Abstract: the article considers the principal structure and dynamics factors of regional identity as an element of the identity system of the territorial community. The peculiarity of this system in the case of polyethnic region is analyzed. Ethnic communities, depending on the attitude to the region, are divided into emigrant diasporas, diasporas, rooted diasporas and indigenous ethnic communities, as well as differences in their participation in the socio-cultural dynamics and identity system. On the basis of this, contradictions are formulated between the ethnic and regional communities represented by the administration and the major actors. These contradictions are conceptualized as a contradiction between civil and ethnic identity, the removal of which is seen in the incorporation of basic civic values into ethnic identities and the reorientation of the latter from “images of the past” to “images of the future”.
Keywords: identity, socio-cultural dynamics, territorial community, region, ethnic community, ethnic identity, discourse