The main aspects of ethnic identity among the members of the "Polish Cultural Center “Polish House” in Tomsk"
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2023-1-118-126
The article deals with the importance of individual self-perception factors (language, religion, culture, historical memory) for maintaining Polish ethnic identity among the regional public organization “Polish House” members in Tomsk in the late 2010s. The main theoretical foundations of the work are the constructivist approach of the theory of ethnos (R. Brubaker, V.A. Tishkov) and the theory of historical memory (M. Halbwaks). Ethnic autostereotypes of this group are examined. The variability and contextuality of self-determination on an ethnic or political basis depending on the context of circumstances are shown: from the ethnonym “Pole” to the politonym “Russian” It is shown how important it is for the respondents to learn/know Polish, as it is one of the components of their identity. The majority of respondents know Polish or are learning it. As the authors noted, religious affiliation and commitment to Catholicism are not crucial for self-awareness as a Pole. The issue of preserving historical memory as a factor of ethnic identity is considered separately. The interviewees pointed out the importance of family history and archival materials (letters, photo albums) for the transmission of traditions and participation in the history of the Polish people. Poles from Siberia came here at various times in the XIX and XX centuries. In most cases, these were not voluntary resettlements. The authors studied the issues of the integration of Poles into Russian society. According to the study results, most respondents believe that Poles are fully integrated into Russian society. But, unfortunately, the Russian public sometimes extrapolates the actions and statements of Polish politicians to all Poles, which can have a negative impact on the attitude of Russians toward this ethnic group. The survey results show that the self-confidence of Russian Poles who have Polish ancestors (or suspect that they have Polish ancestors) is ambivalent and depends on external factors. Furthermore, they show the great importance of historical (collective) memory, which is the most important marker of the identity of Russian Poles, while linguistic and religious markers do not play such an important role.
Keywords: Poles, Russian Poles, Siberia, ethnic identity, historical memory, autostereotypes, constructivism, public organizations
References:
Arnautova Yu. A. Kul'tura vospominaniya i istoriya pamyati [The culture of remembrance and the history of memory] // History and memory: the historical culture of Europe before the beginning of the New Age. Moscow, 2006. P. 47–55 (in Russian).
Bromley Yu. V. Ocherki teorii etnosa [Essays on the theory of ethnos]. Moscow: Nauka, 1983. 418 p. (in Russian).
Vasiliev A. G. Kul'turnaya pamyat'/zabvenie i nacional'naya identichnost': teoreticheskie osnovaniya analiza [Cultural memory/oblivion and national identity: theoretical foundations of analysis] // Cultural memory in the context of the formation of Russia's national identity in the XXI century. Moscow, 2015. P. 29–57 (in Russian).
Diaspory v istoricheskom vremeni i prostranstve: nacional'naya situaciya v Vostochnoj Sibiri [Diasporas in historical time and space: the national situation in Eastern Siberia]. Irkutsk: Publishing house of Irkutsk state. university, 1994. 201 p. (in Russian).
Evgenyeva T. V. Politicheskie predstavleniya v kontekste istoricheskoj pamyati: obrashchenie k proshlomu v situacii krizisa identichnosti [Political representations in the context of historical memory: turning to the past in an identity crisis situation] // News of the Tula State University. 2013. No. 3. P. 158–167 (in Russian).
Istoriya i kul'tura polyakov Sibiri [History and culture of the Poles of Siberia]. Krasnoyarsk, 2006. 132 p. (in Russian).
Itogi Vserossijskoj perepisi naseleniya 2010 goda v otnoshenii demograficheskih i social'no-ekonomicheskih harakteristik otdel'nyh nacional'nostej [The results of the All-Russian population census of 2010 in relation to demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individual nationalities] // Federal State Statistics Service [Electronic resource]. URL: http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/results2.html (Date of access: 06/20/2021) (in Russian).
Korneva V. Yu. Tomskie polyaki: k voprosu o samosoznanii i etnonime [Tomsk Poles: on the issue of self-consciousness and ethnonym] // Rocznik Instytutu Polsko-Rosyjskiego (Yearbook of the Russian-Polish Institute). 2016. No 1(9). P. 5–12 (in Russian).
Novoselova M. R. Sociokul'turnyj oblik sovremennoj sibirskoj Polonii na primere dannyh anketirovaniya chlenov PKPO «Ognivo» v Irkutske [Sociocultural image of modern Siberian Polonia on the example of data from a survey of members of Polish cultural organization ‘Ognivo’ in Irkutsk] // East and Russia: a view from Siberia. Irkutsk, 1996. P. 374–378 (in Russian).
Polonii v Sibiri, v Rossii i v mire: problemy izucheniya [Polonia in Siberia, in Russia and in the world: problems of study]. Irkutsk, 2006. 194 p. (in Russian).
Polyaki v Sibiri. Polyaki o Sibiri [Poles in Siberia. Poles about Siberia]. - Tomsk: Publishing House of the Tomsk State Pedagogical University, 2012. 267 p. (in Russian).
Polyaki v Sibiri: ot povstancev 1863 g. do sovremennoj Polonii [Poles in Siberia: from the rebels of 1863 to modern Polonia]. Krasnoyarsk, 2014. 226 p. (in Russian).
Polyaki na Altae. Altaj v Pol'she (XVIII – XXI vv.) [Poles in Altai. Altai in Poland (XVIII–XXI centuries)]. Barnaul, 2013. 174 p. (in Russian).
Problemy rossijsko-pol'skoj istorii i kul'turnyj dialog [Problems of Russian-Polish history and cultural dialogue]. Novosibirsk: Institute of History of Siberian branch of RAS, 2014. 576 p. (in Russian).
Protasenya E. A. Istoricheskaya pamyat' kak faktor formirovaniya etnicheskoj identichnosti [Historical memory as a factor in the formation of ethnic identity] // Bulletin of the Nizhny Novgorod State University. 2016. Issue. 2. P. 175–180 (in Russian).
Repina L. P. Istoricheskaya pamyat' i sovremennaya istoriografiya [Historical memory and modern historiography] // New and contemporary history. 2004. No 5. P. 33–45 (in Russian).
Sibirskaya poloniya: proshloe, nastoyashchee, budushchee [Siberian Polonium: past, present, future]. Tomsk, 1999. 232 p. (in Russian).
Sibirsko-Pol'skaya istoriya i sovremennost': aktual'nye voprosy [Siberian-Polish history and modernity: topical issues. Irkutsk, 2001. 365 p. (in Russian).
Sibir' v istorii i kul'ture pol'skogo naroda [Siberia in the history and culture of the Polish people]. Moscow, 2002. 568 p. (in Russian).
Halbvaks M. Kollektivnaya i istoricheskaya pamyat' [Collective and historical memory] // Emergency reserve. 2005. Issue No 2–3. P. 8–27 (in Russian).
Polonia w Rosji: historia i dzień dzisiejszy. Moscow, 2000. 145 p. (in Polish).
( 167.99 kB ) 
( 140.8 kB )
Issue: 1, 2023
Series of issue: Issue 1
Rubric: ANTHROPOLOGY
Pages: 118 — 126
Downloads: 257