Ethnic Policy of the Soviet Government and the Role of the Russian People in Overcoming The Autonomies’ Uneven Development in the Middle Volga Region in the 1920s–1930s

DOI: 10/33876/2311-0546/2025-3/335-347

Authors

Keywords:

ethnic policy, Russian people, Middle Volga region, USSR

Abstract

The study describes the basic principles of the ethnic policy of the Soviet government in the 1920–1930s, highlighting its stages, most prominent aspects, and the main functional directions. Among the most important aspects of the ethnic policy in the given period were the national-territorial autonomies and their institutionalization, administrative-territorial division and economic zoning, titular peoples and national minorities in the autonomies of the Middle Volga region, the formation of a Soviet in content, but ethnic in form culture of the autonomous formations within the RSFSR and the indigenization of peoples. Particular emphasis is placed on the Middle Volga region as a multi-ethnic region of the country. Significant attention is given to analyzing the Soviet government's attitude toward the status of the Russian people at certain stages of national policy and studying the processes associated with its active participation in overcoming the autonomies of the RSFSR's uneven development in the 1920s–1930s. It is concluded that by the end of the 1930s the Soviet government was able to equalize the level of socio-economic and cultural development of non-Russian peoples and their autonomies, to stabilize and strengthen the system of public administration, the natural result of which was the 1936 Constitution of the USSR and the 1937 Constitution of the RSFSR. As a result, the regional associations dissolved after completing their primary objective, and the autonomies, having significantly advanced their socio-economic and cultural development, left the regional associations to become independent in their subsequent interactions with the Center.

Author Biographies

  • Elena Mineeva, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov

    Mineeva, Elena K. — Doctor of History, Professor of the Department of Russian History, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov (Cheboksary, Russian Federation). E-mail: mineevaek21@mail.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8301-9951

  • Tatyana Ivanova, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov

    Ivanova, Tatyana N. — Doctor of History, Professor of the Department of History and Culture of Foreign Countries, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov (Cheboksary, Russian Federation). E-mail: tivanovan@mail.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2428-25-78

  • Aleksey Mineev, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov

    Mineev, Aleksey I. — Ph.D. in History, Head of the 1C Interfaculty Basic Laboratory, Chuvash State University named after I. N. Ulyanov (Cheboksary, Russian Federation). E-mail: minalig@inbox.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5791-6210

    For citation: Mineeva, E. K., T. N. Ivanova, and A. I. Mineev. 2025. Ethnic Policy of the Soviet Government and the Role of the Russian People in Overcoming The Autonomies’ Uneven Development in the Middle Volga Region in the 1920s–1930s. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 3: 335–346.

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Published

23.09.2025

Issue

No. 3 (2025): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Historiography, Schools and Concepts