THE FORMATION OF ETHNIC IDENTITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEM

The scientific article analyzes the process of ethnic identity formation as a topical psychological and pedagogical problem. The problem is considered on the example of multinational Republic of Tatarstan, which is characterized by intensive interethnic interactions with a low level of conflict on ethnic, national or confessional grounds. The scientific-theoretical analysis of the concept of “ethnic identity” was carried out. The author’s definition of ethnic identity as a dynamic and multidimensional formation, which characterizes the feeling (implicit component) and awareness (explicit component) of a person as a member of a certain ethnic group/community, formed in the framework of socio-psychological approach, was taken as a theoretical basis of the research. The materials are compared and the conclusions of published research on the problem of ethnic identity formation in the population of the Republic of Tatarstan are analyzed critically. The conclusions about the specifics of the process of ethnic identity formation in the representatives of the Republic of Tatarstan have been made. The psychological and pedagogical conditions, contributing to the low interethnic conflict in the analyzed region with the high intensity of interethnic interactions were revealed and systematized. Such conditions include: maintaining an attitude of open interaction and openness to change in society; creating conditions for true bilingualism; creating conditions for free worship and dialogue of faiths; creating conditions for representatives of different ethnic groups to realize active attitudes related not only to strengthening culture, but also to business development, social charity and patronage of the arts. Psychological and pedagogical conditions must be implemented at all levels: regional, at the level of institutions and collectives, and at the level of family upbringing. The results obtained are of high significance as they allow one to form a holistic view of the ethnic identity of the population of the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as formulate key psychological and pedagogical conditions for the formation of ethnic identity while maintaining high intensity of interethnic interaction and low interethnic and interconfessional conflict in the region.