Ethnic mobilization among Russia's natives: the case of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)

This study undertakes an historical analysis of the socio-political development of indigenous peoples in Russia, with the intent of producing a theory which explains both the why and how of indigenous ethnic mobilization. It is argued that Soviet nationalities policy was key in promoting indigenous ethnic identities and in laying the foundations for their subsequent ethnic mobilization. State policies have influenced the way indigenous peoples think about their ethnic identities, the political goals they pursue, and the political strategies they employ in furthering group interests. By employing the ethnic mobilization perspective, this study argues that it structural change-- not a backlash to collective oppression nor a primordial sentiment reactivated in a modem context-- that caused indigenous ethnic mobilization within Russia. One of the most revealing findings of this study is that those variables that are responsible for the initiation of ethnic mobilization are not necessarily the same as those responsible for the success of ethnic movements. Structural change that reorganizes ethnic competition may initiate ethnic movements, while success hinges on yet a different outcome of structural change-- the generation of opposition to the political center which extends across the different classes that comprise the ethnic group. This study makes three contributions to the scholarship on ethnic mobilization: Theoretically, it advances a broader explanation of the causes and outcomes of ethnic mobilization so as to also incorporate indigenous peoples. At present, such a theoretical account does not exist and is urgently needed. Methodologically, it draws on the different possible theoretical approaches to understanding ethnic mobilization and extends the ethnic subnationalism model to explain both how and why Russia's indigenes have mobilized along ethnic lines. This study represents an original contribution in extending studies of ethnic mobilization to the indigenous Fourth World and, as a result, holds the promise of meaningfully contributing to our understanding of ethnic political mobilization. Substantively, this study offers an analysis of indigenous efforts towards greater self-determination in Russia, with specific attention to the case of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The evidence upon which this thesis is based is the historical record-- primary and secondary sources-- as well as interviews conducted with local native experts, political elites, and "ordinary" community members in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), with respect to the challenges currently faced by indigenous peoples and initiatives toward their solution.