Ethnic composition population

Studying any country in geography is impossible without knowledge of the peoples who live in it. Here it is important to know what language this people speaks, and what features of spiritual and material culture distinguish it from other peoples, and what is the peculiarity of its demographic behavior. Many sciences study the past and present of peoples: archeology, geography, philosophy and other sciences. But there is also a special science - ethnography (ethnology), which studies the origin of peoples, their main characteristics and properties, and the relationships between them.

The main concept in ethnography is the concept of ethnicity.

Ethnos– (from the Greek éthnos - society, group, tribe, people) a historically established stable community of people, possessing a set of characteristics: common territory and language, relatively stable features of material and spiritual culture and psyche, as well as awareness of its unity and difference from others of the same kind formations, i.e. self-awareness and self-name (according to Yu.V. Bromley

Of the listed characteristics of an ethnic group, none is absolutely necessary to classify a group of people as a specific nation. Thus, one and the same people can speak two languages ​​(for example, Belarusians speak both Russian and Belarusian languages). And on English spoken by the British, Australians, New Zealanders, US Americans, Irish and other peoples. As for the common territory, this feature is not always an obligatory sign of an ethnic group. For example, those emigrants who moved to permanent place residence in Canada, USA, Brazil. It is very difficult to find absolute similarity in clothing, food, and social behavior within a large group of people. People are always different. And maybe a metropolitan resident of Moscow will be closer in terms of material and spiritual culture to a Parisian or Londoner than to a similar Russian, but living in a village beyond the Urals. Rather, the commonality of territory is a necessary condition for its emergence and existence.

Therefore, the most important element of ethnic identification of any group of people is ethnic identity.

Under ethnic identity It is customary to understand a person’s awareness of his belonging to a certain people (ethnic group), and by self-designation designate this ethnic group with a word.

Sometimes ethnic self-awareness takes on hypertrophied forms, i.e. representatives of a certain people consider themselves more “significant” in comparison with other peoples living nearby, while achieving the privileges of one people over another in many spheres of life (in the sphere of power, economic structures, symbols, etc.) This ethnic identity is called nationalism. An extremely aggressive form of nationalism is chauvinism, in which representatives of a certain ethnic group apply ethnic discrimination or forced assimilation to other peoples. Moreover, if these measures reach the extermination of people of another nationality, then such a phenomenon as genocide.

Famous Russian scientist L.N. Gumilyov believes that the ethnos is in the process of constant development and transformation, has a stage of origin, development, aging and disappearance (now such peoples as the Byzantines, Hellenes, Romans, Huns, Babylonians have already been forgotten, but once these were great peoples who left us traces of our great culture). From the moment of origin to the moment of extinction, about 1200-1550 years pass, and the current “backward peoples”, for example, the peoples of Africa or Oceania, are just ethnic groups at their stage of youth or, on the contrary, old age, and civilized Europeans are arrogant because they can use the accumulated culture of previous centuries of its development.

In our ethnography it is customary to distinguish three stages formation of an ethnos (the so-called staged or temporary types).

The earliest and simplest stage of development of an ethnos is considered clan and tribe. A clan and tribe has the following characteristics: a certain territory; general signs of economic activity; tribal power. Ethnic identity among tribe members is reflected in the idea of ​​a common ancestor. This category is historical and a classic example was the Evenks and Nenets (northern peoples living in the European north of our country) in the recent pre-revolutionary past. Examples of the modern period include some surviving tribes in inaccessible isolated places among the Indians of South America, the aborigines of Australia, and the peoples of equatorial Africa.

With the growth of the social division of labor, with the advent of class society and the formation of states, nationalities– the second stage of development of the ethnos. Nationality can be perceived in two senses:

1. Stage of development of an ethnos, occupying an intermediate position between a tribe and a nation. In this case, this group of people has the following characteristics: a single territory, culture, the beginnings of a community of economic life and statehood; ethnic self-awareness is already expressed in the awareness of common origin from a particular tribe.

2. Modern ethnic groups that have lost the characteristics of a tribe and have not become nations.

The highest stage of development of an ethnic group is the nation.

Nation can also have two meanings:

§ The highest stage of development of an ethnic group, characterized by the presence of statehood, common ethnic territory, economic life, emergence and spread literary language, recognized as state, by the presence of ethnic identity;

§ The totality of citizens of one state.

Ethnic communities are in constant flux: their numbers change, their gender and age composition changes, some communities disappear, others emerge. All those processes that lead to changes either in some individual elements or in the ethnic group as a whole are called ethnic processes. They happen ethnically unifying or ethnically dividing.

At the stage of the emergence and formation of states, ethno-unification processes were most common. Experts mainly distinguish two such processes: consolidation and assimilation. Consolidation is the merging of groups that are close in language and culture into a larger ethnic community or the inclusion of a group close to it into an ethnic community. Thus, from the related tribes of the Krivichi, Radimichi and Dregovichi, such a people as the Belarusians were subsequently formed. Ethnic assimilation is the process of “dissolution” of a previously independent ethnic group or some part of it among another, usually larger, ethnic group. It can be natural and violent. With natural assimilation, due to long residence in a foreign country, immigrants acquire the language, culture, and stereotypes of behavior of people in the country of residence. The main way in this case is interethnic marriages. An example of forced assimilation could be the Polishization of Belarusians during the annexation of Belarusian lands to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when the Polish language, the Catholic faith, and Polish schools were implanted in our population.

Today there is no exact definition of the number of peoples, but the most common value for the number of peoples is 2000 - 2500, which are at various stages of development. The most widespread among geographers are classification of peoples by number and language.

By population the grouping of peoples was proposed by S.I. Brook. The largest nations, whose number exceeds 100 million people. are: Chinese, Hindustani, US Americans, Bengalis, Russians, Brazilians, Japanese, Punjabis. These 8 nations account for about 41% of the total world population. Nations with a population of 50 to 100 million make up about another 17% of the population. Today there are 12 such peoples. But most of all (more than 180) peoples have a population of 1 to 5 million people. Although together they account for only 8% of the world's population.

The most common is linguistic classification of peoples world (based on the relationship of languages). The taxonomic ranks of the peoples of the world adopted in the linguistic classification of peoples are as follows:

§ Subgroup

§ Division

In the linguistic classification of the peoples of the world, it is customary to distinguish the following families: Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Niger-Congo family, Semitic, Berber, Cushitic, Chadian, Austronesian, Dravidian, Altai, Ural-Yukaghir, Austroasiatic, Paratai, Nilo-Saharan, North Caucasian, Kartvelian, Miao-Yao family, Australian, Eskimo- Aleutian, Chukchi-Kamchatka, Papuan families, families Indian peoples, Andamanese.

Some peoples occupy an isolated position, i.e. do not belong to any named family (Ainu, Basque, Nivkh, Burishi, Hoti, Kusunda).

The Russian Federation is one of the multinational states of the world.

The list of nationalities includes more than 160 ethnic groups.

All peoples inhabiting the Russian Federation belong to nine language families: Indo-European, Kartvelian, Ural-Yukaghir, Altai, Eskimo-Aleutian, North Caucasian, Yenisei, Sino-Tibetan, Chukchi-Kamchatka.

In addition, one people (Nivkhs) occupies an isolated position linguistically.

