Societal transitions, ethnolinguistic identities, and marital conservatism in Central Asia

Abstract

ObjectiveThe study deploys an ethnolinguistic conceptual framework to examine variations in different dimensions of marital conservatism in the Kyrgyz Republic, a post‐Soviet nation in Central Asia, focusing on enduring, yet evolving, Russian linguo‐cultural influence.BackgroundThe global transformation of family and marriage systems has produced diverse local normative patterns that are historically rooted but are also reflective of context‐specific contemporary socio‐cultural, political, and economic transitions. The study investigates these patterns in a multi‐ethnic setting where Soviet‐era legacies, culturally pivoted on the use of the Russian language, have combined with post‐Soviet exposure to both Western influences and rising neo‐traditionalism.MethodThe study uses data from two rounds of a nationally representative cross‐sectional household‐based survey, with each round including standardized interviews with over 2000 men and women aged 18–49. Multi‐level regression models are fitted to predict ethnolinguistic variations in attitudes toward premarital chastity, optimal marriage age, support for parental preeminence in marital decisions, support for ethnic endogamy, and opposition to divorce, while accounting for universal correlates of marital conservatism, such as education, religiosity, and urbanicity. For most outcomes, the analyses examine separately how these attitudes apply to women versus men.ResultsThe results demonstrate the persistent normative imprints of the Russian linguistic and cultural influence but also instructive variations in them across the specific outcomes. They also suggest an overall rise in some aspects of marital conservatism.ConclusionThe findings elucidate the unique multidimensional complexities of family and marital change in transitional Eurasia, yet also its similarities with other post‐colonial contexts.