National identification of Russians in five former soviet republics

This chapter focuses on minority groups instead of national majorities, namely Russians in five countries of the former Soviet Union. It addresses the variations in strength of Russian identification and perceived ethnic competition in the five former Soviet republics. In addition, chi square analysis was used to indicate differences in percentages of Russians identifying themselves as Russian and those perceiving ethnic competition from titulars. Both individual-level and contextual-level indicators of ethnic competition and assimilation will be considered. The first type of factors refers to individual perceptions and circumstances reflecting competition and assimilation, while the second type of factors refers to features of competition and assimilation at a national level. The dependent variable Russian identification was measured by agreement with the statement ‘I am a citizen of Russia, a Russian’. Russian identification is stronger in Moldova than in Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus, and is weakest in Kazakhstan. The degree of perceived ethnic competition among Russians also differs significantly across republics.