Experience of classification of Russian regions by the dynamics of ethnic mosaics in the post-Soviet period

Russian scientists have studied in detail the changes in the ethnic structure of the population of the country’s regions that occurred in the 1990s and 2000s. This analysis can be expanded by including the results of the 2021 census in scientific circulation. The objective of the study is to identify the features of the dynamics of the ethnic structure of the population of the federal subjects of Russia between the 1989 and 2021 censuses based on indicators characterizing the ethnic heterogeneity of the population. In the post-Soviet period, the overwhelming majority of regions of the country experienced positive dynamics in the share of the Russian or titular (in national-territorial entities) population. During this period, a tendency towards homogenization of the ethnic structure of the population of the federal subjects became clearly evident. The “Russian mega-core” has expanded somewhat, including regions and territories with a Russian population share of over 90%, especially in Siberia and the Far East. Among the national-territorial entities, the Chechen and Ingush Republics became mono-ethnic during this period. In most other national-territorial entities, the share of titular peoples also grew, and in many of them the share of titular ethnic groups currently exceeds half of the population and continues to grow. A decrease in the share of the titular population occurred only in seven national-territorial entities. They are located primarily in the north of the European part of Russia: the republics of Karelia, Komi, Udmurtia, Mari El and Chuvashia. The Republic of Adygea and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast also belong to this category.

ethnodemography, ethnic geography, ethnic mosaic index, titular ethnic groups, non-titular population