July 22 – August 7, 2024
Republic of Dagestan

Fieldwork
From July 22 to August 7, 2024, a sociological research expedition titled The Role of Nationalities in Dagestan: Past and Present was conducted. The expedition was led by E.A. Varshaver, with co-leaders N.S. Ivanova and T.D.  Egorova. Students from various Russian universities took part in the project.

The expedition focused on how systems of nationality classification have operated in Dagestan from the 1980s to the present day. Its central goal was to identify so-called perceptive-communicative facts — moments when nationality played a significant role in social communication and perception. Participants collected 100 biographical interviews across 31 locations throughout the republic, reconstructing how and when nationalities became important tools for navigating social reality.

In the photo: expedition participants interviewing an expert in the village of Megeb

Publications Based on the Expedition

Academic publications based on the 2024 expedition are currently in preparation. At the moment, the following preprint is available:

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Farewell photo in the courtyard of the expedition house