The vast majority of ethnic groups in Russia, totaling 122.9 million people. (84.7% of the country's population), belongs to the Indo-European peoples.

The Indo-European family is divided into several groups, of which the following are represented in Russia: Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Romanesque, Greek, Armenian, Iranian and Indo-Aryan.

The largest of these groups is Slavic (119.7 million people - 82.5% of the total). This includes, first of all, the main people of the country - Russians, who, according to the 2002 census, number 115.9 million people, accounting for 79.8% of the total population of Russia. Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Bulgarians, and representatives of some other peoples living in Russia are also Slavs. Russians sharply predominate in the vast majority of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Of all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the proportion of Russians is lowest in the Republic of Dagestan, and after the well-known military events it probably became even lower in the Chechen Republic.
Such a large and widely dispersed people as the Russians, despite their significant monolithic nature, naturally includes subethnic groups of different hierarchical levels. First of all, there are northern and southern Great Russians, who differ significantly from each other in dialect and individual elements of material and spiritual culture. However common features There are much more than differences in the culture of different groups of the Russian people. The unity of Russians is also emphasized by the fact that, along with the northern and southern Great Russians, there is a transitional Central Russian group, whose culture and language combine both northern and southern elements.

The area of ​​settlement of the northern Great Russians extends from the Gulf of Finland to the Urals and more eastern regions, covering the Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Vologda, Leningrad, Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo regions, northeast of the Tver region, northern and central parts of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Kirov region, Perm region, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk regions, eastern part Saratov region, the Astrakhan region, as well as the Republic, the Komi Republic, the Udmurt Republic, the Mari El Republic, the Chuvash Republic - Chuvashia, the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), the Republic of Bashkortostan (along with the indigenous population of these republics).

The Northern Great Russians include a number of ethnographic groups of a lower hierarchical level. These are, first of all, the Pomors, as well as the Mezentsy, Pustozers and Ust-Tsilema, who are close to them in origin and culture. Somewhat separate groups of northern Great Russians are also the Kargopols, Zaonezhans, Ilmen Poozers, Poshekhons, and Kerzhaks.

The habitat of the Central Russian group is located mainly in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka rivers. This group includes the Tudov people, living in the Tver region along the Tud River (a tributary of the Volga River) and representing Russified Belarusians by origin, and the Russian Meshchera, settled in the north of the Ryazan region and in a number of other areas and, possibly, genetically related to those noted in chronicles of the Finnish-speaking Meshchera.

A special position is occupied by the transitional group living in the Pskov and Smolensk regions and neighboring areas of Tver and Kaluga region and has a number of linguistic and cultural features that bring it closer to Belarusians. This especially applies to the population of the Smolensk region, spoken language which is closer to the language than to Russian (although in terms of ethnic identity the group is undoubtedly Russian).

Southern Great Russians are settled in the southern zone of Russia, from the Desna River basin in the west to the headwaters of the Khoper and Medveditsa rivers in the east, from the middle reaches of the Oka River in the north to the Main Caucasus Range in the south.
Of the ethnographic groups of the southern Great Russians, the Polehs live on the territory of the European part of Russia, who are considered descendants ancient population Rus', who never left with other southern Russian groups to the north from the attack of nomads; Besides them, the Sayans and Tsukans stand out as somewhat separate groups.

The Russian population of Siberia and the Far East was formed as a result of resettlement from various regions of Russia, and the share of these regions in different historical periods was not the same. The Siberian old-timer population is represented mainly by northern Great Russians of the 16th-18th centuries, “new settlers”, or, as the old-timers call them, “Russian”, come mainly from the southern provinces of Russia (second half of the 19th century).

Among the old-timer population, several very specific groups stand out, many of which, in terms of economic activities, culture and language, are strongly separated from the main part of the Russian population. These are the so-called Ob old-timers, Selduks and Goryuns, tundra peasants who have mastered the language, Russian-Ustinets or Indigirshchiks, Kolyma or Lower Kolyma people, Pokhod people or Middle Kolyma people who partially switched to the Yakut language, Markovites.

Resettlement of Russians

The Cossacks occupy a very special position among the subethnic groups of the Russian population. Possessing a number of common cultural and everyday features, they are nevertheless a single whole. Don Cossacks are settled in the Rostov and Volgograd regions, Kuban - in the Krasnodar Territory (they have a very significant component), Terek - in the Stavropol Territory, as well as in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, in the Chechen Republic and in Republic of Dagestan, Astrakhan - in Astrakhan region, Orenburg - in the Orenburg, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions, Transbaikal (have a significant admixture) - in the Chita region and the Republic of Buryatia, Amur - in the Amur region and the Jewish Autonomous Region, Ussuri - in Primorsky and the territories. The Ural Cossacks living in Russia are concentrated in a number of southwestern regions of the Orenburg region, and the Siberian Cossacks are concentrated in some areas of the Omsk region.
Ukrainians (2.9 million people - 2% of the Russian population) form the highest share in the population of some northern regions of the Russian Federation: in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Magadan Region and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra. The share of Belarusians (there are 815 thousand people in the country as a whole, which is 0.6% of the population) is relatively high in the Kaliningrad region and the Republic of Karelia. (73 thousand people) are dispersed throughout the territory of Russia, forming significant groups in the cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow; in the Omsk region there is a small rural enclave where the Polish population predominates. Bulgarians and Czechs are also widely dispersed.

Among the peoples of the Romanesque group, Moldovans (172 thousand people - 0.1% of the country's population), Romanians, Spaniards and Cubans (6 thousand people, 2 thousand people and 1.6 thousand people, respectively) live in Russia. , dispersedly distributed throughout the country.

The Greek group includes only Greeks (98 thousand people), mainly concentrated in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories.

The Armenian group is also represented by one ethnic group - Armenians (1.1 million people - 0.8% of the Russian population). Armenians are widely settled throughout the country, but most of them live in the south of European Russia. A significant group of Armenians lives in Moscow.

The Baltic group is represented by a relatively small number of Latvians (45 thousand people and 29 thousand people, respectively), settled in a number of regions of the country. With a sufficiently dispersed distribution, they form small compact tracts in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. A significant number of Latvians, in addition, live in the Omsk region, Lithuanians - in the Kaliningrad region. and Lithuanians also live in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Among the Latvians there are representatives of the Latgalian ethnic group (mostly Catholics), who were previously considered a separate people.

The German group includes primarily Germans (597 thousand people - 0.4% of the Russian population). They are dispersed throughout the country, but their main area of ​​residence is the south of Western and Central Siberia. Russian Germans are heterogeneous: among them, in terms of language and some cultural features, the descendants of people from the South and North are primarily distinguished, and among the latter, Mennonites form a special ethnographic group.

Conventionally, Jews can be included in the German group (230 thousand people - 0.2% of the Russian population). The vast majority of Russian Jews are former Yiddish speakers, but among them there are also a small number of Sephardim, integrated into the Ashkenazi community. Among Jews in cities, mainly large ones, their largest groups are concentrated in Moscow, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, .

The Iranian group primarily includes Ossetians (515 thousand people - 0.4% of the Russian population) and Mountain Jews (3 thousand people). mainly concentrated in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; They are also found in neighboring areas. Mountain Jews live mainly in the Republic of Dagestan and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Iranian-speaking people are dispersed in Russia.

