Abkhaz and Abazin Communities in Cyberspace
Abstract
The article explores the strategies implemented by two related Indigenous peoples, Abkhaz and Abazins (Abaza), aimed at preserving ethnic culture in the context of virtual space. For Abkhaz and Abazins living abroad, it is essential to demonstrate their unity with their historical homeland, their belonging and inseparability from their traditions. Therefore, they take photos and videos of celebrations of traditional holidays, post them on social networking sites, thus indicating that they are an integral part of their people, regardless of the fact that they live outside. At the same time, the Abazins who are living in Russia, also use virtual communication for the popularization and revival of traditional culture. A content analysis was performed to study ethno-characteristic, linguistic, local, extra-territorial communities in popular social networks such as VK, Odnoklassniki, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook. As a result, the main trends that Abkhaz and Abazins use in cyberspace to keep their Indigenous culture alive were traced. In addition, the confrontation between classical Islam and traditional beliefs, which are an integral part of the ethnic culture of these two peoples, was revealed.
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@abaza-alashara9966
Alashara. (2022). Fil'my-rekonstruktsii o traditsiiakh i tsennostiakh
abazinskoi sem’i [Reconstruction films about the traditions and values
of the Abazi family] [YouTube playlist]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/
playlist?list=PLuey5ShXXtWiUikrjjhleShHEOi-2PEQe
Alashara. Razvitie Abazino-Abkhazskogo etnosa [Alashara. Development
of the bazino-Abkhazian ethnos]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]12. Instagram12.
https://www.instagram.com/alashara_org
Albogachieva, M. S.-G. (2021). Abazinskii iazyk: Istoriia i sovremennost’
[The Abazin language: History and present time]. Ural Historical Journal, 2, 90–98.
https://doi.org/10.30759/1728-9718-2021-2(71)-90-98
Albogachieva, M. S.-G. (2023). Polevye issledovaniia v abazinskikh aulakh
Karachaevo-Cherkesii v 2023 godu: Kak abaziny sokhraniaiut rodnoi iazyk [Field
research in the Abaza villages of Karachay-Cherkessia in 2023: How Abazas
preserve their native language]. Kunstkamera, 4, 158–166. https://doi.org/10.31250/
2618-8619-2023-4(22)-158-166
Ayba, T. G. (2022a). Abkhazo-abazinskaia diaspora v Evrope. Nekotorye voprosy
sokhraneniia traditsionnoi kul’tury abkhazov i abazin za rubezhom [Abkhaz-Abazin
diaspora in Europe. Some issues of preserving the traditional culture of Abkhazians
and Abazins abroad]. History, Arсhaeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus, 18(1),
154–166.
Ayba, T. G. (2022b). Abhazskie i abazinskie kul’turnye tsentry v Turtsii i na
Blizhnem Vostoke [Abkhaz and Abaza cultural centers in Türkiye and the Middle
East]. Kazachestvo, 65, 27–36.
Ayba, T. G. (2023). Osobennosti provedeniia moleniia Azh’yrnyҳəa v sovremennoi
Abkhazii i u turetskikh abkhazov [Features of the Azhyrnyҳәa prayer ceremony in
contemporary Abkhazia and among Turkish Abkhazians]. History, Archeology and
Ethnography of the Caucasus, 19(3), 842–855. https://doi.org/10.32653/CH193842-855
Belorussova, S. Yu., & Siuziumov, A. A. (2024). Kartografiia v kiberetnografii
(na primere korennykh malochislennykh narodov Rossii) [Cartography in
cyberethnography (Using the example of the Indigenous peoples of Russia)]. Siberian
Historical Research, 2, 93–119.
Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., Skirgård, H., Ritchie, A., Cardillo, M., Meakins,
F., Greenhill, S., & Hua, X. (2022). Global predictors of language endangerment
and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(2), 163–173.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01604-y
Danilova, E. N. (1984). Abaziny. Istoriko-etnograficheskoe issledovanie
khoziaistva i obshchinnoi organizatsii. XIX vek [Abazins. Historical and ethnographic
study of the economy and community organization. 19th century]. Izdatel’stvo
Moskovskogo universiteta.
