July 18–30, 2021

Republic of Dagestan

Fieldwork

From July 18 to 30, 2021, the scientific expedition Constructing Ethnicity in Local Contexts in Dagestan took place. The expedition was led by E.A. Varshaver, with co-leaders N.S. Ivanova and D.R. Kodzokova. Students from the Higher School of Economics (HSE) took part in the project.

This expedition was truly memorable. The Caspian Sea, majestic mountains, and meaningful fieldwork across various parts of the republic — from Southern Dagestan to the Nogai District — made the process intense and inspiring. But the outcomes were no less impressive. Based on over 80 collected interviews, participants wrote analytical texts that were later published in a collected volume by the HSE Publishing House. The volume was introduced by theoretical, methodological, and organizational notes from E.A. Varshaver, and enriched with photographs and participants’ reflections.

In addition, a special session was held at the HSE April Conference — for many participants, this was their first-ever academic presentation and publication.

In the photo: an interviewee from Kalininaul shows participants his horse

Preparation

Before going to the field, participants underwent a week-long training at HSE: attending lectures, reading core texts, and learning the methodology of qualitative interviews.

In the photo: participants during a training session at HSE

Publications Based on the Expedition

Following the expedition, a collected volume was published by the HSE Publishing House. It features texts written by participants based on interviews conducted in the field. The volume also includes theoretical and methodological commentary by E.A. Varshaver.

Collected Volume:  Varshaver, E., (ed.) (2022). On Ethnic Diversity in Modern Dagestan: Students' field trip collection of articles. Authors: M. Gutsunaev, A. Drozdova, E. Kozharinova, A. Kunina, A. Malinovskiy, V. Nazarov, A. Rakacheva, D. Stepanova. Moscow: HSE Publishing House. [in Russian]

Conference Video: Contemporary Understandings of National Identity in Dagestan – XXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development [in Russian]

More Information: available on the HSE website  [in Russian]

Participant Reflections

The final pages of the collected volume include short reflections from students — as well as a detailed narrative review by one of the participants, published on the HSE Sociology public page.

• Reflection, part 1 and part 2 (with photos) [in Russian]

• Reflections in the printed volume (with photos) [in Russian]

Group photo at the airport after the expedition