The article examines the functioning of Russian culture as an important component in the processes of formation and strengthening of Russian civic identity in the North Caucasus. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to ensure the sovereignty of the Russian Federation in the linguistic sphere, to resist attempts to reduce the space of the Russian language – the most important factor of Russian statehood. The historical experience of cultural integration of the peoples of the North Caucasus into Russian society is also in demand in modern socio-political and socio-cultural processes and youth practices aimed at strengthening Russian civic identity. The process of joining the peoples of the North Caucasus to Russia was accompanied by the spread in the cities, and later in the villages, of various educational and cultural institutions with a developing system of activities related to the functioning of Russian culture and the Russian language. Based on archival sources, periodicals of different years, materials of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the article reveals traditional and modern forms and mechanisms for the effective use of cultural heritage created in the Russian language. The pre-revolutionary experience of introducing Russian culture into the original ethno-cultural space of the region was successfully used in the ideology and practices of the Soviet era. The analysis of applications submitted from the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District to the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives suggests that the social functions, forms and resources aimed at popularizing Russian culture, which are proposed in modern project activities, have serious prospects for participation in the implementation of the state language policy and can become a significant factor in strengthening the unity of the Russian civil nation and traditional Russian spiritual values.