Abstract. The article analyzes cultural practices in the multi-ethnic republic of Karachay-Cherkessia within the framework of the State Program for Culture. Aimed at forming regional and Russian identity, the State Program is highly generalized. It shows discrepancies between the declared official guidelines of legal documents, planned events and cultural practices for their implementation. It notes the formation of specific lists of holidays and memorable dates for various ethnic groups of the region. It is recommended that the relevant authorities actively promote cultural practices aimed at good-neighborliness and cooperation of the peoples of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the formation of «laws of memory» aimed at their unity and consent. At the same time, it is shown that ignoring, avoiding or inattention to ethnocultural events of the peoples of the republic is fraught with the manifestation of various kinds of risks.

Key words: Karachay-Cherkess Republic, normative legal documents, interethnic relations, regional and all-Russian identity, cultural practices.