The Indo-Aryan group is represented in Russia primarily (183 thousand people - 0.1% of the Russian population). Gypsies are widely distributed throughout the country and are found in almost all regions of the Russian Federation. However, partially preserving the traditions of nomadic life, they gravitate more towards the southern, “warm” regions. The most significant groups of gypsies form in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, as well as in the Rostov region.
The Kartvelian family includes Georgians (198 thousand people - 0.1% of the country's population). They do not form significant groups anywhere in the country. The share of Georgians in the population of a number of regions is highest North Caucasus(Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Krasnodar Territory, Stavropol Territory), as well as in Moscow; but even in these places there are few of them. Among the Georgians in Russia there are Mingrelians (and a small number of Svans) and Jews (1.2 thousand people).
The Ural-Yukaghir family is quite widely represented in Russia, although it is very much inferior to the Indo-European family in terms of its numbers. 2.8 million people belong to it. - 1.9% of the Russian population. The Ural-Yukaghir family is divided into three groups: Finnish-Ugric (most of the peoples of this family belong to it), Samoyed and Yukaghir.

The Finno-Ugric group includes Karelians (125 thousand people - 0.1%), Izhorians (0.4 thousand people), Finns (overwhelmingly Ingrians - 47 thousand people), Estonians (46 thousand people). people), (probably 0.2 thousand people), Vepsians (12 thousand people), Sami, or Lapps (2 thousand people), Mordovians (935 thousand people - 0.6%) , (595 thousand people - 0.4%), Udmurts (713 thousand people - 0.5%), Besermyans (10 thousand people), Komi (358 thousand people - 0.2%) , Komi-Permyaks (141 thousand people - 0.1%), (22 thousand people), (8 thousand people) and Hungarians (6 thousand people).

Karelians are concentrated primarily in the Republic of Karelia, but they constitute a minority of the population there. The second important place of residence of Karelians is the Tver region, where Karelians occupy a fairly compact area. Karelians also live in the Murmansk and Leningrad regions and the city of St. Petersburg. The closely related small people of Izhora are mainly concentrated in the Leningrad region. Finns live mainly in the Republic of Karelia, the Leningrad region and the city of St. Petersburg. dispersed throughout the country. The most significant groups of them are found in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the city of St. Petersburg. Quickly assimilated by the surrounding Russian population, the small Vod ethnic group (the vast majority of whom do not know their native language and speak only Russian) lives in several villages in the Leningrad region. Vepsians are concentrated mainly in the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad and Vologda regions. The Sami are represented in Russia by a small group, the vast majority of whom are concentrated in the Murmansk region. The largest people of the Ural-Yukaghir family in Russia are the Mordovians. ranks eighth in number among the peoples of the Russian Federation. The people are dispersed very dispersedly, and about a third of all Mordovians live in the Republic of Mordovia. There are significant groups of Mordovians in Penza, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Orenburg and Nizhny Novgorod regions. In the Volga region, somewhat north of the Mordovians, live the Mari, whose settlement is also dispersed. Only half of all Mari in Russia live in the Republic of Mari El. The share of Mari in the population of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Kirov region, the Sverdlovsk region and the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan) is significant. The Udmurts living in the Urals are mainly concentrated in the Udmurt Republic, although they make up about a third of the population. Among other subjects of the Russian Federation in which Udmurts live, the Kirov region, Perm region, the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Sverdlovsk region should be noted. In the northern part of the Udmurt Republic live a small people of Besermyans, assimilated linguistically (but not ethnically!) by the surrounding population. The Komi, or Komi-Zyryans, living in the north of the European part of Russia are overwhelmingly concentrated in their Komi Republic. Outside the republic, the most significant Komi groups in number are in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra. Close to the Komi-Zyryans are the Komi-Permyaks, who are also mainly concentrated in Perm region. The Khanty living in Western Siberia are mainly concentrated in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The overwhelming majority of Mansi settled to the southwest live in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra.

Another significantly smaller group of the Ural-Yukaghir family is the Samoyed. It includes only four peoples: Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups. (41 thousand people), mainly concentrated in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (former Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug). In these regions they make up a small proportion of the population. The Enets are one of the smallest. According to the 2002 census, there were just over 300 people. The Nganasans are mainly concentrated in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The Selkups (4 thousand people) are predominantly settled in two rather distant places from each other: the northern (Taz) Selkups live in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the southern (Tym, Naryn) Selkups live in the north of the Tomsk region.

The group unites two peoples: the Yukaghirs (about 2 thousand people) and the Chuvans (more than 1 thousand people). Most of the Yukaghirs are settled in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). A relatively small group of them lives in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The majority of Chuvans are concentrated in it. Everyone has lost their native language, close to Yukaghir, and now speaks either Russian (sedentary Chuvans living in the area of ​​the village of Markovo) or Chukotka (nomadic Chuvans living in the upper reaches of the Anadyr River).

The Altai family is the second largest in Russia after the Indo-European, although almost ten times inferior to it. It includes 12.7 million of all residents of Russia (8.7% of the total population). It includes five groups, of which four are quite widely represented in our country: Turkic, Mongolian, Tungus-Manchu and Korean.
The largest of these groups is the Turkic one, which in the Russian Federation includes the following peoples: Chuvash (1.6 million people - 1.1% of the Russian population), Tatars including Siberian (5.3 million people - 3.6%) , Crimean Tatars who moved to Russia,
(6 thousand people), Kryashens (about 300 thousand people - 0.2%), Nagaibaks (10 thousand people), Bashkirs
(1.7 million people - 1.2%), Kazakhs (654 thousand people - 0.5%), (6 thousand people), Nogais (91 thousand people), Kumyks (423 thousand) people - 0.2%), Karachais (192 thousand people - 0.1%), (78 thousand people), Azerbaijanis (622 thousand people - 0.4%), Turkmens (33 thousand) people), (123 thousand people), or Altai-Kizhi (about 45 thousand people), Telengits (about 5 thousand people), (1.7 thousand people), Tubalars (1.6 thousand people), Kumandins (3 thousand people), Chelkans (0.9 thousand people), Chulyms (0.7 thousand people), Shors (14 thousand people), Khakassians (76 thousand . people), Tuvans (243 thousand people - about 0.2%), Tofalars (0.8 thousand people), Soyots (3 thousand people), Yakuts (444 thousand people - 0. 3%), Dolgans (7 thousand people).

The fifth largest population in the country - half concentrated in Chuvash Republic- Chuvashia, where he makes up the majority of the population. Significant groups of Chuvash live in the Ulyanovsk region, in the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), Samara region, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, in Tyumen, Orenburg and some other regions of the country.

The Tatars (the second largest people in Russia after the Russians) are quite widely dispersed throughout the country. In addition to their republic and nearby subjects - regions of their compact residence, many Tatars live in the Western Siberian regions (Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo). The high proportion of Tatars in the Tyumen region is due to the fact that Siberian Tatars live here, who are the indigenous inhabitants of these places and are recognized by some scientists as a separate ethnic group. Siberian Tatars differ from Kazan and other European Tatars in their dialect and anthropological type (they are more Mongoloid). The Siberian Tatars are very dispersedly settled and fall into a number of ethnographic groups: Tyumen-Turin, Tobolsk, Zabolotnaya (Yaskolbinsk), Tevriz (), Barabinsk, Tomsk, Chat, Kalmyk.

