The article is dedicated to a local group of the Russian Germans living in the Central Ural Mountains (Sverdlovsk
region). This research analyzes features of ethnical history, today's consciousness and complex identity of
this group. Generally, episodes of the Russian national and regional (Ural) history are significant for the Germans
in the Central Ural Mountains: Catherine the Great's manifesto, deportation, the Labor army, rehabilitation. European
and German plots are manifested in historical memory much more weakly; but they are present in the religious
and ceremonial sphere (for example, Osterhase, the Easter rabbit). The Volga River is a bright symbol of
the Russian-German identity, for the Ural Germans in particular. In the 1960s, the Soviet Germans began a
movement for rehabilitation of their people, restoration of territorial autonomy and culture. Ivan Kronevald, a resident
of the Urals, was one of the leaders of that movement. In the 1990s, the Ural Germans actively initiated ethnical
projects: public associations, centers for meetings and culture centers appeared, which aimed to restore the
lost ethnical and cultural basis as the main objective. However, the movement for restoration of autonomy of the
Russian Germans resulted in emigration to Germany.