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Russian Muslim community in the spheres of book publishing, science and education.
"Izucheniye prepodavaniya Islama v Evrazii", Moscow, 2010, pp. 124-161.
F. Kuliyev,
Cand. Sc. (Hist.) (the North Caucasian Academy of State Service, Pyatigorsk) ON RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF THE PEOPLES OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS UNDER CONDITIONS OF GLOBALIZATION
The contemporary geopolitical situation in the world made of identity's formation the problem of today, which endures rather big changes and acquires many shades. Depending on the object's identification it is possible to define different types of identity: ethic, religious, confessional and national (state). The formation of identity represents in the Russian Federation an urgent problem, since the Russian identity is extremely differentiated and unsteady. Comprehending and suffering their adherence to the crossing multitude of them, individuals, social groups and societies become the carriers of a complicated plural identity. The problem of the crisis or "the loss" of identity is subject to discussion more often.
The sphere of contemporary contradictions and problems connected with the North Caucasus is rooted directly in the outcome of social-cultural transformations endured by the region for the XX century. Identity is formed and changed under the influence of social conditions as a result of group's mutual action. The individual may perceive himself as a member of many groups immediately, may change his identity and the preference in hierarchy of identities
depending on specific situation and circumstances. Only biological and anthropological identities (race, age and gender) remain unchanged. In this connection A.V. Baranov notes that social groups and individuals display in their behavior many forms of identity - ethic, gender and age, religious, political, cultural, territorial etc. The identity forms, being mutually connected, often are put one over the other, increasing the sense of originality.
At the same time, the epoch of globalization is marked by the distinctive feature - unification, when the reverse processes gain in strength: people return to their roots and start to value above all their ethnic and cultural identity and assign primary importance to identity's keeping. The influence of globalization and the pressure of mass culture lead to the situation, when the peoples in the North Caucasus become afraid of loss of their ethnic identity. Therefore they see salvation in the search for the connection with their small "Motherland", with local and regional roots. The peoples of the North Caucasus have their own perception of ethnic identity, which differs essentially from "German" conception of nation (by blood) and the "French" (by citizenship) conception of nation. As the central point of "Caucasian" identity there comes forward the native land regarded as a holy place irrespective of its geo-economic or geopolitical value.
The ethnic identity is in close reciprocal action with religious identity, which transforms into one of many and often contradictory to each other identities and which easily is getting on with them in an individual human being exactly owing to the force of its virtual nature.
The renaissance of religiousness represents one of the forms of the return of individual to the mass of people. Since religious identity possesses a rather great mobilization capacity, while groups of the main Russian confessions live in compact settlements, it is not a complicated task to foresee the lines of probable polarization and disintegration. For
the first years after disintegration of the USSR, the work carried out to maintain relations with confessions lacked initiative, and the center did not keep under its control the processes going on in the regions with Muslim population. It seems that the line of separation among regions and republics of Russia is represented by an invisible boundary, which divides Russian citizens. Evidently, it may be only the factor of disintegration of the Russian state. As long as the government will not comprehend adequately the specificity of processes going on in the regions, where people traditionally profess Islam, and will not take the corresponding actions, the development of ethnic-confessional identity in theses regions will go on just in this direction.
The religious identity is a concentrated expression of the individual's attitude, quintessence of vital problems of his "course of life" determined by his cultural competence and values' trend. At the same time, it becomes a display of hopes and illusions in the world of social relations, including ideals of social construction of the world and the state of inter-cultural and inter-civilization's contacts, which fell to these peoples' lot. The positive formation of ethnic-confessional identity in various parts of the planet is hindered everywhere by the modernization's impulse personifying a dynamic leitmotiv of globalization's processes.
Analyzing the role of Islam in the North Caucasus, the scientific community stressed existence of three models: the first model is represented by the peoples of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, where deep-rooted Islam has rather great influence; the second model is represented by Karachai-Chercessia and Kabardino-Balkaria, where its influence is essential but not sufficient to have a significant impact on the social-cultural and political situation; the third model includes Adygeya, partially North Ossetia and Abkhazia, where the religious situation is characterized as follows: the people regard themselves as
Muslim believers but lack good acquaintance with Islam or do not know its teaching well or do not know it at all, perform partially or do not perform at all the main part of religious directions, orient to "mundane" way of life as a whole.
In this connection, the education and cultural practice based on the known values, becomes a significant means for the struggle against hatred and intolerance, for overcoming the barriers created by the efforts of certain political forces urging towards utilization of cultural and religious ignorance for achievement of personal political aims.
