As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ethnic identity of minorities was
reasserted. The Greeks in former USSR started to identify themselves as a Greek diaspora
based on the myth of their rediscovered homeland--Greece.
The basic research question in this analysis is whether the Pontian Greek identity can
be characterized as a national or an ethnic identity.
The thesis hypothesis is that the character of an institutionalized nationalism
influences identity formation and may force the evolution of an identity from ethnic to
national.
The research will be based on a historical-theoretical approach (methodology). The
analysis is pursued through the prism of the theory of ethnosymbolism1 with its existing
critique. The Pontian identity will be defined as a hybrid and diasporic identity. Main
sources to be used are secondary sources (both English and Russian). However, official
data will also be applied (immigration statistics, population censuses).
The theoretical finding of the research is that the politisation of the culture (which
constitutes the main condition of transformation from an ethnic to national identity) does
not necessarily produce aspirations of independence or autonomy. This political claim may
also be expressed through the acceptance of a foreign national identity. As a result, the
Pontian hybrid ethnic identity finalized into the Greek national identity as Pontians made a
political choice to immigrate to Greece through the Repatriation program. The Greek state
significantly assisted the process, which makes the Pontian case a ‘state-sponsored’ nationalism
