Kumandins: Ethnic Identity and Self-Determination Strategies in the Context of Ethnic History

The article is devoted to the analysis of the ethnic history of the Kumandin people, one of the indigenous minorities of Russia. Its content determines the analysis of ethno-historical realities, political practices and academic discourse at the intersection of which the self–consciousness of this people was formed and transformed during the 17th – 21st centuries. The main sections of the work consider the history of the ethnonym “Kumandins” as a symbol of ethnic identity, the strategies of self-determination of Kumandins at different stages of their existence and the peculiarities of the social movement. A special section is devoted to the state support of the Kumandin public movement and its legal support. The work was carried out with the involvement of statistics, regulatory documents and field materials. According to the study results, it is concluded that the modern social movement of the Kumandin people, as well as the indigenous peoples of Russia in general, despite all the difficulties, is developing considering domestic and global political and legal support. Public organizations of Kumandin residents of the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic plan their activities in cooperation with federal and regional government agencies and academic centers. The effectiveness of this multi-level dialogue, which social activists conduct on behalf of the people, determines the prospects for its existence.