136 lines
4.5 KiB
YAML
136 lines
4.5 KiB
YAML
abstract: 'SINCE THE FALL OF COMMUNISM, the social impact of economic transition
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has become ever more visible. Efforts to marketise and privatise have
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redrawn class boundaries, undermined traditional job guarantees and
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eroded the old social safety net. The result is a wider gap between rich
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and poor, especially in post-Soviet states.''
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For ethnically diverse societies, as in Russia, the transition also
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implies a restructuring of the old cultural division of labour (CDL)-the
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distribution of occupations and rewards among ethnic groups. 2 The
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Soviet commitment to affirmative action policies for non-Russian regions
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and their resident minorities unraveled along with the USSR. And without
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central controls over employment and wages, education and investment,
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the federal government has far fewer levers to impose quotas or to push
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industrial and urban development into minority areas.
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Yet how the advent of the market actually plays out among the Russian
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Federation''s different nationalities is far from clear. Given the old
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CDL, with non-Russians typically concentrated in less developed ethnic
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homelands and in lower-paying sectors, the economic transition might
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well reinforce old disparities. On the other hand, dramatic devolution
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has given eponymous groups new powers to shape the local economy.
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Expanded home rule for titular nationalities could thus reward the
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in-group at the expense of local Russian residents.
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The question, then, is who bears the burden of economic dislocation and
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who benefits from new economic opportunities. Do titular groups reap a
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disproportionate share of the pain or gain under home rule? Equally
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important, how do subjective assessments of equality mesh with the
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actual distribution of burdens and benefits?
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This article explores the connections between ethnicity and economic
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transition in three republics of Russia-Tatarstan, North Ossetia and
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Sakha (Yakutia). Tatarstan and Sakha have been leaders in the quest for
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expanded republic rights, garnering some of the most dramatic
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concessions from the federal government during the period of `high
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sovereignty'' (1991-99). Both republics won control over substantial
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shares of hard currency trade in local resouices (oil in Tatarstan, and
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diamonds, gold, oil and gas, among other things, in Sakha). They have
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had the most discretion over local resources and arguably the most
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leeway of any Russian regions in allocating rewards to local
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constituents. If home rule does afford privileges for titular
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nationalities, it should do so in these two regions.
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North Ossetia, in contrast, has been far less of a pioneer on issues of
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federal relations. Lacking the resource endowments of a Tatarstan or a
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Sakha, and surrounded by conflicts in the North Caucasus, it had less to
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gain from pressing Moscow for greater autonomy. The local agenda has
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instead been dominated by disputes with neighbouring regions. And these
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have in many ways reinforced local dependence on MOSCOW.(3)
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The focus here is on the experience of economic transition among the two
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major nationalities in each region, titular and Russians, who make up
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over four-fifths of the population in each case. The following section
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addresses the dimensions of inequality in post-communist Russia, the
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likely effects on the two major ethnic groups in each republic and the
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potential impact of home rule. The article then presents empirical
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evidence on the degree of inequality in experience with economic
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transition in the late 1990s, and on individual perceptions of bias.'
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affiliation: 'Bahry, D (Corresponding Author), Vanderbilt Univ, Box 1665-B, Nashville,
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TN 37235 USA.
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Vanderbilt Univ, Nashville, TN 37235 USA.'
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author: Bahry, D
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author-email: Donna.L.Bahry@Vanderbilt.edu
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author_list:
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- family: Bahry
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given: D
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1080/09668130220147001
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eissn: 1465-3427
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files: []
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issn: 0966-8136
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journal: EUROPE-ASIA STUDIES
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keywords-plus: EDUCATIONAL-OPPORTUNITY; NATIONALISM; TRENDS
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language: English
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month: JUL
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number: '5'
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number-of-cited-references: '50'
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pages: 673-699
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papis_id: 1d319463eedda9d8ec623ca8c47c9642
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ref: Bahry2002ethnicityequality
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times-cited: '18'
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title: 'Ethnicity and equality in post-communist economic transition: Evidence from
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Russia''s republics'
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type: article
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unique-id: WOS:000177251400001
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usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
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usage-count-since-2013: '35'
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volume: '54'
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web-of-science-categories: Area Studies; Economics; Political Science
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year: '2002'
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