The Kryashens consider themselves a separate people. Two thirds of them are concentrated in the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan) (mainly in its northern and eastern parts), one third - in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation: in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, in the Republic of Mari El and the Udmurt Republic. Close to the Kryashens are the Nagaibaks, who live in two districts of the Chelyabinsk region.

The fourth largest people in the Russian Federation, they are settled, like many peoples in the Cis-Ural region, very dispersedly. Over two-thirds of all Bashkirs in Russia live in the Republic of Bashkortostan itself, but they constitute a minority of the population there.

Outside the Republic of Bashkortostan, the largest groups of representatives of the Bashkirs are in the Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk regions, in the Perm Territory and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra.
Kazakhs are concentrated primarily in the neighboring regions: Astrakhan, Orenburg, Omsk, Saratov, Volgograd regions and in the Altai Territory.

They are predominantly concentrated in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Republic of Dagestan and the Stavropol Territory. overwhelmingly concentrated in the Republic of Dagestan. , mainly live in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, but they make up a relatively small part of the population there.
Balkars mainly (90%) live in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

The Oghuz, or southwestern, subgroup of the Turkic group includes Azerbaijanis living in Russia, Meskhetian Turks (25 thousand people), Ottoman Turks (21.5 thousand people), Gagauz (10 thousand people) and Turkmens . Azerbaijanis are represented in almost all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but they form a significant share of the population only in the Republic of Dagestan. , living in Russia, only in one place - the Stavropol Territory - form a noticeable “clump” of the population. The so-called Stavropol Turkmens, or Trukhmens, live there. Another Central Asian people, the Uzbeks, unlike the Turkmens, do not form a compact territorial mass anywhere and are extremely dispersedly settled.

Altaians (Altai-Kizhi) belong to the South Siberian subgroup of the Turkic group. Altaians are mainly concentrated in the Altai Republic. The Altaians were previously joined by five Turkic-speaking peoples: Telengits, Teleuts, Tubalars, Kumandins and Chelkans. This subgroup also includes Chulyms, Shors, Khakassians, Tuvans and Tofalars.

Telengits live in the southeastern part of the Altai Republic, Teleuts - mainly in the Kemerovo region, Tubalars - in the northeast of the Altai Republic, Kumandins - in the southeast of the Altai Territory and the far north of the Altai Republic, Chelkans - also in the far north of this republic. The Chulym people live in the Chulym River basin in the Tomsk region and in the southwest of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The Shors are settled in the south of the Kemerovo region (Gornaya Shoria), as well as in Khakassia. The overwhelming majority (80%) are concentrated in the Republic of Khakassia, almost all Tuvans (96%) are in the Republic of Tyva. Among the Tuvans, there is a sub-ethnic group (36 thousand people), settled in the northeast of the Republic of Tyva. The small Turkic-speaking Tofalary people, close to the Tuvinians-Todzha, are mainly concentrated in the Irkutsk region. In the Okinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia, adjacent to the Irkutsk region, there live the Soyota people, related to the Tofalars and not counted in the latest censuses. This people once spoke a language very close to Tofa-Lar, but now they have almost completely switched to the Buryat language.

One of the northernmost peoples - the Yakuts - is almost entirely concentrated on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where the Yakuts make up a third of the population, greatly inferior in number to the Russians. The Dolgans are very close in language to the Yakuts, living mainly in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as in the adjacent regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Another one, belonging to the Altai family - Mongolian group- is represented in Russia mainly by two fairly significant peoples: the Buryats (445 thousand people - 0.3% of the country's population) and (174 thousand people - 0.1% of the country's population). Buryats are mainly concentrated in three constituent entities of the Russian Federation: the Republic of Buryatia, the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug and the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug. There are some differences in language and culture between the eastern, Transbaikal, Buryats and the western, Irkutsk. The vast majority of Kalmyks live in the Republic of Kalmykia. The group also includes a small group of Khalkha Mongols living in Russia (2 thousand people).

The third group of the Altai family - Tungus-Manchu - includes Evenks (35 thousand people), Negidals (0.8 thousand people), Evens (19 thousand people), Nanais (12 thousand people), Ulchi (3 thousand people), (ulta) (0.1 thousand people), Orochi (0.8 thousand people), Udege (1.7 thousand people) and, conditionally, Tazy (0. 3 thousand people). very dispersedly distributed. About half of their total number lives in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); they are also found in the Khabaovsk Territory, in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the Republic of Buryatia, the Irkutsk and Amur regions and some other places. The Negidals are concentrated in their majority in the valley of the Amgun River in the Khabarovsk Territory. Evenov lives most of all in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), there are also in the Magadan region, Khabarovsk Territory, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The overwhelming majority of Nanais are concentrated along the Amur River and its tributaries in the Khabarovsk Territory. In the Khabarovsk Territory, the Ulchi are mainly settled; The Oroks mainly live in the Sakhalin region, the Orochi - in the Khabarovsk Territory, the Udege - in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. Conventionally, the Taz are assigned to the Tungus-Manchu group - a people of Nanai-Udege origin who switched to the Chinese language and borrowed many elements of Chinese culture. Now the basins are concentrated in the village of Mikhailovka, Primorsky Territory. Russian has become the main language of many Tajiks.
The Korean group includes only one people - Koreans (148 thousand people - 0.1% of the country's population), who are dispersed throughout Russia, but a significant group of them lives in the Sakhalin region, there are also in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories and the Rostov region.

The very small Eskimo-Aleut family (it includes 2.4 thousand people, that is, only 0.002% of the Russian population) unites two peoples: Eskimos and Aleuts. (1.8 thousand people) live mainly on the eastern coast of the peninsula and on the island, Aleuts (0.6 thousand people) live in the Kamchatka Territory, mainly on the Kamandor Islands.

The North Caucasian family (which includes 4.6 million people, that is, 3.2% of the population of Russia), as reflected in its name, unites peoples, the overwhelming majority settled in the North Caucasus. The family is divided into two groups: Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan.

The Abkhaz-Adyghe group includes four closely related Adyghe peoples, as well as the Abaza. Adyghe peoples (Dargins, Kubachi, Kaytag, Tabasaran, Lengiz, Agul, Rutul, Tsakhur.

The Yenisei family (1.9 thousand people - 0.001% of the population of Russia) is very small: in Russia its representatives are the Kets (1.8 thousand people) and the Yugs close to them (0.1 thousand people), from of which only 2-3 people remember their native language to some extent. Some scientists consider the Yugs to be an independent people, others believe that they are a subethnic group of Kets. Both Kets and Yugas are settled along the middle and lower reaches of the Yenisei River and its tributaries, mainly in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The Sino-Tibetan family (36 thousand people - 0.02% of the Russian population) is represented in Russia mainly by Chinese (according to the 2002 census, 35 thousand people, although in reality there are, apparently, much more) . There are Chinese in the Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk territories and the Irkutsk region. In general, the Chinese in Russia are characterized by dispersed settlement.