The Russian Federation as a poly-ethnic state unites various ethnic-cultural types, where social-political life in each of them, despite their specifics, is determined by general identity of the state. In Russia, like in the whole world, the region becomes a significant factor of political process, where national and transnational forces confront local demands. The regions as subjects of political relations under conditions of globalization of the world play a more substantial role in inter-state processes. Among the reasons making urgent in contemporary circumstances the identity of Russia one should stress, on the one side, the urge towards all-civil and all-national identification priorities and, on the other side, the preservation of its cultural originality. The regional peculiarity shaped within the state is unable to undermine the national interests of the country and its identity. The plurality, which is characteristic to identity, according to S. Huntington, represents a product of self-identification, of understanding the fact that possession of special qualities as a human being, who distinguishes me from you and us from them, may not and should not pass to the phase of self-generation aimed at historic and political alienation and territorial disintegration of the state.
Russia characterized by a long history of cultural variety in terms of religions and religious outlook, languages, definite ethnic groups and
intensive migration processes regards cultural variety as a resource to an even greater degree. In this context, the North Caucasus is a specific region of Russia. This region demonstrates the exclusive diversity of ethnic groups: proper ethnic, ethnic-linguistic, ethnic-regional, clannish etc. The peoples speaking the languages of some big groups (Indo-European, Turkic, Kartvel and North Caucasian groups) live on its territory. The largest world confessions are widely spread in the Caucasus.
Russia is marked by its unique experience in the long and tolerant coexistence of various cultures and confessions. For the time being, it has not been adequately comprehended and converted into social technologies. The specific feature of Russia in terms of variety and diversity of its cultures, i.e. the dual identity inherent in Russian civilization was taken into account by its history. For the historic period, the bilingual and multilingual culture created the Russian common character. In contemporary circumstances the dual identity should not be forgotten and should be constantly taken into account in current political practice. G.S. Kiselyov correctly asserts that Russians have double identity, i.e. feel themselves being simultaneously the citizens of the multinational state and the representatives of the certain people and religion. Such double identification is the indispensable condition of the sustainable existence of any multinational state.
Under conditions of cultures and civilizations opposition, the double identity is the "protective" basis for prevention of "washing out" the territorial integrity. The researchers and journalists should overcome the citizens' perceptions forming degeneration of the unsustainable national identification's consciousness, while in case of use of other cultures, aggressively advancing under conditions of globalizing world, they should overcome its dependence on other civilizations and cultures. Of great danger is not only the self-
renunciation of values of national culture, but also the thoughtless infatuation with global culture. Global culture is not neutral. It issues from different centers - "gates of globalization", which accumulate huge resources coming forward as translators of information flows and cultures.
The identification of contemporary Russia should go on in the channel of its unique history and culture. No state can exist without knowledge by its citizens of its history and respect to the notions, such as discipline, honesty, moral principles and cultural values.
Under contemporary conditions, the natural way for Russia consists in cultivation of double identity: cultural-ethnic (religious) and all-civil, political. They should not break or oppose each other, but should supplement the failing aspects going well together with each other. The state should display a constant readiness to make big expenses for education and by means of new education programs to improve quality characteristics of the new generation and to win it over to its side in terms of politics. The role of new technological instruments of identity's construction is as follows: mass media and Internet should determine the state's priorities in the all-civil sphere.
The identification's adherence is conditioned by the historic past. The identification's parameters are formed for the long time, and just their succession defines the historic sustainability.
In order to form the realistic perception of perspectives of the North Caucasus it is needed, first, to be able to define the constants in the social-historic development of the region for the whole period of its being a part of Russia, second, to be able to allot in the current situation the basic public processes, which will determine the future for the long-term perspective. The way to their positive realization by political practice is assured not so much by the governance of the territories or of the population, as by the governance of basic social processes going
on in the region. And just such processes are going on at present in economy, ethnic-demographic structure and culture of the North Caucasus. The separate solutions for solving these problems do not exist, and they are not simply mutually connected but are mutually conditioned. The long-term, targeted and consecutive policy of complex regional modernization is a must.
Thus, the ethnic and religious identity is the dominant factor of the processes of constructing identity in the North Caucasus, while their intensity and direction are determined by historic and cultural pre-conditions within the framework of political process.
"De Caucaso: istoriko-etnograficheski almanah ", Karachaevsk, 2010, pp. 65-70.
V. Nikerov,
Political analyst (Ulyanovsk)
FROM FUKUSHIMA TO LIBYA: POLITICIZATION
OF PIPELINE RIVALRY ON THE CASPIAN
ENERGY SCENE
A vivid example of the politicization of energy projects, which turn from business plans to propaganda serials, is provided by the "Nabucco" gas pipeline project. Many people regard it as an "idée fixe" of American and European politicians.
The present round of politicization is developing in the context of the growing demand for natural gas after the man-triggered disaster at the Japanese "Fukushima" nuclear power plant and refusal of many European countries to continue the development of nuclear power production.
"Nabucco" vs the "Southern Flow" is one of the most bitter and prolonged battles in the war for the fuel-and-power future of Europe,
