Peculiarities of Integration of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in the Regional Community (on the Example of the Republic of Mordovia)

Introduction. Currently, research aimed at studying the integration of diasporas in the host community is becoming particularly important. The purpose of the article is to study the features of integration of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora through the prism of socio-cultural, socio-political behavioral practices of the ethnic community. The object of the study is members of the Azerbaijani diaspora who live in the Republic of Mordovia, including citizens of the Russian Federation of Azerbaijani nationality and Azerbaijanis who do not have Russian citizenship and a residence permit in the Russian Federation. The research topic of the article is based on data for 2024, compared with data for 2017.

Methodology and sources. The socio-cultural features of integration are characterized by the degree of involvement of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the life of society. In this article, the features of integration are measured by a number of indicators: the use of the native (national) language in communications and the degree of proficiency in the Russian language, the social identity of the diaspora, value orientations, etc. The study of the degree of socio-political integration of the Azerbaijani diaspora focuses on the participation of Azerbaijanis in socially significant events.

Results and discussion. The study is based on the results of a sociological survey conducted in 2024 by the Scientific Center for Socio-Economic Monitoring State Institution of the Republic of Mordovia among representatives of the Azerbaijani Diaspora (n = 274, target sample). In order to compare the results, information from a similar study conducted in 2017 (n = 100, target sample) is used. The specifics of socio-cultural and socio-political attitudes of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora are revealed.

Conclusion. A number of factors attest to the success of the integration processes of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora living in the territory of Mordovia: actively forming all-Russian identity, active involvement in communication through the use of the Russian language, similarity of basic values, participation in significant socio-political events, etc. With a significant level of integration, the Azerbaijani diaspora demonstrates a high degree of internal cohesion. 

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