Volga Tatars - Sociopolitical Organization

Tatarstan and Bashkirstan—the lands where most of the Volga Tatars live—were autonomous republics (they received this status in 1919 and 1920) of the Russian Republic, which in turn, was one of the fifteen republics that comprised the Soviet Union. Today, following the demise of the USSR, the Russian Federation is comprised of eighteen of the twenty former autonomous republics. Tatarstan has chosen to remain independent.

Political Organization. In the Soviet era the major political-administrative units of the Volga-Ural area within the autonomous republics were districts ( raions ), cities, urban settlements, and villages. The local branches of the Soviet government and institutions were in charge of all aspects of life, from law enforcement to education and health services. What characterized them all was the still-strong level of centralization, despite promises of increased local autonomy.

Social Control. There were two levels of social control: official (through a set of Soviet institutions that promoted the socialist value system) and unofficial (through the family unit, which emphasized the traditional values of Tatar society).

Conflict. Family conflicts are usually arbitrated by the elders. Marriage conflicts that could not be solved within the family had to be submitted to the arbitration of Soviet organs, however.