Based on the sociological materials collected in the period of 2012-2021 (mass surveys and interviews with opinion leaders), the article examines the complex nature of linguistic practices of residents of the Republic of Tatarstan and the national republics of the Volga region and the Urals. In every republic, the titular language is the native language for most representatives of the titular nationality and the state language of the republic along with Russian. The article evaluates the interrelation of the individual and the collective in the linguistic repertoire of citizens, the importance of language as a marker of ethnic affiliation in the context of growing individualization, the erosion of ethnic adherence and the formation of multiple identities. Special attention is paid to the perception of changes in the teaching of native languages initiated by federal authorities in 2017-2018, and to the viewpoints of the opinion leaders of the Volga-Ural republics (national intelligentsia, media workers and representatives of public organizations) which are discussed in terms of correlation of the freedom of speech preferences and the reproduction of language and culture of the ethnic community.