The Ethnopolitical Identity of the Gagauz: Between the Russian World and European Integration

Abstract

The ethnopolitical identity of the Gagauz community represents a relevant example of the interaction between culture, memory, and geopolitics in the post-Soviet space. The study examines, from a constructivist perspective, how Orthodoxy, linguistic Russification, and media narratives contribute to maintaining the symbolic attachment to the “Russian World,” while also fostering the emergence of new hybrid identities within the process of European integration. The analysis reveals that Europeanization in Gagauzia does not entail the replacement of traditional identity, but rather a gradual negotiation between cultural continuity and adaptation to European civic values.