Konstantin Zamyatin | University of Turku (original) (raw)

Papers by Konstantin Zamyatin

Herald of Perm University. Political Science. Vol. 18. № 3, 2024

Sociolinguistics , 2023

plurality of subjects of language policy. In this article, based on the analysis of documents and... more plurality of subjects of language policy. In this article, based on the analysis of documents and speeches of officials, participant observation and personal experience of participating in the practice of language policy, I analyze discourses and communicative practices in the process of adjusting bureaucratic and academic discourses when developing drafts of the Concept of Language Policy. It seems to me that despite the existence of significant differences in discourses and practices, agreement can be achieved, since the disagreements are rooted in attitudes that are not mutually exclusive but largely complementary to each other.

Sociolinguistics, 2023

В силу ряда исторических и структурных причин исследования языковой политики в России до сих пор ... more В силу ряда исторических и структурных причин исследования языковой политики в России до сих пор полностью не выделились из социолингвистики и не стали предметом политической науки, как это изначально произошло при становлении междисциплинарного проекта исследований языковой политики в западной науке. Такое положение в исследованиях проявляется, например, в отсутствии в России соответствующих научных структур. В данной статье я сосредоточусь на анализе проблемы междисциплинарности в теориях языковой политики в мировой и российской науке, чтобы понять характер взаимодействия практики языковой политики и ее исследований в стране. Я утверждаю, что в текущей ситуации именно нерешенность проблемы междисциплинарности предопределяет ограниченность влияния российской прикладной науки на собственно практику языковой политики. Ограниченное влияние науки, в свою очередь, выражается в отсутствии институциализации языковой политики в качестве отдельного направления государственной политики и отдельной отрасли государственного управления. В условиях высокой неопределенности включение подходов публичной политики имеет решающее значение для успеха междисциплинарных исследовательских проектов по изучению языковой политики, поскольку они позволяют учитывать переменные, вытекающие из случайности и непредсказуемости политической жизни.

