> Just out of curiosity, is he a Russian, a Tatar or a Bashkir? Ethnic
> relations in Bashkortostan are really interesting.
>
Husband is Bashkir according to passport though his father is Tatar. His mother liked to listen to Channel 3 Bashkir language broadcasts every day when we visited.
Husband's family are all deaf to varying degrees and husband went to deaf schools his whole life. I have the impression that deaf school MAY have been a little closer to multi-ethnic Soviet nirvana than the overall milieu.
Spouse for various reasons doesn't really talk much about ethnic relations but these days he is into defending Bashkortostan's right to demand that all meat sold in the republic be halal. As far as I can tell, it's more a matter of passion than logic or strict religiosity, so I find it at least entertaining.
I did once invite several people of different ethnicities from former SU (Jewish, Tatar, etc) to my house on the same evening. Everyone single one of them called me up afterwards and said "um, usually we don't associate with THOSE people."
As a side note, if you think discussing abortion on lbo-talk is a MINEFIELD, imagine doing it over vodka with the in-laws at 6AM.
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