EurasianStudies_0110..

January-March 2010 JOURNAL OF EURASIAN STUDIES Volume II., Issue 1.
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segments in the Internet, which are not based on lingua franca (English), are developing very quickly.
Therefore the book “Tatar Internet” that tells about development of the very concrete national segment
would be interesting and helpful for many readers whose native language is not English.
The author supposes that “Tatar internet” (Tatnet) is a set of information resources of the Internet not
only in Tatar language but in any language that provide information concerning the Republic of
Tatarstan and/or the Tatar nation. It is significant that a special emphasis is put on regional and ethnic
belongings of information in this definition.
First of all, the readers will be provided with information on subject: the paper presents the most
popular sites of the Tatar internet in Tatar and in Russian of different types – from sites of official
organizations and mass media of the Republic of Tatarstan up to Tatar blogs, social networks and Tatar
Wikipedia. It is a catalog of links. Here we can find some sites of Tatar Diaspora outside of the Russian
Federation that repeat information in languages of those countries where is located, so it is clear that the
Tatar virtual space is not confined linguistically. The history of the Tatar Internet is fully presented for
the first time in this book. It began in 1994 in the USA (this fact stresses virtual but not regional aspect of
the internet features) as a simple e-mail-list of the Tatar e-Mail Group that exists today. The book is a
catalog of links, so we can know all about information resources concerning the Tatar nation.
Second, the paper identifies a lot of problems that need to be discussed in order to develop the
national internet. There is no doubt that these problems are common for all developing national
segments in the Internet. The paper gives a chance to know not only the author’s opinion on problems
like a necessity to have a high level domain for the Republic of Tatarstan, which is not a sovereign
nation-state, and using Latin script for Tatar (this is a common problem for all languages that aim to
adapt to the globalization), a possibility of state and/or non-state supporting non-commercial (cultural)
information resources (per instance, web-sites).
Third, the author brings to notice to Islam-net – a set of information resources about Islam and websites
of the Muslim organizations in Russia. Although in this case it seems that there is neither territorial,
nor ethnic connection with “Tatars”, the author notes that because Islam is a traditional (religious)
component of the Tatar identity, it is naturally to present this segment of the Internet in Russia to
readers. The point is that Islam has many devotees of different nationalities in Russia, not only of Tatar
one. Thereof we can see how the national Tatar segment overlays with other national segments.
However this theme has not received all the attention it deserves in the book. It is likely that a different
paper solely devoted to Islam-net in Russia would come to light next in near future.
After having read the book one realizes clearly that the process of consolidation of the Tatar nation
has going on steadily by the Internet after the end of the Cold War and collapse of the USSR. It has been
a spontaneous, unregulated process. It is significant that in the preface of the book the author quotes an
opinion of the famous Tatar political leader R. Khakimov about a need of state strategy of the
information revolution in the Tatar world that can help to unite the dispersed nation (Tatars are among
the most scattered nations in the world). The book illustrates the aims of the concrete minority group to
survive in the globalization age and consolidate by the presence in the virtual space. It underlines Robert
A. Saunders’ opinion that any nation, which feels its identity threatened by globalization, can safeguard
it by virtual communication, as its culture is safe and most accessible in the cyberspace. It is very
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