Abstract. This article presents an example of in-depth interview analysis using software tools for analytical text coding. The study was based on a joint interview with a Karelian woman and a Pomor woman recorded during a 2021 summer expedition to Knyazhaya Guba Village (Murmansk Region, Russia). The villagers belonged to different ethnic groups, which have been in the area for a long time. It was of interest to study the self-identity of the Karelians and Pomors and the ethnic and cultural boundaries they draw. The article analyzes the constituent elements of the Karelian and Pomor identity highlighted by the informants, including ethnic markers, symbolic appropriation of the space, and perception of the surrounding landscape. We preliminarily conclude that the regional identity prevails. Regional identity in this sense is more of a figurative and emotional category, not only the administrative-unit affiliation. Both groups have adapted to the peculiar northern lifestyle, while preserving their distinctive markers – the language and place of birth for Karelians, and the value frame of reference among Pomors, which is associated with a focus on fishing and cooperative labor.
Keywords: ethnicity, qualitative data analysis, analytical coding, Karelians, Pomors