Republic of Tatarstan

2025. Vol.10. №4.

“Small homeland” in the big city: The role of regional communities in identity formation (on the example of the Republic of Tatarstan)

Jan 14 2026

Sagdieva E. A. “Small homeland” in the big city: The role of regional communities in identity formation (on the example of the Republic of Tatarstan) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №4. P. 208-229.

EDN: UWKQIC

Annotation

The article considers fellowmen communities in municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan as a form of informal self-organization and influential elements in the regional social-cultural life. These communities are analyzed as erroneous forms of unification of Tatarstan rural residents in cities, which perform social, cultural and communicative functions. Based on empirical observations, interviews and case studies, the author shows how fellowmen communities become a space for reproducing local identity and maintaining horizontal connections and a symbol of the “small homeland”; considers their integration into the system of power relations and their role in the territorial social-economic development; explains transformation of regional communities from informal mutual aid groups to structured entities interacting with the authorities, business and cultural organizations, supporting social-cultural practices, symbolic politics and informal legitimation. The theoretical basis of the study includes the concepts of local identity, social networks, P. Bourdieu’s theory of capital and theory of patron-client relations, which allows to interpret regional communities not as relics of rural culture but as contemporary dynamic formations integrated into the regional governance system. Thus, the study reveals mechanisms for preserving local communities and new forms of collectivity emerging at the intersection of urbanization, migration and cultural self-determination, which helps to understand hybrid models of regional development.

Keywords

Communities, Republic of Tatarstan, local identity, territorial identity, network relations, local community, social charity.

About the author

Elvina A. Sagdieva, PhD (Sociology), Senior Researcher, Department for Ethnological Research, Marjani Institute of History, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Baturina St. 7, Kazan, 420111, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Additional Info

Submitted Thursday, 31 July 2025
Reviewed Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Copyright © Auhtors, 2025
Distribution Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

2023. Vol.8. №4.

Tatarstan: rural-urban development under the spatial trends of 1990–2020

Apr 09 2024

Nefedova T. G. Tatarstan: rural-urban development under the spatial trends of 1990–2020 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2023. V.8. №4. P. 102-120.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2023-8-4-102-120

Annotation

The article examines the main trends in the economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan from 1990 to 2020 and identifies some consequences of the 2022 sanctions for these trends. The author stresses the role of Tatarstan in the life of European Russia, showing the spatial structure of its settlements and economy. The article outlines the differences in the Tatarstan industrial production, trade and agriculture by district and presents the key trends in their changes over thirty years on maps and figures. The author identifies the features of rural areas under study based on the ethnic composition of their population, distance from cities and economic transformations in agriculture. The author pays special attention to agroholdings that play an important role in the social-economic development of Tatarstan and provides examples from the history of some agroholdings to prove their impact on the economic development of rural areas. However, the role of small business in the development of rural areas is also explained, and the issues of rural development in some areas are examined in detail. The author concludes with a list of main problems in the development of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Keywords

Republic of Tatarstan, settlement, agglomeration, ethnic composition of the population, industry, agriculture, agroholdings, small business.

About the author

Tatyana G. Nefedova, DSc (Geography), Chief Researcher, Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Staromonetny per., 29, Moscow, 119017.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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