January 01, 2022

TikTok Gets Cultured


TikTok Gets Cultured
Vladimir, of the Khant ethnicity, frolics with his pup Aivas Igorevich on TikTok

TikTok might be best known for banal teen dancing, comedy, and bizarre challenges, but it’s also a place where people of other cultures might challenge you.

Russia boasts over 190 ethnic groups that include approximately 19 percent of the Federation’s population. In late November, National Geographic Russia connected with TikTok influencers from some of Russia’s many ethnic groups who post videos showcasing traditions, dress, food, and other cultural practices.

Vera, who was born in Udmurtia, posts content that both celebrates Udmurt culture and breaks down misconceptions. “There are stereotypes that the Udmurts are modest, and also ugly and envious. Of course, I would like the Udmurts to be known as creative, talented, open-minded, smiling, and beautiful. I would also like to say that the Udmurts are a very sensual people, we have a strong connection with nature and the forest; it is said that we even have some mystical abilities.” There are about 600,000 Udmurts living in Russia today.

Vladimir, of the Khant nationality, spends his time herding reindeer in a nature reserve about 100 kilometers from Kogalym, the city of his birth. “My account is about nature, about the uniqueness of the culture of the North, about the traditional way of life. I also show a strange, very rare way of fishing, without modern bells and whistles. This is how my parents taught me, and their parents taught them,” Vladimir explained. The Khanty people, like the Mansi, are from western Siberia, and both speak the Ob-Ugric language. Together, the two nationalities numbered approximately 30,000 at the end of the twentieth century.

Millions of people globally are following such accounts, and while they raise awareness of  nationalities that might otherwise be unknown, some influencers find it more important to be inspiring youth from these backgrounds to be prouder of their heritage.

Fatima, an Avarka born in the village of Untsukul in the Republic of Dagestan, believes taking joy in one’s culture is essential for its preservation. “I am really rooting for my native languages, which are on the verge of extinction, and I understand that the only salvation of these languages is their speakers. I wanted to show by example that I am not ashamed to speak my native language, that it is beautiful, and that each language is unique and beautiful in its own way." The Avar language is also grouped with the Andi and Dido languages, also known as Dagestanian languages. According to 2010 census data, approximately 910,000 Avars live in Russia today.

Click to learn more about Vera, Vladimir, Fatima, as well as Tatyana and Gulnaz.

 

You Might Also Like

Between Two Worlds
  • July 01, 2015

Between Two Worlds

During the tsarist era, Russians’ perceptions of themselves were powerfully shaped by travelogues about the world that lay beyond the empire’s borders.
The Kryashen
  • May 01, 2015

The Kryashen

Neither Tatar or Russian, the Kryashen are a fascinating ethnic minority that struggles to defend its place, and identity, in southern Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955