EVERYDAY ETHNICITY IN ASTANA: FAMILY STRATEGIES, RELIGION, AND MEMORY AMONG INGUSH, TATARS, AND DUNGANS

Abstract

This article examines how ethnicity is constructed and maintained within Astana’s urban environment among Ingush, Tatar, and Dungan communities. The theoretical framework combines J. Berry’s acculturation model, F. Barth’s “ethnic boundaries” approach, and the concept of everyday religiosity, complemented by a historical-contextual analysis of colonial governance of Islam, deportations, and the Virgin Lands campaign. The study demonstrates that marital practices and post-marital residence patterns remain key mechanisms of boundary maintenance: among the Ingush, endogamy and patrilocality are normative (with urban variation); among the Tatars, nuclear autonomy prevails alongside high tolerance for mixed marriages; among the Dungans, a shift is observed from compact endogamy toward greater openness, while maintaining a religious criterion in marriage. Economic niches are correlated with family strategies and networks of mutual assistance: construction and entrepreneurship are typical for the Ingush; the Tatars combine public-sector employment with trade and services; the Dungans display a dual model linking Zhambyl (agriculture) and Astana (services and catering). Religion, language, and cuisine act as stable markers of belonging, while urban institutions–such as ethnocultural centers and sites of memory–connect groups without dissolving their boundaries. The study concludes that integrative configurations dominate, though local pockets of separation persist, with practical implications for urban policy.