Dzhapua, Z. D., & Chekalov, P. K. (Eds.). (2019). Abazinskie materialy A. N. Genko
[Abaza materials by A. N. Genko]. Academia.
Ganich, A. A. (2007). Cherkesy v Iordanii: Osobennosti istoricheskogo
i etnokul’turnogo razvitiia [Circassians in Jordan: Features of historical and
ethnocultural development]. The Institute of Asian and African Studies of MSU.
Genko, A. N. (2021). Vvedenie v etnografiiu Kavkaza [Introduction to the
Ethnography of the Caucasus]. Academia.
Golovnev, A. V., Albogachieva, M. S.-G., Belorussova, S. Yu., Belyaeva-Sachuk
V. A., Kisser T. S., & Perevalova, E. V. (2022). Korennye malochislennye narody Rossii:
Etnokul’turnye proektsii [Indigenous peoples of Russia: Ethnocultural projections].
MAE RAS.
Golovnev, A. V., Belorussova, S. Yu., & Kisser, T. S. (2021). Virtual’naia etnichnost’
i kiberetnografiia [Virtual ethnicity and cyberethnography]. MAE RAS.
Inglehart, R. (2018). Cultural evolution: People’s motivations are changing, and
reshaping the world. Cambridge University Press.
Istanbul Abhaz Kültür Dernegi. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]14. Facebook14.
https://www.facebook.com/istanbulabhazkulturdernegi?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Khalidov, A. I. (2017). Ecolinguistic problems of the North Caucasus in the
context of language policy. Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social
Sciences, 10, 25–39.
Krylov, A. (2001). Religiia i traditsii abhazov (po materialam polevykh issledovanii
1994–2000) [Religion and traditions of Abkhazians (on the materials of field research
in 1994-2000)]. Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Kunizheva, L. (1974). Domashnie promysly i remesla abazin v XIX — nachale XX
veka [Domestic activities and handicrafts of Abazins in the 19th and early 20th century]
(Unpublished Candidate’s dissertation). Institut etnografii imeni N. N. Miklukho-
Maklaia AN SSSR.
Lieberman, K.-A. (2003). Virtually Vietnamese: Nationalism on the Internet.
In R. C. Lee & S.-L. C. Wong (Eds.), Asian America.net: Ethnicity, nationalism, and
cyberspace (pp. 71–97). Routledge.
Mukov, M. I. (2021). Problema abazinskoi diaspory i puti ee resheniia [Problems of
the Abaza diaspora and ways to solve them]. In M. S.-G. Albogachieva (Ed.), Kavkaz:
Perekrestok kul’tur [Caucasus: Crossroads of cultures] (pp. 85–93). MAE RAS.
O Edinom perechne korennykh malochislennykh narodov Rossiiskoi Federatsii.
Postanovlenie Pravitel'stva Rossiiskoi Federatsii No. 255 [On the Unified List
of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation. Decree of the Government of the
Russian Federation No. 255]. (2000, March 24). http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbo
dy=&nd=102065057&rdk=9
Op-Ano Alashara. (n.d.). Posts [VK wall]. VK. https://vk.com/alashara_org
Pis’mennye iazyki mira: Rossiiskaia Federatsiia. Sotsiolingvisticheskaia
entsiklopediia [Written languages of the world. Languages of the Russian Federation.
Sociolinguistic encyclopedia]. (2000). The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian
Academy of Sciences.
Rosstat [Federal State Statistics Service]. (2022). Itogi VPN-2020. Tom 5
Natsional’nyi sostav i vladenie iazykami [Results of the All-Russian Population Census
2020. Vol. 5 National composition and language proficiency]. https://rosstat.gov.ru/
vpn/2020/Tom5_Nacionalnyj_sostav_i_vladenie_yazykami
UNESCO. (2010). Atlas of the world’s languages in danger (3rd ed.).
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026
World Abaza Congress. (n.d.). Govorim na abkhazskom / Govorim na
abazinskom [We speak Abkhazian / We speak Abaza]. https://www.abaza.org/
category/projects/lang
Published
2025-04-30
How to Cite
Ayba, T.
(2025).
Abkhaz and Abazin Communities in Cyberspace.
Changing Societies & Personalities, 9(1), 84–100.
doi:10.15826/csp.2025.9.1.319
Section
Articles in the Special Section
