To be or not to be a Cossack?": The Cossacks at the Seliger forum through the prism of Erving Goffman's social dramaturgy

The paper explores the phenomenon of modern Cossacks through the concept of Erving Goffman's social dramaturgy. Here, the Cossacks' presence at the Seliger forum is taken as a case study. The author herself took part in the forum in summer of 2014 using the methods of participant observation and biographical interviews. 'Performance' is used here as a key analytical category. Based on Goffman's terms, the Seliger forum is considered a "front stage" and serves as the prime base for a standard set of expressive techniques and tools, developed intentionally or unintentionally by an individual in the course of a performance. The Cossack ideology was visualized via banners placed around the camp, with slogans, if translated, roughly reading the following: 'Thank God that we are Cossacks', 'The Cossack race is endless!', etc. The Cossacks attach great importance to a proper dress code: girls had to walk around at the forum wearing long skirts (that is the Cossack idea of a decent dress code) in order to visually differ from the rest of the forum participants. Boys had to wear 'sprava' (the Cossack uniform), if they had it. Otherwise, they would have to wear T-shirts with the Cossack distinguishing sign on them. It is noteworthy that the leader of the group used the term 'branding' then to highlight the importance of adhering to the dress code in order to help distinguish the Cossack youth from other people at the forum. Furthermore, this dress code suggests Cossack girls and boys follow and respect certain rules of conduct. Another important category in Goffman's work is that of a 'back stage'. The inner life of Cossack camps, the relationship within Cossack groups - the so-called 'dvadtsatki' - discussions of pressing issues of the Cossacks are all part of this category. Naturally, the problems and differences that exist among the Cossacks are not shown to outsiders, and are discussed within the community only, with an imaginary unity being demonstrated by them to everyone else. As every Cossack group tries to maintain the coherence in viewing the situation, to that end, they hide or mitigate certain facts. While there is the 'performance' of being Cossacks intended for others, among themselves the Cossacks do not have a clear idea of where the boundaries of their community lie. Therefore, the important question of authenticity arises that is the question of being a 'true Cossack'. In conclusion, there are two trends being observed in the discourse about the Cossacks: 1) 'we'-identity imposed top-down and 'performed' in public, and 2) the construction of 'we'- identity 'on the ground', within the community, by each of its members individually.

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