SUMMARY:

Ilshat Nasyrov, professor of oriental studies, reacts to the discussion of the Tatar–Bashkir controversy during the recent population census of 2010. He disagrees with the interpretation that presents the official Bashkir population policy among the Tatars living in the republic as oppressive (aimed at forcing them to register as Bashkirs in the census questionnaire), while Tatar-identity entrepreneurs are seen as persecuted civic activists. Nasyrov claims that identity politics in these two neighboring republics should be approached in historical perspective. He provides historical arguments disproving the image of an artificially created and culturally inferior Bashkir nation that is instrumentalized by Tatar activists in their efforts to convince Bashkortostan “Tatars” to officially register their Tatar identity. Modern Bashkir identity is a product of ethnic and religious history in a particular region, Nasyrov claims. The number of Bashkirs has drastically declined due to Soviet-era repressions and wars. Bashkir national mobilization during the recent population censuses represents their struggle for their very survival as a nation, while their Tatar opponents promote the project of “Greater Tatarstan.”