Shiite Islam and the Preservation of Ethno-Cultural Identity in Diasporas (Russia at the Beginning of the 21st Century)

Introduction. The article discusses the role of Islam as a tool for preserving ethnic and cultural identity among diasporas in the territory of the Russian Federation. In particular, the article deals with the role of the Shiite trend of Islam in preserving the ethnic, cultural and religious components of the identity of members of Shiite diasporas in Russia, and the distinctive features of the development of Shiite communities in the territory of the Russian Federation. Content. The author compares the situation within the historically established Shiite diasporas using the example of the Shiite community of Derbent, the Republic of Dagestan and diasporas that have developed on the territory of the Russian Federation as a result of migration processes that intensified in the post-Soviet period of the country's development. To reveal theoretical issues, the author uses materials from both foreign studies (R. Cohen, B. Balji) and the works of domestic researchers (G. Mirsky, A. D. Vasiliev). In the work, the author also provides materials of practical (field) research conducted on the territory of the Russian Federation and the post-Soviet space, both by himself and by other practical researchers (Abdulaeva M. Sh., Makhmudova K. G., Filin N. A., etc.). To test theoretical hypotheses, the author provides the results of in-depth interviews and questionnaires conducted they are located on the territory of Derbent, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan, Kazan, as well as the Republic of Crimea. The most important issue in this aspect is the issue of comparing the situation in "stationary" communities with permanent membership and communities located in the regions of the "shift" presence of representatives of the Shiite Ummah with periodic changes in the composition of the community until its complete renewal. The author compares the results of theoretical and field research on this issue. The author pays special attention to the issue of the development of the system of reproduction of ethnocultural and religious components of identity, in their direct connection with each other, among members of Shiite communities in Russia. In addition, the author raises the question of the problems of developing a specific Shiite religious infrastructure of communities in the territory of the Russian Federation: the state of such infrastructure, the degree of need for its further development, the content and form of religious education of community members, as well as the mechanisms for implementing these goals that exist in modern conditions.