Chuvash Ethnoblogging: Representing Ethnicity in Cyberspace

One of the ways in which ethnicity manifests itself on the Internet is ethnoblogging, which has been actively developing in recent years among the peoples of the Ural-Volga region, including the Chuvash. The article analyzes the Chuvash segment of ethnoblogging, namely the content of Chuvash blogs on various web platforms (YouTube, RuTube, Zen, in social networks — VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Telegram, etc.). The author identifies the ethnically marked information, individual attitudes, motivations for Chuvash bloggers, analyzes their personal characteristics and the feedback they receive. The main goal of the study is to determine the role of ethnoblogging in the ethnicity representation within the Chuvash in cyberspace. The article is based on the analysis of available content on the Internet, and on offline interviews with leading Chuvash bloggers and experts in the field. The study showed that the Chuvash blogosphere covers all popular web platforms, but preference is given to websites with young audience, which is the main target of the blogs. The Chuvash bloggers are mainly motivated by the desire to popularize the most striking examples of ethnocultural heritage and stimulate the usage of the Chuvash language; some of them also have commercial interests. The ethnocultural content covers the entire spectrum of traditional Chuvash life as interpreted by the bloggers, which contributes to the construction of a new image of Chuvash ethnicity. The content is presented in three forms — video, photographs, and texts. The Chuvash language is one of the main tools of the bloggers’ self-presentation. Blogs are a platform for discussing issues of history and culture of the people, which together form the current space of ethnicity of the Chuvash audience on the Internet. The bloggers’ creative activity influences the audience that recognizes their authority as leaders of public opinion.