The focus of this report and the role of Karelian in Russia within Map 1 Map 2 Map showing the Re... more The focus of this report and the role of Karelian in Russia within Map 1 Map 2 Map showing the Republic of Karelia and the two Finnish regions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Kar elian_dialects.png Schematic map of the dialects of the Karelian language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Karelia_toda y.png Case-Specific Report: Karelian language in Russia 5 ELDIA-European language diversity for all the ELDIA project is on Olonets Karelian. However, the Russian language sociological and administrative systems often do not distinguish between various groups. Consequently, we have preferred to apply the broad concept of Karelian (language) in this report. Putting aside the issue of classification of Olonets Karelian and Lude as the dialects or separate languages, the term "Karelian language" is applied in this report to all three main branches, unless Olonets Karelian and Lude are mentioned separately. For almost thousand years, there has been intensive interaction between speakers of what later became Karelian and Northwest dialects of Russian. Ancestors of Karelians became a minority in the historical territory of the contemporary Republic of Karelia due to gradual influx of Slavic populations, which began already in 11th century and lasted for centuries. From the 19th century the Russian language started to dominate gradually even stronger over Karelian. In the 20 th century dramatic changes followed the processes of modernization of 1930-s, WWII, after-war building, when major transfers of population took place. Thus, Karelians have been minority with respect to Russians for a long period of time. The Karelians living in the Republic of Karelia are in the main focus of this report, because it is referred their "titular republic", whereas in the other regions of Russia they are few and do not have any collective status. Nowadays the main ethnic groups (or «peoples», both terms typically used in Russian context) inhabiting the territory of Karelia are the Karelians, Veps, and Russians. In Russian public discourse Karelians are the «titular people» of the Republic of Karelia. Being the titular people, they are not referred in legislation to as a national or ethnic minority, although they have been in minority already at the time of the creation of the Republic. Neither are Karelians officially counted as an indigenous people like, for example, Veps. Karelians are not in the list of «indigenous small-in-number people of the Russian Federation», because the latter category is applied according to legislation only to «peoples», which preserve traditional livelihoods, lead traditional way of life and number less than 50 thousand people (Federal Law on Indigenous Small-In-Number Peoples 1999, Unified List of Indigenous Small-In-Number Peoples 2006). Karelians are an ethnic category of Russian, Soviet and All-Russia's population censuses. The existence of Karelians as an ethnic entity nowadays is fixed in legal acts (laws, decrees and others), implementation programs. It is reflected in the data of population censuses, data on current statistics, and documentation of national NGOs. Case-Specific Report: Karelian language in Russia 6 ELDIA-European language diversity for all The regular complex research on history and culture of all groups of Karelians started in Russia at the beginning of 1920-s. Material culture, everyday life, family, matrimonial law and customs, rites and music of Karelians were studied. Since the second half of 1940-s, ethnogenesis, ethnic history, structure of the Karelian language, folklore, material culture, family structure, everyday life and culture of woodcutters were actively investigated. Since the end of 1960-s, study of arts and crafts of Karelians, of linguistic and ethno-cultural processes was initiated. During the last twenty years particular attention has been paid to the issues of preservation, usage and development of the Karelian language, study of calendar ceremonial rites, customs and beliefs of Karelians. The following institutions were historically in charge in Russia for exploration of these issues (Nikolskaya 1976): Commission for the Study of the Tribal Composition of the Population of the Borderlands of Russia (KIPS), Karelian State Museum of Petrozavodsk, Leningrad Department of the Russian Museum, Moscow Institute of Ethnography (later, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russia's Academy of Sciences), Institute of the Language, Literature, and History of the Karelian Scientific Center of the USSR (later Russia's) Academy of Sciences. Documents and other materials are stored in the National Archives of the Republic of Karelia and Karelian State Archives of the Newest History. In Finland studies on the Karelian language are conducted in the Karelian Institute of the University of Joensuu, the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland and the Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies of the University of Helsinki. Karelians are the autochthonous population of the North coast of Ladoga Lake and the isthmus between Ladoga and Onega Lake. According to an old theory, at the end of 14th, during the 15th and 16th century the ancestors of present-day Karelians started to move to the North in the direction of the White Sea, where in the 16th-18th century the group of Proper Karelians was formed, and to the East to the areas of the Olonets Isthmus, as the groups of Olonets Karelians and Ludes were formed (Bubrikh 1947: 31-40). In the 17th century there was a wave of mass migration of Karelians to the inland areas of Russia. The issue of autochtonity of Karelians in Karelia is settled, although it does not have further legal and political implications. This explanation has later been modified but, in principle, the idea of a gradual diffusion and areal splitting of the Karelian varieties is still accepted. In all areas, Karelian must be considered as an autochtonous language. The only exception is the Tver Case-Specific Report: Karelian language in Russia 7 ELDIA-European language diversity for all

The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages , 2022

The study explores Russia's language policy in its connection to the nation-building project. The... more The study explores Russia's language policy in its connection to the nation-building project. The data demonstrate that, in the recent years, the policy-makers have increased their efforts at strengthening the position of Russian both in Russia and abroad. The policy analysis reveals that the intention is to use the language as a tool to foster national identity. However, this might be not as easy a task as one might assume because language itself influences the choice of strategy in the nation-building process.

The International Journal of Human Rights, 2021

Until recently, not only students of the titular nationalities (ethnicities) learned their native... more Until recently, not only students of the titular nationalities (ethnicities) learned their native language but also ethnic Russians and other nationalities in some ethnic republics of Russia had to learn titular state languages of those republics. The political campaign in Russia against the compulsory teaching of state languages of republics started two years ago and culminated in the adoption of the amendment to the Russian education law on 3 August 2018. 1 The law enacted some additional mechanisms to ensure the voluntary study of non-Russian languages. 2 The law adoption signified the escalation of the conflict around linguistic rights and the compulsory study of state language. The problem is that the official discources typically overshadow the discourses of individuals and non-govenrmental ogranization who have their own language attitudes and agendas, which distorts the depiction of the conflict. In this paper, we will study official and public discourses together, combining the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' perspectives, in order to explore both the language policy and language ideologies, and, thus, to provide a multifaceted picture of the conflict. We use policy analysis and discourse analysis to study official documents, surveys, mass media, social media discussions.

Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen, 2018

The paper evaluates language policies of the ethnic republics of Russia titled aft er the ethnic ... more The paper evaluates language policies of the ethnic republics of Russia titled aft er the ethnic groups speaking Finno-Ugric languages in order to understand why the policies had limited impact on their sociolinguistic situations. Th is is an empirical-analytical study based on quantitative research that investigates within the framework of policy analysis the link between policy outputs and outcomes in order to test the hypothesis that changes in behaviour and attitudes can be traced back to the patterns of language management. Th e study produces a systematized set of data on measures taken to create the conditions for language knowledge, use and attitudes in the republics and searches for correlations among variables. Th e sources of quantitative data include legal and other offi cial documents, accessible offi cial statistics and available sociological and sociolin-guistic surveys. Such a policy evaluation contributes to the theoretical understanding of the limits of the revivalist project pursued as a "top-down" public policy.

Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakausilehti, 2013

Most of Russia’s national republics established titular and Russian as co-official state language... more Most of Russia’s national republics established titular and Russian as co-official state languages in their constitutions of the early 1990s. There is no consensus on the reasons and consequences of this act, whether it should be seen as a mere symbolic gesture, a measure to ensure a language revival, an instrument in political debate or an ethnic institution. From an institutional and comparative perspective, this study explores the constitutional systems of the Finno-Ugric republics and demonstrates that across the republics, the official status of the state languages was among the few references to ethnicity built into their constitutions. However, only in the case of language requirements for the top officials, its inclusion could be interpreted as an attempt at instrumentally using ethnicity for political ends. Otherwise, constitutional recognition of the state languages should be rather understood as an element of institutionalized ethnicity that remains a potential resource for political mobilization. This latter circumstance might clarify why federal authorities could see an obstacle for their Russian nation-building agenda in the official status of languages.

Minority political participation under majority domination: a case study of Russia's Republic of ... more Minority political participation under majority domination: a case study of Russia's Republic of Mari El The paper will study ethnic politics in the Republic of Mari El throughout the post-Soviet period in order to explore the phenomenon of ethnic political participation in the republics of Russia. The paper will start with examining the patterns of ethnic political participation in regions in their connection to methods of diversity management. Next, the paper will present a case study on ethnic aspects of politics in the Republic of Mari El with a focus on party politics and personalized politics. Finally, the paper will analyse the developments that contributed to the establishment of the system of ethnic domination and backed some ethnic political participation in this republic.

The paper presents an analysis of the political confrontation between the new ruling group and th... more The paper presents an analysis of the political confrontation between the new ruling group and the political opposition in the Republic of Mari El, which began in the early 2000s and subsequently erupted into an open ethnopolitical conflict� Based on some theoretical perspectives on conflict and diversity management, the paper analyzes the structural characteristics and the dynamics of the conflict in Mari El� The analysis reveals that authoritarian tendencies in the republic largely contributed to the eruption of the conflict and predetermined the choice of methods of conflict management�

The paper explores political representation of the major ethnic groups in the republics of Russia... more The paper explores political representation of the major ethnic groups in the republics of Russia, in order to elucidate the role of ethnicity in regional politics under an authoritarian turn in the late 2000s-early 2010s. To assess quantitative data, the study develops a model to analyse patterns of ethnic representation. The data analysis demonstrates that, at least in some republics, ethnicity was among the major principles in power distribution and regional regimes seem to have relied in managing diversity largely on either ethnic domination or on regional power-sharing. Based on a structural approach, the structural factors that contributed to these outcomes are analysed, taking into account a range of variables that characterize the ethnic situations of the republics and their political regimes. The findings of this study point at the persistence of ethnic representation as a practice in the formation of the republics' officialdoms under the authoritarian regime.

This paper explores the impact of the political regime change in post-Soviet Russia on the countr... more This paper explores the impact of the political regime change in post-Soviet Russia on the country's strategy of diversity management. The paper will start with an overview of possible government responses to diversity. In this conceptual framework, the paper will follow the evolution of the place envisaged for diversity in the country's political identity and political institutions in the post-Soviet period. The study will propose a periodization based on contrasting responses of the state to the diversity challenge in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. The political regime change correlated with the shift in the political institutional model from a multinational federation towards a nation-state. The new vision of political identity was reflected in the strategies of diversity management.

Books by Konstantin Zamyatin

Это книга о языках, их культурном значении, опасности исчезновения и путях сохранения. Она предна... more Это книга о языках, их культурном значении, опасности исчезновения и путях сохранения. Она предназначена для носителей языков народов России. В ней рассказывается о языковых меньшинствах России и мира, дву-и многоязычии, а также о том, как воспитать ребенка носителем нескольких языков.