A Case of Cultural Nationalism in Eastern Europe: Karaite Studies and Their Role in the Development of a Karaite Identity in the 19th –21st Centuries

In my doctoral thesis, I analyse the following main issues: I examine the Karaite proto-national movement through the prism of a constructivist approach to the study of nationalism and identity. I also test the applicability of Miroslav Hroch’s model of the development of European national movements in the 19th century using the Karaite proto-national movement as a case study. I compare the essential traits of several national movements in Europe in the 19th century (for instance, the Crimean Tatar, Lithuanian, Finnish and Scottish national movements) with the Karaite one.

I also use comparative analysis to focus on the characteristics of the Karaite identity in different historical periods from the 19th until the beginning of the 21st centuries as discussed in published sources. The Karaite group travelled a long way from being a religious group to the modern ethnic group that it is today. Additionally, I dedicate a significant part of the study to scholarly discussions on the Karaite ethnic origin by non-Karaites and the Karaite reaction to such discussions precisely because outside opinions greatly impacted the construction of the Karaite identity.

I use Hroch’s model for the comparative analysis of national movements specifically with respect to the Karaite case because he paid particular attention to small-scale nationalism (and the nationalism of minority groups) in Eastern Europe. I attempt to clarify the place of the Karaite national movement in the European context with the help of this model. The Karaite movement is similar to the sort of national movements where an ethnic group has never had either its own statehood or its own ruling class (e.g., Basques). Although the Karaites have never made such demands (probably because of their small number), they can still be compared to certain national minority movements.