Russia is home to 42 indigenous ethnic groups comprising less than 50,000 people. They mostly lead a traditional way of life and are engaged in folk crafts. Today, indigenous peoples are active social network users, creating their own communicative spaces based on ethnic activism and identities. Since social networks on the Internet is a relatively young technology, it causes controversies among the communities on its usefulness and benefits for the ‘traditional culture.’ Some believe that the network contributes to the “unity of the people.” Others believe it has a “negative” effect and “erodes affiliation.” Nevertheless, most current discussions about ethnicity occur on the Internet, and cyber-activists and ethnic bloggers are significant figures today in the virtual environment and real life.
As the experience of the pandemic has shown, many ethnic events, activities, and rituals can be transferred to the Internet without losing their traditional value. The effect in virtual space is fast but also goes away quickly. Recent events involving the disconnection of the TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram networks in Russia, have shown that the external termination of the network and the suspension of virtual broadcasting raises questions about the reliability of the cyber world. Representatives of indigenous peoples, whose way of life is based on traditional principles, claim their independence from various kinds of modern cataclysms, including a possible “digital apocalypse.” In my report, I will explore how users of ethnic communities demonstrate adaptability to the Internet space: on the one hand, they actively participate in virtual life; on the other, the real world remains a true pillar of their identity. In this respect, traditional foundations do not appear to be archaic but a time-tested system of values that is quite adaptive to modern high technologies. The study was realized with support of the Russian Science Foundation (Project ? 23-78-10079, https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-10079/ยป)
