Ethnocultural identity in the sociocultural space of a polyethnic region: philosophical and anthropological analysis

The study deals with ethnocultural identity as the basic determinant of the existence of an individual in the sociocultural space of a polyethnic region. The paper highlights the essential characteristics of the preservation of ethnic culture and ethnocultural identity functioning. The author reveals a tendency to de-emphasize the importance of the ethnic component of identity in the structure of people’s social identity by a case study of the republics of Southern Siberia. It is concluded that the present-day ethnocultural identity is updated through in-group similarity and out-group differentiation. In-group similarity is achieved through the development of ethnic culture and its adaptation to global trends in cultural development (neotraditionalism). Out-group differentiation occurs under conditions of active communication between an individual and members of other ethnic groups, and it is most often updated by migrants. There is a dynamic trend towards transcultural phenomenon in sociocultural spaces of polyethnic regions. Ethnocultural identity allows people to retain their individuality and otherness through the intercultural dialog.