The small Chukotka-Kamchatka family (31 thousand people - 0.02% of the Russian population) includes the Chukchi, Koryaks and Alyutors, Kereks, Itelmens and, conditionally, . The most significant of the listed peoples - the Chukchi (16 thousand people) - are mainly settled in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, where they make up a relatively small part of the population. They also live in the north of the Kamchatka Territory (former Koryak Autonomous Okrug). are divided into two groups: Chauchu - reindeer and Ankalyn - coastal. together with the Alyutors, there were 9 thousand people according to the 2002 census. Among the Koryaks, the Nymylans (coastal) and the Chuvchuvens (reindeer) stand out. The Alyutor people live in the area of ​​Cape Olyutorsky and in other areas in the north of the Kamchatka Territory. Kereks are one of the smallest peoples of the Russian Federation, there are only 22 people, of which only 3 speak Kerek. Another people of the Chukotka-Kamchatka family - the Itelmens (3 thousand people) - live in the north of the Kamchatka Territory and in the Magadan region. Conditionally, the Kamchadals (2 thousand people) can be classified as the Chukotka-Kamchatka family - a people of mixed Itelmen-Russian origin, speaking Russian, but retaining some elements of Itelmen culture. Most Kamchadals live in the Kamchatka Territory. In previous censuses they were included among the Russians.

The linguistically isolated Nivkh people (5 thousand people) are mainly settled within two constituent entities of the Russian Federation - in the Khabarovsk Territory and in the Sakhalin Region.

In Russia there are also representatives of two language families, but they are dispersed and do not form compact areas anywhere. These are the Assyrians (14 thousand people) and Arabs (11 thousand people) belonging to the Semitic family (25 thousand people - 0.02% of the country's population) and those belonging to the Austroasiatic family (26 thousand people - 0 .02% of the country's population) Vietnamese.

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In the modern world, Russia is largest country, occupying a vast area - more than seventeen thousand square kilometers. Two continents divide it into parts - European and Asian. Each of them is larger in territory than many not-so-small states of the Earth.

In terms of population, however, our country is only in ninth place. The number of Russians today does not reach one hundred and fifty million people. The problem is that most of the country's territory lies under deserted steppes and taiga, for example, these are the most remote regions of Siberia.

However, this is compensated by the number of peoples living here. This was predetermined by the past. Historically, Russia is a multinational state, which it became by absorbing neighboring peoples, attracting strangers with large territories and wealth. According to official data, the Russian state is now home to almost two hundred peoples, differing sharply in numbers: from Russians (more than one hundred and ten million people) to Kerek (less than ten representatives).

How many of us are there?

How many peoples live in Russia? How to find out? The leading sources of useful information about the population of our country are statistical censuses regularly conducted in recent years. At the same time, according to modern methods and according to democratic approaches, data on the nationality of Russian residents by origin is not noted in documents, which is why digital material for the census appeared on the basis of self-determination of Russians.

In total, in recent years, a little more than 80% of the country’s citizens declared themselves Russian by nationality, leaving only 19.1% as representatives of other nations. Almost six million census participants were unable to identify their nationality at all or defined it as a fantastic people (elves, for example).

Summing up the final calculations, it should be noted that the total number of peoples of the country who do not consider themselves Russian population did not exceed twenty-five million citizens.

This suggests that the ethnic composition of the Russian population is very complex and requires constant special attention. On the other hand, there is one large ethnic group that serves as a kind of core of the entire system.

Ethnic composition

The basis of the national composition of Russia is, of course, Russians. This people comes from their own historical roots from the Eastern Slavs who lived on the territory of Rus' since ancient times. A significant part of Russians exist, of course, in Russia, but there are large layers in a number of former Soviet republics and in the USA. This is the most significant European ethnic group. Today there are more than one hundred and thirty-three million Russians living in the world.

Russians are the titular people of our country; their representatives dominate a significant number of regions of the modern Russian state. Of course, this led to side effects. The spread of this nation over several centuries over a vast territory in the course of historical development led to the formation of dialects, as well as separate ethnic groups. For example, on the coast of the White Sea live the Pomors, who form a subethnic group of local Karelians and Russians who arrived in the past.

Among the more complex ethnic associations, groups of peoples can be noted. The largest group of peoples are the Slavs, mainly from the eastern subgroup.

In total, representatives of nine large language families live in Russia, differing greatly in language, culture, and way of life. Except Indo-European family, they are mainly of Asian origin.

This is the approximate ethnic composition of the Russian population today according to official data. What can be said definitely is that our country is distinguished by a significant diversity of nationalities.

The largest nations of Russia

The nationalities living in Russia are quite clearly divided into numerous and small. The first ones, in particular, include:

• The Russian inhabitants of the country number (according to the latest census) more than one hundred and ten million people.
• Tatars of several groups, reaching 5.4 million people.
• Ukrainians number two million. The bulk of the Ukrainian people live on the territory of Ukraine; in Russia, representatives of this people appeared in the course of historical development in the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern periods.
• Bashkirs, another nomadic people in the past. Their number is 1.6 million people.
• Chuvash, residents of the Volga region - 1.4 million.
• Chechens, one of the peoples of the Caucasus, - 1.4 million, etc.

There are other peoples of similar numbers who played an important role in the past and, possibly, the future of the country.

Small nations of Russia

How many small nations live on the territory of Russia? There are many such ethnic groups in the country, but they are poorly represented in the total population because they are very few in number. These national groups include the peoples of the Finno-Ugric, Samoyed, Turkic, and Sino-Tibetan groups. Particularly small are the Kereks (a tiny people - only four people), the Vod people (sixty-four people), the Enets (two hundred and seventy-seven), the Ults (almost three hundred people), the Chulyms (a little more than three and a half hundred), the Aleuts (almost half a thousand) , Negidals (just over five hundred), Orochi (almost six hundred). For all of them, the problem of survival is a pressing and everyday issue.

Map of the peoples of Russia

In addition to the strong dispersion in the size of the national composition of Russia and the inability of many ethnic groups in modern times to maintain their numbers independently, there is also the problem of distribution within the country. The population of Russia is distributed very heterogeneously, which is caused primarily by economic incentives both in the historical past and in the present.

The bulk is located in the area between the Baltic St. Petersburg, the Siberian Krasnoyarsk, the Black Sea Novorossiysk and the Far Eastern Primorsky Territory, where all big cities. The reasons for this are the good climate and favorable economic background. To the north of this territory there is permafrost caused by eternal cold, and to the south there are vast expanses of lifeless desert.

In terms of population density, Siberia has one of the last places in the modern world. Its vast territory is home to less than 30 million inhabitants. This represents only 20% of the country's total population. While in its vast area Siberia reaches three-quarters of the expanses of Russia. The most densely populated areas are the directions Derbent - Sochi and Ufa - Moscow.

In the Far East, a significant population density runs along the entire length of the Trans-Siberian Highway. Increased standards of population density are also observed in the Kuznechny coal basin region. All these areas attract Russians with their economic and natural wealth.

The most big nations countries: Russian, in to a lesser extent Tatars and Ukrainians are mainly located in the southwest of the state. Ukrainians today are mostly located on the territory of the Chukotka Peninsula and in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, in the distant Magadan region.

Other small peoples of the Slavic ethnic group, such as the Poles and Bulgarians, do not create large compact groups and are scattered throughout the country. The Polish population is found in a fairly compact group only in the Omsk region.

