ABSTRACT
Upbringing in the North Caucasus is a considerably more complex phenomenon today than it was in the time of the Soviet Union. Then, the dominant player was unquestionably the school (directed by the Communist Party), which had a role not just to impart knowledge but to mold the character of the students who passed through it. Religious and other private ‘upbringing providers’ were largely banned, and even parents were often trained to assist in the raising of model citizens of the socialist state. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the school's role has shrunk, and other actors have come in to fill the gaps. A first task of our study of modern upbringing in the region was therefore to identify the main actors and their roles. Based on focus group discussions with students we identified three main additional actors: religion, the family/clan, and customs and traditions.
