August 2–23, 2022
Location: Republic of Dagestan

Fieldwork

From August 2 to 23, 2022, the scientific expedition Meanings of Ethnic Categories in Modern Dagestan was conducted, led by E.A. Varshaver and co-led by N.S. Ivanova. Students from the Higher School of Economics took part in the project.

The research focused on how ethnic categories are used and transformed in everyday life. Fieldwork took place in Makhachkala and its surroundings, as well as in the villages of Arakul, Bezhta, Ikhrek, Kubachi, Nizhny Katrukh, Tlyadal, Urkarakh. Participants conducted interviews with local residents and studied how ethnicity is embedded in personal stories and social interactions.

In the photo: a participant in the village of Urkarakh

Preparation at the Summer School

The preparatory stage took place from August 2 to 7 near Dubna as part of the Summer School program. Participants discussed key texts on ethnicity, developed the research focus, designed interview guides, and practiced field methods.

In the photo: participants ironically “kick the dead horse of primordialism” — a half-joke, half-homage to Andreas Wimmer’s famous metaphor

Publications Based on the Expedition

Several academic publications in leading Russian journals followed the expedition:

• Varshaver, E., Ivanova, N., Gupalova, J., Kuznetsova, S. (2024). What Role do Soviet Nationalities Play in Regulatingthe Marital Behavior in Dagestan? Journal of Frontier Studies, (2), 98–133. [in Russian]
• Varshaver, E., Khabibullin, A., Samosudova, A., Shults, A. (2024). "From Father" or "From Both Parents"? Variations of the Descent Classificatory Rule Regulating Membership in Ethnic Categories in Modern Dagestan. Mo­ni­to­ring of Pub­lic Opi­ni­on: Eco­no­mic and Social Chan­ges, 1, 176–201.  [in Russian]
• Varshaver, E., Orlova A., Shulga, A. (2023). Documentary Constructivism as a Special Form of Constructivist Folk Sociology: Evidence from Dagestan. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie, (6), 156–177. [in Russian]

In the photo: participants at the airport — final shot, saying goodbye to the field and the Caspian Sea