ИСТИНА

The Mordvins are the Finno-Ugric people of the Volga region, consisting of two groups, Moksha and Erzya, combining local specifics and universal trends in food culture. In the work, the author compares the food culture of the inhabitants of the Republic of Mordovia and representatives of the Mordovian community in Moscow. The research is based on field materials collected by the author in 2023-2024 in the Saransk, Kochkurovsky, Lyambirsky districts of Mordovia, as well as in Moscow. The author conducted a polling and interviewing of Mordvins from different regions of Russia. According to the results of the poll, the majority of respondents noted the importance of national cuisine as part of the people’s culture. However, food is not the main factor in self-identification: less than half of the respondents perceive their identity through national cuisine. Language is a marker of ethnicity for almost 90%, and the general historical past is for 69.1%. The respondents noted the existence of analogies between Mordovian and Russian cuisines.The most preferred cuisines of the respondents are Mordovian and Russian. The dishes of these cuisines are associated with homemade healthy food made from local products, as well as with the “taste of childhood”.Respondents associate the national cuisine of Mordovia with their grandmother’s or mother’s dishes. In general, taste preferences correspond to the principle of locavorism. Also, Mordovian meals are mainly associated with a festive atmosphere.There was no clear difference between Mordovian cuisine and Moksha and Erzya cuisine. For example, the restaurant of national cuisine in Saransk (the capital of Mordovia) does not differ food into Moksha or Erzya. However, for many meals there are different names in both Mordovian languages. It is important that the local culinary traditions include all-Russian and post-Soviet food, which are often cooked for festivals.