 respondents represented a micro-model of the adult urban and rural population of Tatarstan in terms of ethnic affiliation, territory of residence (capital city of Kazan, other large and small cities, and villages in various parts of the Republic), age, gender, and education. Sample deviation – 3.3%.

2. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan is the state body responsible for language policy and planning. The other key player in the sphere of inter-ethnic and inter-religious policy is the Ministry of Culture of the Republic.

3. Sociological survey “The State and Dynamics of Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Religious Relations in the Republic of Tatarstan.”

4. Survey data represent respondents’ self-evaluation of language competences; therefore, it is as subjective as the census data. The 2012 survey was one of the first attempts to separately measure the regional population's self-estimation of different language skills: the ability to understand, speak, read, and write in the Tatar language. More often, general language proficiency is reported. For example, the State Program “Preservation, Learning and Development of the State Languages of the Republic of Tatarstan and Other Languages in the Republic of Tatarstan between 2014–2020” reproduces data from the All-Russia Census-2010 and mentions that 92.4% of Tatars know their native language (5).

5. The idea of pluri-cultural education is better accommodated in Russia than the concept of multicultural education. There is a great bias toward multiculturalism in present-day Russia as far as multiculturalism is put in line with nationalism or separatism, which is increasingly perceived as a practice of the self-isolation of ethnic communities. Guarded political attitudes toward cultural diversity are formed under public declarations in European countries on the failure of multiculturalism.

6. The project encountered serious difficulties and was put aside after the establishment of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (KFU). Currently, Tatar-language university courses are available at the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communications and within the Program of Tatar Journalism at the Institute of Philosophy, Social Sciences, and Mass Communications of Kazan Federal University.

7. The only exception from the trend is the knowledge of the Bashkir language by Bashkirs in Tatarstan: the rate of 46.3% is lower than in Bashkortostan (67.4%), although Bashkirs, residents of Tatarstan, demonstrated rather high levels of proficiency in Tatar – 65.5%.

8. It is worth mentioning that Tatarstan has signed agreements with neighboring republics to promote cultures of titular nationalities outside of their territorial autonomies. For example, the Republic of Mordovia embraced an obligation to support Tatar minority language and culture (i.e. 5% of the republic population) in its territory, while Tatarstan takes care of 0.6% of Mordvin people in Tatarstan (Stepanov 2010).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a subsidy from the Ministry of Education and Science of the RF allocated to Kazan Federal University for the promotion of scientific research.