Abstract. The article is devoted to demonstrating the cognitive-gnoseological and methodological potential of the knowledge construct “identity”, which is interpreted as a category of cultural science and an integral part of the general arsenal of the methodology of knowledge of the humanities. The authors analyze the genesis of the meanings and epistemological status of the definition of “identity”. Particular attention is paid to the problems of personal identity of a person, its vicissitudes in the general context of the processes of social history and cultural history, as well as its modern complex problems. The effectiveness of the potential of the category “identity” is shown in terms of the synthesis of cultural knowledge, as well as in the role of a criterion and basic basis for typologies of culture and socio-cultural existence. The question is raised about taking into account the role and place of the spectrum of identities of ethnic cultures of Russia in the formation of a distinctive Russian civilization.

Key words: culture, identity, cultural identity, personal identity, typology of identity, identity as the basis and criterion for typologizing culture.