The concept of identity is considered from the perspective of its cognitive and methodological potential - as a scientifi c concept and a philosophical cat-egor y. An analysis of the role and place of th is categor y in the system of cult ural meanings and practices of everyday life is presented. Approaches to typolo-gizing identity are substantiated. In this context, the relationship is considered between the personal and the macroscale forms of social identify: civil, political, cultural, ethnic and a number of types of personal identity are proposed: sacro-imputed, corporate-transformational, communicative-spectral.

The article is devoted to the justifi cation of the principles and strategies of the University in a polyethnic region (Northern Caucasus) of modern Russia. The University is considered as a center of scientifi c and cultural thought in the region, whereas cognitive and social technologies of the University as the mechanisms of formation of the Russian cultural identity.

It is shown in the article, that the description, explanation and understanding of contemporary situation in the Northern Caucasus should be based not on the interpretation of social and cultural traditions (ethnography) of the nations of this region but on the analysis of the outcomes of their cultural and historical evolution and characteristics of their interactions with the common processes of social and political transformations in the Russia.

In the given article the role and place of the Caucasian identity in the nowadays formation processes of a united Russian civil and political society are analyzed on the basis of methods of an interdisciplinary approach. Models and control action mechanisms of these complicated and controversial processes are observed.

The article theme is a complicated, and non-obvious character of the identi-fi cation problem in so called local, regional literature. The authors come to conclusion that there is no and can not be a united, universal identity in case of the Caucasus.

The article undertakes the attempt from the position of linguocultural studies to investigate the semantic aspects of time and space as the criteriа of the ethnic identity. Great attention is paid to the analysis of the model of Caucasian identity considered in close correlation with the problem of forming Russian cultural identity. Special attention is paid to the decoding of concepts, symbols, archetypes of Russian cultural space.

In the article an attempt is undertook on the basis of comparative research of paremia to trace the tendency of bringing together the meaning of words of Russian and Caucasian cultures. Both mechanisms of interference of their sense of worlds as well as universal and national characters in cultural texts were brought to light.

The article deals with a modern state of literature in a Caucasian ethno-cul-tural space. The author comes to the conclusion that a particular type of the bilingual writers' artistic consciousness constitutes some new spiritual space which may be defi ned as a modern reality of the Russian culture.

The main subject of the article is a problem of identity in ethno-culture. Appealing to the visual arts in Kabardino-Balkaria the author shows different aspects of the problem - from seeming quite evident to bordering on insolution.

The article deals with the explanatory model of both ethnic segregation processes and ethnic consolidation. System and synergic approaches as well as so-cio-biological model of reciprocal altruism are also employed. The results of the analysis are extrapolated on to the processes of the interaction of the nations of the North Caucasus with the Russian society.

The paper shows that the Russian-Caucasian relations have deep historical roots.

In the given article is outlined a role of Kabardino-Balkaria in modern social and cultural system of Russia. A brief analysis of the recreational and tourist complex provided, as well as scientifi c and cultural potential of Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Facts provided to reader characterize modern social and cultural identity of this region of Russia.