The Role of Historical Migration Patterns in Shaping the Cultural Landscape of the Peripheral Regions of Russia

Abstract Migration has shaped the cultural landscapes of the peripheral regions of Russia — including the North Caucasus, Siberia, the Far East and the Volga-Ural basin — since the earliest migrations were initiated by invasions and expansion of empires. As examples include; the Mongol invasion which brought nomadic and Islamic influences into contact with settled peoples and subsequent Russian colonization brought Slavic settlers and Orthodox Christian influences, followed by the Soviet era when forced and voluntary migrations created additional layers of ethnicity over the previous layers of language, religion, traditions and identity. Thus, creating mosaic cultural landscapes of the periphery where resource driven booms and geographic isolation promoted preservation in rural areas and hybridity in urban centers. Migration, resulting from invasions, empires expanding their borders, revolution, Soviet policies and post-Soviet economic shifts have resulted in changes to languages spoken, religions practiced, traditions celebrated and the development of hybrid identities. Using a historical geographical approach the study reviews several migration events: displacement caused by Mongol invasions (13th century) colonialization by tsarist Russia (16th – 19th century); relocation due to civil war (1917 – 1922) and both voluntary and involuntary migrations forced or encouraged by the Soviet Union (1920’s – 1980’s); and contemporary flows (1991 – present). Results demonstrate that these migration patterns produced mosaic cultural landscapes of the periphery — preserving rural traditions but producing hybridities in urbanized areas. Examples include; Islamic influences were introduced to the Volga-Ural region by Mongol migrations while Soviet deportations strengthened identities in the North Caucasus. Therefore, understanding the cultural effects of migration is essential for addressing today’s problems of ethnic integration and cultural preservation during periods of globalizations and climate change. Census data, ethnographic studies and ethno-geographical scholarship are utilized in this research to demonstrate the role of migration in creating cultural dynamics in expansive states.