Brian Donahoe

Size and Place in the Construction of Indigeneity in the Russian Federation

Within the Russian Federation there are nearly 200 recognized “nationalities,” approximately 130 of which could claim to be “indigenous.” However, only 45 peoples are officially recognized as “indigenous small‐numbered peoples of the Russian Federation” and thereby qualify for the rights, privileges, and state support earmarked for indigenous peoples. This status is conditioned upon a maximum group size of 50,000. While experts insist that this numerical criterion is provisional and without serious political implications, our fieldwork demonstrates that it has become a social fact that cannot be ignored, especially in light of the 2002 All‐Russia Census and the release of its results in 2004. This numerical benchmark forces a dichotomization into small‐numbered versus non‐small‐numbered peoples and creates a peculiar type of identity politics based on ethnic‐group size. The “indigenous small‐numbered” status is also conditioned upon a set of overlapping but often contradictory residency requirements. Using case studies from southern Siberia and the north of European Russia, we document the dynamic interplay between these dimensions of identity and the opportunities for maneuvering in the competition for the benefits that attach to certain categories. However, indigenous peoples who engage in such identity politics run the risk of becoming “incarcerated” within the confines of those categories.

On the creation of indigenous subjects in the Russian Federation

For many of Russias poorest people, and especially for the officially recognized ‘indigenous small-numbered peoples’, neoliberal reforms following the collapse of the Soviet Union represented a major retrenchment in ‘social citizenship’ as defined by T.H. Marshall. However, some reforms also promised increased civil, political and cultural citizenship rights, which Russias indigenous peoples have sought to realize through new legislation and appeals to international agreements regarding the rights of indigenous peoples. But with Russias current economic and political course geared towards maximizing revenues from the extraction and sale of natural resources, Russias indigenous peoples have been frustrated in their efforts to realize these citizenship rights, particularly in their attempts to assert rights to land and resources through legal means. This paper draws on case studies from southern Siberia to discuss first how Russias identity politics and an international focus on indigenous peoples have combined to create indigenous subjects in the Russian Federation, and second how the anticipated transition from indigenous subjects to indigenous citizens has for the most part failed to materialize.