Population Сensuses in the Tatar-bashkir Border Region: Politicization of Ethnostatistics

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2021-3/17-23

Abstract

The article analyzes the ethnic statistics in the Republic of Bashkortostan based on the data of the last three population censuses of 1989, 2002 and 2010, and the micro-census of 2015. It analyzes demographic, informational, administrative, ideological factors that affect the results of the censuses. It is concluded that there are no ethnocultural differences between Tatars and Bashkirs in western Bashkiria, while the watershed exists only at the level of people's self-consciousness. However, the censuses themselves always create excessive interethnic tension and the escalation of negative stereotypes. There is also an information confrontation in the media and social networks between the parties, which resembles the eve of election campaigns when certain socio-political forces are fighting for votes. Of course, this information confrontation during the censuses has a negative impact on the interethnic climate in the republic as a whole. It is exactly because of excessive politicization and the use of administrative resources that the official census results do not adequately reflect the objective ethnic picture and ethnodemographic processes in the region. The article suggests specific practical measures to mitigate tension during the census.

For Citation: Gabdrafikov, Ildar M. 2021. Population Сensuses in the Tatar-bashkir Border Region: Politicization of Ethnostatistics. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 3: 17-23.