Tatars

The number of Tatars living in Russia, as noted above, exceeded the level of three percent of the total Russian population. About a third of them live compactly in the region of the Russian Federation called the Republic of Tatarstan. Group settlements exist in the Volga regions, in the far north, etc.

A significant part of the Tatars are supporters of Sunni Islam. Certain groups of Tatars have differences in language, culture and way of life. The common language is within the Turkic group of languages ​​of the Altaic language family, it has three dialects: Mishar (western), the more widespread Kazan (middle), and the slightly distant Siberian-Tatar (eastern). In Tatarstan, this language appears as an official one.

Ukrainians

One of the many East Slavic peoples is the Ukrainians. More than forty million Ukrainians live in their historical homeland. In addition, significant diasporas exist not only in Russia, but also in the countries of Europe and America.

Ukrainians living in Russia, including labor migrants, number about five million people. A significant number of them are located in cities. Particularly large groups of this ethnic group are located in the capital, in oil- and gas-bearing regions of Siberia, the Far North, etc.

Belarusians

IN modern Russia Belarusians, taking into account their total number in the world, constitute a large number. As the 2010 census of the Russian population shows, there are a little more than half a million Belarusians living in Russia. A significant proportion of white people are located in the capitals, as well as in a number of regions, for example in Karelia and the Kaliningrad region.

In the pre-revolutionary years, a large number of Belarusians moved to Siberia and the Far East, and later national administrative units existed there. By the end of the eighties, there were more than one million Belarusians on the territory of the RSFSR. Nowadays, their number has been halved, but it is obvious that the Belarusian stratum in Russia will be preserved.

Armenians

There are quite a lot of Armenians living in Russia, although according to different sources, their number differs. Thus, according to the 2010 census, there were slightly more than one million people in Russia, that is, less than one percent of the total population. According to the assumptions of Armenian public organizations, the number of the Armenian stratum in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century exceeded two and a half million people. And Russian President V.V. Putin, speaking about the number of Armenians in Russia, voiced the figure of three million people.

In any case, the Armenians are playing serious role in public and cultural life Russia. Thus, Armenians work in the Russian government (Chilingarov, Bagdasarov, etc.), in show business (I. Allegrova, V. Dobrynin, etc.), and in other fields of activity. There are regional organizations of the Union of Armenians of Russia in sixty-three regions of Russia.

Germans

The Germans living in Russia are representatives of an ethnic group that has experienced a contradictory and in some ways even tragic history. Migrating en masse in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries at the invitation of the Russian government, they mainly settled in the Volga region, western and southern provinces Russian Empire. Life on good lands was easy, but in the twentieth century, historical events hit the Germans hard. First the First World War, then the Great Patriotic War led to mass repressions. In the fifties and eighties of the last century, the history of this ethnic group was hushed up. It is not for nothing that the mass migration of Germans began in the nineties, the number of which, according to some sources, barely exceeds half a million.

True, in recent years, episodic re-evacuations from Europe to Russia have begun, but so far they have not reached large proportions.

Jews

It is difficult to say how many Jews currently live in Russia due to their active migration both to Israel and back to the Russian state. In the historical past there were many Jews in our country - in Soviet era several million. But with the collapse of the USSR and significant migration to their historical homeland, their number decreased. Now, according to public Jewish organizations, there are approximately one million Jews in Russia, half of them are residents of the capital.

Yakuts

It's Turkic enough numerous people, the indigenous population of the region adapted to local conditions.

How many Yakuts are there in Russia? According to the 2010 All-Russian Census of the Domestic Population, there were slightly less than half a million people, mainly in Yakutia and surrounding regions. The Yakuts are the largest (about half the population) people and the most significant of the indigenous peoples of Russian Siberia.

In the traditional economy and material culture of this people there are many close similarities with the pastoralists of southern Asia. On the territory of the Middle Lena, a version of the Yakut economy was formed, combining nomadic cattle breeding and the most important extensive types of fisheries (meat and fish production), similar to the local one. In the north of the region there is also a distinctive form of harness reindeer herding.

Reasons for resettlement

The history of the ethnic composition of the population of Russia in the course of its development is extremely ambiguous. The accelerated settlement of the Russian state by Ukrainians occurred back in the Middle Ages. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on instructions from government agencies, settlers from the southern lands headed east to develop new territories. After some time, representatives of social classes from different regions began to be sent there.

Representatives of the intelligentsia voluntarily moved to St. Petersburg in an era when this city had the status of the capital of the state. Nowadays, Ukrainians constitute the largest ethnic group in Russia in terms of number of people after, of course, the Russians.

At the other pole are representatives of small nations. The Kereks, who have the smallest numbers, are in particular danger. According to the latest census, there are only four representatives left, although fifty years ago there were only one hundred Kerek people. The leading languages ​​for these people are Chukchi and common Russian; their native Kerek is found only in the form of an ordinary passive language. The Kereks, in terms of their level of culture and ordinary daily activities, are very close to the Chukchi people, which is why they were in constant assimilation with them.

Problems and future

The ethnic composition of the Russian population will undoubtedly develop in the future. In modern conditions, the revival of ethnographic traditions and the culture of peoples is clearly visible. However, the development of ethnic groups experiences a number of problems:

• poor fertility and gradual decline of most peoples;
• globalization, and at the same time the influence of the culture and life of large nations (Russian and Anglo-Saxon);
• general economic problems that undermine the economic base of peoples, and so on.

Much in such a situation depends on the national governments themselves, including the Russian one, and on global opinion.

But I want to believe that the small peoples of Russia will further develop and grow in size in the coming centuries.

Ethnic composition of the population.

Humanity is very diverse ethnically. Ethnos- a historically established group of people who speak the same language, have the same origin, culture, and live in a certain territory. The main characteristic of a people or ethnic group is common language. One of the important signs is also the people’s awareness of their unity and differences from other peoples (customs, traditions, way of life).

There are 11 large peoples on Earth, the number of which exceeds 100 million people: Chinese, Hindustani, Bengalis, US Americans, Brazilians, Russians, Japanese, Punjabis, Biharis, Mexicans, Javanese. In total, there are more than 5 thousand peoples and more than 2 thousand languages ​​in the world. According to the degree of proximity, all languages ​​are united into families and groups. The largest language family is Indo-European (2.8 billion people). The second largest number of representatives is the Chinese-Tibetan (Sino-Tibetan) family (1.3 billion people). The largest ones also include the Afroasiatic family (distributed in the Near and Middle East, North America), the Dravidian family (in South Asia), the Altai family (in Europe and Asia), etc.

On every continent there are countries that are homogeneous and complex in ethnic composition. About half of the world's states are homogeneous in population composition. They are most numerous in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America. Countries with a complex ethnic composition are characteristic mainly of Asia and Africa. Interethnic relations may become aggravated there. In such countries, two or even more official languages ​​are established.

The first place in terms of prevalence belongs to the Chinese language (1200 million people), the second place to English (520 million people) - the language of international communication. It is used by a significant part of the world's population. There are two official state languages ​​in Belarus - Belarusian and Russian.

Geography of world religions.

