Between regionalisation and centralisation : the implications of Russian education reforms for schooling in Tatarstan

This article focuses on post-2000 Russian education reforms, specifically the eradication of regional components from the school curriculum (in 2007) and the introduction of the Unified State Examination (in 2009), as part of a wider shift towards centralisation in Russian education. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a semi-urban community in the Republic of Tatarstan over the period 2009-2013, the article examines what impact these reforms had on local practices of schooling, on the educational strategies of the population, and on minority language education more widely. It reveals that, while the new institutional framework imposed by the reforms limited the exposure of pupils to regional and ethno-cultural identity narratives, local educators managed to use the limited possibilities within the schools to promote ethnic and regional belonging