With the exception of Chechnya and regions in the north Caucasus region, separatism never truly threatened the unity of the Russian state, and ethnicity,

Question

while socially
important, has been a relatively unimportant form of political identity in most of Russia.
How has Russia been able to achieve this successful de-mobilization of ethnicity?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First, although each ethnic republic bears the name of a particular ethnic group,
the indigenous ethnic group is usually a minority within its own republic. In most ethnic
republics, either Russians comprise the majority of the population or the population is
fairly diverse. As a result, politicians in ethnic republics know that ethnic appeals can
only go so far, and would be met with substantial opposition.
Second, non-Russians make up only 20 percent of the population and are fragmented
into many small groups that themselves do not necessarily share political interests. As a
result, non-Russians have been unable to find common ground to coordinate lobbying
pressure on the government in Moscow for political concessions.
Third, the central government has undertaken extensive and expensive efforts to
purchase the support of ethnic groups in potentially troublesome regions.