The formation of digital national identity in Bashkortostan: thematic dominants, transmitted images, and audience behavioral response

This article examines the mechanisms of digital reproduction of ethnic identity in a polyethnic region, using the Republic of Bashkortostan as a case study. The empirical basis of the study includes materials from more than 20,000 posts published in Bashkir, Tatar, and Russian ethno-cultural communities on the VKontakte social network during the period 2022–2025, as well as data from a representative sociological survey of the republic’s population conducted in 2025. The theoretical and methodological framework combines the concept of everyday nationalism with ethnosymbolist and constructivist approaches to the analysis of ethnic identity. The study applies a combined ethno-symbolic and discursive analysis, incorporating thematic coding of digital content and the calculation of audience engagement indicators (ER). As a result, three stable models of digital ethnic identity are identified: an ethno-symbolic model characteristic of Bashkir communities, a cultural-everyday model typical of Tatar communities, and a civic-political model prevailing in Russian communities. The findings demonstrate that the highest levels of audience engagement are generated by images and thematic narratives that correspond to the core forms of self-identification of the respective ethnic groups. The article concludes that the digital environment functions not only as a channel for transmitting ethnicity but also as an autonomous space for its structuring and reproduction, closely linked to offline identity orientations of the region’s population.