Childbearing age in Dagestan: significance of the ethnic factor under the conditions of modernization

The article deals with fertility in the Republic of Dagestan, which markedly differs from the Russian average in fertility timing: the mean age of mother at the first childbirth in Dagestan is not rising and remains at a relatively low level. And there are significant differences between the ethnic groups in the republic that from the point of the demographic theory seems quite unexpected against the background of the ongoing modernization changes in the republic. Based on the analysis of the data from the All-Russian population census - 2010 and from the survey conducted by the authors in Dagestan, the article shows that the ethnic differences in the age of mothers at the first childbirth are remaining, even among women with high education level and younger age cohorts. Lack of neutralization of the ethnic differences by the character of childbearing in the educated groups of population is quite a rare phenomenon that needs a special explanation. Its possible social and cultural origins are the subject of discussion.