Civilization identity in the regions of the North Caucasus (applying to the examples of Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria)

In the era of globalization, the problem of civilizational self-determination in Russia acquires special relevance. The North Caucasus is a multinational and multiconfessional region in which many different peoples live for many centuries. The Circassians (Adyghe) of the North Caucasus, being part of the sociocultural space of Russia, are fully influenced by the socio-political processes associated with the search for civilizational identity. The presented work is devoted to the study of the civilizational identity of the Circassians of two regions of the North Caucasus: Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria. The research reveals that among the Circassians there is no common understanding as to which culture they are currently belong to. Approximately equal proportions of respondents consider themselves belonging to the West and East cultures in Kabardino-Balkaria. In Adygea, a larger proportion of respondents consider themselves belonging to the Western culture than to Eastern one. However, in both regions, the majority of the Circassians note that they must go to the future by their own way, not focusing on either the West or the East.