Knowledge of not only the linguistic, but also the religious affiliation of the population helps to understand the culture, morals, customs and characteristics of the relationship between peoples, economic development different countries peace, their public policy. Religion- this is a special form of awareness of the world, conditioned by belief in the supernatural. It includes a set of moral norms and types of behavior, rituals. World religions unite believers of individual countries and continents. They are especially widespread. World religions have evolved over many centuries and even millennia. These include: Christianity - 2.3 billion (33% of the world's population), Islam - 1.6 billion (23%), Buddhism - about 470 million people (6.7%). In addition to world religions, there are national religions that are professed predominantly by one people. The most widespread of them are Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, and Judaism (Fig. 30).

Christianity arose at the beginning of the first millennium AD. e. in South-West Asia. Religion is based on faith in Jesus Christ, who has a divine nature and came to Earth to atone for the sins of people with his martyrdom.

Rice. 30. Religious structure of the world

Rice. 31. St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the largest Christian church

The main source of Christian doctrine is the Holy Scripture (Bible). The basis of religion is faith in Jesus Christ as the God-man, Savior and God the Son. Christians believe in the equality of all people before God, and that faith in God will lead to reward in heaven. Christianity is divided into 3 main branches: Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy. The center of the largest branch of Christianity - Catholic - is located in the Vatican (Fig. 31). The residence of the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, is located here. The Vatican plays the role of a state, participates in the activities of international organizations, has permanent observers at the UN, UNESCO, and makes a certain contribution to the protection of peace.

Orthodoxy and Catholicism are the most widely preached religions in Belarus. They gave the world a lot cultural monuments and works of art.

Islam arose in the 7th century. on the Arabian Peninsula. It is distributed in Southwestern Asia, northern Africa, some countries of Central and Eastern Asia, Indonesia, and to a lesser extent in Europe. The founder of Islam is considered to be Muhammad, a resident of Mecca. The creed is based on the worship of one God - Allah and the recognition of Muhammad as the messenger of Allah.

The main principles of Islam (or Islam) are set out in the holy book of the Koran. Muslims, like Christians, believe in the immortality of the soul, afterlife, heaven and hell. The cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia are considered the cradle of Islam.

The city of Jerusalem became the center of three widespread religions in the world - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This is where the interests of believers around the world intersect. The city has many historical and religious shrines that serve as objects of mass pilgrimage.

Buddhism , the founder of which is considered to be Buddha, originated in India and is widespread in the countries of Southeast and Central Asia, as well as in India, Nepal, etc. This is one of ancient religions, recognized as the most different peoples with completely different traditions.

The main emphasis in this religion is on a pure, highly moral life of a person, and not on faith in God. Without understanding Buddhism, it is impossible to understand the great cultures of the East - Indian, Chinese, not to mention the cultures of Tibet.

Religion has been and remains an important factor in the development of any state. Its place in the life of countries is determined by the level of development of society, culture, and traditions. At the beginning of the third millennium, great importance is attached to religion in resolving international conflicts. People are united not only by the similarity of common tasks facing humanity (preserving life on Earth, preventing military conflicts, resolving environmental problems), but also by a vision of spiritual values, their essence, friendly attitude person to person who preach religion.

Geography of world religions. Geography of material and spiritual culture.

The concept of "culture". Civilizations (historical and cultural regions of the world). The concept of “culture” means the totality of material and spiritual values ​​created human society, methods of their creation and application, characterizing a certain level of development of society. The natural conditions surrounding a person largely determine distinctive features his culture. Countries differ in the history of their people, the characteristics of natural conditions, culture, and a certain commonality of economic activity. They can be called historical and cultural regions of the world or civilizations.

Geography of culture studies the territorial distribution of culture and its individual components - the lifestyle and traditions of the population, elements of material and spiritual culture, and the cultural heritage of previous generations.

The first cultural centers were the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates valleys. The geographical spread of ancient civilizations led to the formation of a civilization zone from Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific coast. Outside this civilizational zone, other highly developed cultures and even independent civilizations of the Indian tribes of the Mayans and Aztecs in Central America and the Incas in South America. The history of mankind includes more than twenty major civilizations of the world.

Modern civilizations in various regions of the world preserve their culture and develop it in new conditions. Since the end of the 19th century they have been influenced by Western civilization.

Within the Yellow River basin, ancient cultural center, an ancient Sino-Confucian civilization , which gave the world a compass, paper, gunpowder, porcelain, the first printed maps, etc. According to the teachings of the founder of Confucianism, Confucius (551-479 BC), the Chinese-Confucian civilization is characterized by an attitude towards self-realization of those human abilities that are embedded in it.

Hindu civilization (the Indus and Ganges basins) was formed under the influence of castes - separate groups of people related by origin and legal status of their members.

Cultural heritage Islamic civilization , which inherited the values ​​of the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and other peoples, is rich and diverse. It includes palaces, mosques, madrassas, the art of ceramics, carpet weaving, embroidery, artistic metalworking, etc. The contribution to world culture of poets and writers of the Islamic East (Nizami, Ferdowsi, O. Khayyam, etc.) is known.

The culture of the peoples is very original Tropical Africa- Negro-African civilization. She is characterized by emotionality, intuition, and a close connection with nature. On current state This civilization was influenced by colonization, the slave trade, racist ideas, mass Islamization and Christianization of the local population.

The young civilizations of the West include Western European, Latin American and Orthodox civilizations. They are characterized by basic values: liberalism, human rights, free market, etc. The unique achievements of the human mind are philosophy and aesthetics, art and science, technology and economics Western Europe. Cultural heritage Western European civilization includes the Colosseum in Rome and the Acropolis of Athens, the Louvre in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London, the polders of Holland and industrial landscapes Ruhr, the scientific ideas of Darwin, Lamarck, the music of Paganini, Beethoven, the works of Rubens and Picasso, etc. The core of Western European civilization coincides with the countries that gave the world ancient culture, the ideas of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

Russia and the Republic of Belarus, as well as Ukraine, are the core of modern Orthodox civilization. The cultures of these countries are close to Western European ones.

The boundaries of the Orthodox world are very blurred and reflect mixed composition Slavic and non-Slavic population. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine serve as a kind of bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. (What contribution have Belarusians made to world culture and art?)

Latin American civilization absorbed the culture of pre-Columbian civilizations. Japanese civilization is distinguished by its originality, local traditions, customs, cult of beauty.

Material culture includes tools, housing, clothing, food, i.e. everything that is necessary to satisfy human material needs. Taking into account the characteristics of the natural environment, people on Earth build houses, eat those products that can mainly be obtained in natural area his residence, dresses in accordance with climatic conditions. The essence of material culture is the embodiment of various human needs, allowing people to adapt to natural living conditions.

Housing. The ability of people to adapt to natural conditions is evidenced by log houses in the forest zone, in temperate latitudes. The cracks between the logs are caulked with moss and reliably protect from frost. In Japan, due to earthquakes, houses are built with sliding lightweight walls that are resistant to vibrations of the earth's crust (Fig. 32).

Rice. 32. Types of dwellings different nations:

1 - traditional Japanese structure; 2 - Mongolian yurt; 3 - huts of the inhabitants of New Guinea: 4 - log house; 5 - Eskimo igloo; 6 - house on stilts

In hot desert areas, the sedentary population lives in round adobe huts with conical thatch roofs, while the nomads pitch tents. The dwellings of the Eskimos in the tundra zone, built from snow, and the pile buildings of the peoples of Malaysia and Indonesia are amazing. Modern houses major cities multi-story, but at the same time reflect the national culture and Western influence.

