ABSTRACT

This chapter examines Russian and titular language use within the Russian Federation approximately 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union by using language use in universities as an analytical marker. Recent studies of nation-building processes and identity formation have demonstrated that nation-building is negotiated and contested at the citizenry level. The research described in the chapter contributes to this body of work by exploring the citizen perspective of nation-building processes in the Republic of Tatarstan. At the end of the Soviet period the titular states and republics of the former Soviet Union began nation-building processes as a way to declare their identity after 74 years of cultural and linguistic repression. The Republic of Tatarstan is an apt case because it is a multi-ethnic autonomous republic situated within the political framework of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, Tatarstan is a non-Russian republic and the main religions practised are Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox.