Students’ research in urban anthropology to help preserve unique cultures

The project is undertaken by the Department of Anthropology and Ethnography.

“Urban communities present a mixture of various cultures,” says Professor Tatyana Titova. “For instance, Kazan has an entanglement of indigenous peoples, non-indigenous peoples who immigrated during Soviet and post-Soviet years, and new migrant communities – ethnocultural processes are very intense in this urban environment, so it’s very diverse and somewhat conflict-generating.”

In the last few years, students have been conducting socio-anthropological surveys in various neighborhoods of Kazan, including seven such projects in the summer of 2021. They studied history, demographics, everyday movement and work routines of local dwellers, as well as businesses and community organizations of those neighborhoods.

Apart from that, in 2021 KFU experts were approached by a local benefactor who provides free meals for the disadvantaged. He wanted to have a clearer understanding of the social characteristics of disadvantaged people and find out what led them to the dire life circumstances. The students concluded that the main contributing factors here were lack of willpower, complicated starting conditions, and neglect by close people.

The Department of Anthropology and Ethnography also studies interethnic and interreligious processes. Russia has a number of regions with highly diverse ethnic composition, such as Siberia, Far East, North Caucus, and the Volga-Urals Region. Students also tackle these topics during their field research. “We must preempt interethnic conflicts. It’s important to know where we have problems in this area,” adds Professor Titova.

The Republic of Tatarstan alone has representatives of 173 ethnicities, and there are over 5 thousand in Russia.

 

Source text: Alina Minnevalieva

Photo: Department of Anthropology and Ethnography

Translation: Yury Nurmeev