Elena Favarisovna Sayfutdiyarova,
Birsky branch of Bashkir State University,
10 Internatsionalnaya Str., Birsk, 452453, Russia,
saifi@inbox.ru.
This article presents the results of a study which aims to identify the ways that Tatar ethnic groups living in the Republic of Bashkortostan perceive their own and other ethnic groups, such as the Bashkir, the Russian, and the Mari. The empirical study of Tatar ethnic groups in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and other regions enabled the author to come to the conclusion that their representatives are characterized by the predominance of a positive type of ethnic self-awareness and ethnic identity. This article presents the results of the empirical research which reflect distinctive features of the ethnic identity of young Tatar students living in Bashkortostan and display differences in the Tatars’ concepts of group value orientations with respect to their own and other ethnic groups. The results show that the Tatars tend to attribute similar qualities to the representatives of their own group and the Bashkir ethnic group (law-abiding, striving to preserve traditions, tolerant and ready for mutual assistance), while their idea of the Russians and the Mari is of a different character.
Key words: interethnic perceptions, ethnic identity, ethnicity, different