Daghestan is the most unstable republic in the North Caucasus, Russian Federation.There is an ongoing conflict between power structures who aim to ‘fight terrorism’ and Islamic militants who strive to create an Islamic State in the North Caucasus. What is the local meaning of the term ‘fi ghting terrorism’? Who are the local ‘Wahhabis’? How do Daghestani inhabitants experience state practices disguised under the official ‘fighting terrorism’? What is their perception of the state dealings? I show how the meanings of the terms ‘fighting terrorism’ and ‘Wahhabis’ have changed throughout the last decade in Daghestan. From my research I conclude that after 2009 the local ‘fighting terrorism’ has been perceived as the source of violence, while a ‘Wahhabi’ has become a scapegoat, persecuted for a certain set of features. I also analyse the relation between experiences of the local state practices and the more general perceptions of the state dealings. While the local ‘fighting terrorism’ has been criticised and deconstructed, the same cannot be said about its media representation. The ‘rational’ dimension of the state has been locally deconstructed, while the ‘magical’ mode remained persuasive and did not seem to be threatened by the deconstruction.
Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between the application of the personal protection equipment and strong social ties? We look at face-masks wearing in Dagestan republic in southern Russia. The social context of Covid-19 in Russia has not been exhaustively analyzed yet and medical landscapes in the post-Soviet context differ significantly from the Western models. We believe that such artifacts as face-masks are good for tracing relations between people, the virus, and the state. Contrary to the research based on data from the United States and China, our research reveals that there is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between mask wearing and strong social ties. Face masks in Dagestan never became embodied artifacts despite strong social ties in the republic. Cultural and political context needs to be considered when thinking about the relationship between the strength of social ties and application of PPE.
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