Cloth. Clothing is influenced by the natural environment. In the equatorial climate of many African and Asian countries, women's clothing is a skirt and blouse made of light fabric. Most of the male population of Arab and African equatorial countries prefer to wear floor-length wide shirts. In the tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia, unstitched forms of wrap-around clothing with a belt - a sari - are common, convenient for these countries. Robe-like clothing formed the basis of the modern clothing of the Chinese and Vietnamese. The population of the tundra is dominated by a warm, thick, long jacket with a hood.

Clothing reflects the national traits, character, temperament of the people, and the scope of their activities. Almost every nation and individual ethnic group has a special version of the costume with unique details of cut or ornament (Fig. 33). Modern clothing of the population reflects the influence of the culture of Western civilization.

Rice. 33. National clothes different peoples: 1 - Arabs; 2 - nilots; 3 - Indians; 4 - Bavarians; 5 - Eskimos

Food. The nutritional characteristics of people are closely related to the natural conditions of human habitats and the specifics of farming. Plant foods predominate among almost all peoples of the world. The basis of nutrition is products made from grains. Europe and Asia are areas where they consume quite a lot of products made from wheat and rye (bread, pastries, cereals, pasta). Corn is the staple grain in the Americas, and rice is the staple grain in South, East, and Southeast Asia.

Almost everywhere, including Belarus, dishes made from vegetables are common, as well as potatoes (in temperate countries), sweet potatoes and cassava (in tropical countries).

Geography of spiritual culture. Spiritual culture, associated with the inner, moral world of a person, includes those values ​​that were created to satisfy spiritual needs. These are literature, theater, fine arts, music, dance, architecture, etc. The ancient Greeks formed the peculiarity of the spiritual culture of humanity in this way: truth - goodness - beauty.

Spiritual culture, just like material culture, is closely connected with natural conditions, the history of peoples, their ethnic characteristics, and religion. The greatest monuments of world written culture are the Bible and the Koran - the Holy Scriptures of the two largest world religions - Christianity and Islam. The influence of the natural environment on spiritual culture is manifested to a lesser extent than on material culture. Nature suggests images for artistic creativity, provides physical material, promotes or hinders its development.

Everything that a person sees around him and what attracts his attention, he displays in drawings, songs, and dances. From ancient times to the present day, folk arts and crafts (weaving, weaving, pottery) have been preserved in different countries.

Rice. 34. Architectural styles: 1 - Gothic (Milan Cathedral in Italy); 2 - classicism ( Bolshoi Theater in Moscow); 3 - Baroque (Winter Palace in St. Petersburg); 4 - modernism (House of World Cultures in Berlin)

In different regions of the Earth, various architectural styles. Their formation was influenced by religious views, national characteristics, environment, nature. For example, the architecture of Europe was dominated for a long time by the Gothic and Baroque styles. The buildings of Gothic cathedrals amaze with their openwork and lightness; they are compared to stone lace. They often express the religious ideas of their creators (Fig. 34).

Many red brick temples are made from local clay. In Belarus, these are the Mir and Lida castles. In the village of Synkovichi, near Slonim, there is a fortress church, which is the oldest defense-type temple in Belarus.

Its architecture displays features characteristic of the Gothic style.

The influence of Western European civilization manifested itself in the countries of Eastern Europe. The Baroque style, which has become widespread in Spain, Germany, and France, is manifested in the architecture of magnificent palaces and churches with an abundance of sculptures and paintings on walls in Russia and Lithuania.

Common among all peoples of the world fine And arts and crafts - creation of artistic products intended for practical use. Asian countries are especially rich in such crafts. Porcelain painting is common in Japan, metal chasing is common in India, and carpet weaving is common in the countries of Southeast Asia. Among the artistic crafts of Belarus, straw weaving, weaving, and artistic ceramics are known.

Spiritual culture accumulates the history of peoples, customs and traditions, and the nature of their countries of residence. Its originality has been known for a long time. Elements of the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of different countries have a mutual influence, mutually enrich and spread throughout the world.

References

1. Geography 8th grade. Tutorial for 8th grade institutions of general secondary education with Russian as the language of instruction / Edited by Professor P. S. Lopukh - Minsk “People's Asveta” 2014

Racial and ethnic (national) composition of the population

In resolving issues related to the justification of the location of productive forces, the study of the racial and ethnic (national) composition of the population, i.e., the ratio of representatives of individual races and peoples, their location, legal status, labor skills, etc., is of great importance.

According to the characteristic features of the external appearance of people, all of humanity is usually divided into three big races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and equatorial.

Caucasians, making up 47% total number inhabitants of the Earth, before the great geographical discoveries lived in Europe, North Africa, in the Near and Middle East and India, later settled throughout the world. Mongoloid people, who make up 37% of the world's population, live mainly in East and Southeast Asia. The indigenous population of America, the Indians, also belong to the Mongoloid race. Representatives of the equatorial, or Negro-Australoid, race (about 5% of the Earth's population) live mainly in Africa.

The rest of the planet's inhabitants (about 11-12%) belong to mixed and transitional racial groups, formed as a result of migrations and mixing of racial types.

Large races, in turn, are divided into so-called small races. For example, the Caucasian race is divided into northern, Baltic, Alpine and a number of other small races.

Human races-- a group of people connected by a common origin and external physical signs(skin color, hair type, facial features, etc.), formed in the distant past under the influence of the natural environment. These traits are mainly of an adaptive nature, acquired by humans as a result of adaptation to the conditions of the natural environment.

Nations(peoples, ethnic groups) were formed as society developed, usually from representatives of several small or large races.

The characteristic features of an established nation are: common territory, language, economic life, national culture, and a sense of patriotism.

Thus, peoples (ethnic groups) are groups of people united by the historically established unity of language, territory, economic life and culture, and national identity. There are about 4 thousand peoples in the world, which can be classified according to various criteria, including size and language.

The numerous peoples (from 100 million or more people) include: Chinese - Han (representatives of the Han ethnic group live mainly in China and make up more than 95% of the population of this country), Hindustani (residents of India, make up about a quarter of the population of this country), Americans (USA), Bengalis (the main population of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal), Punjabis (mainly residents of Pakistan and the Indian state of Punjab), Biharis (residents of the Indian state of Bihar, Bangladesh, Nepal), Russians, Brazilians, Japanese, Mexicans, Javanese.

The number of most peoples is small - less than 1 million people.

The classification of peoples by language is based on the principle of their kinship, that is, taking into account the relatedness of the origin of the language. On this basis, all peoples are united into linguistic families. There are about 20 such families in total. The most common of them is the Indo-European family, its languages ​​are spoken by almost half of all humanity. The Indo-European family includes Slavic, Romanesque, Germanic, Celtic, Baltic and others language groups. Sino-Tibetan, Altai, Uralic, Caucasian, Niger-Kordofanian, Semitic-Hamitic families of languages ​​are also widely spoken.

In accordance with the national composition of the population, all countries of the world are divided into single-national and multinational. In general, the world is dominated by multinational states, some of which are home to dozens and even hundreds of peoples. Representatives of such states can be India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, the USA, and most African countries. Examples of single-national states are Poland, Hungary, Germany (in Europe), Chile (in Latin America), Japan, Korea, Bangladesh (in Asia), Australia.