This ethnic community unites blood relatives. Types of ethnic communities

Social communities of people were historically preceded by ethnic ones, on the basis of which they emerged in the process of development and complication of human relations.

In social philosophy the study ethnic communities people began to be implemented much later than many other things, but in terms of its importance and significance it ranks leading place. To date, there is no common point of view among scientists on this issue.

- This large groups people united by a common language and cultural and historical identity. These usually include tribes, nationalities and nations.

Such communities take shape in a certain territory during joint activities. Their members have general features psychological make-up, and are also clearly aware of their unity and difference from other similar communities. For a group to be recognized as an ethnic community, at least one of the following conditions must be met:

• members of the community are aware of their belonging to it;
• the common origin of members of the community is assumed;
• members of the community have linguistic and cultural unity;
• there is an internal social organization that normalizes relationships within the community and contacts with others.

Tribe

Historically, the formation of ethnic communities can be counted from the moment of the collapse of the primitive human herd. Initially occurs genus- a group of people united by blood. Members of the clan were aware of their kinship and bore a common family name. The genus included several or many families.

The emergence of the clan was facilitated by the emergence of a primitive community, the economic basis of which was communal property. Joint farming on the basis of communal property, natural-equal distribution of things, primarily food, common life and entertainment contributed to the formation of such a community as a clan. It can be said that the genus acts as the very first industrial, social and ethnic group of people, united into one joint whole labor activity, consanguineous origin, common language, common religious and mythological beliefs, customs and features of life.

Several genera could be combined into clans - tribal unions. The unity of the clans was based on the belief in a common origin.

Several clans could make up tribe. The basis of the unity of the tribe is blood ties; in addition, a tribe lives in a certain territory, its members have a common language or dialect, their own customs and cult, joint economic activities, the beginnings of internal organization(tribal council).

The appearance of the tribe is explained primarily by the need conservation and protection of habitat(territories of residence, hunting and fishing areas) from encroachment by other human associations. The larger population made the task of resettlement and establishing life in new territories much easier. Of no small importance was also the protection against the degeneration of the race, which threatened it due to sexual relations between consanguineous Homosapiens.

Nationality

Nationalities begin to consist of tribes after the appearance of the first states. The nationality is characterized by a territorial community united by economic and cultural activities, as well as a single language. Belonging to a nationality is no longer determined only by blood ties.

Nation

Nation - the highest form of socio-ethnic community. And this is not surprising, because It is the unification of people along national lines that creates the best preconditions for people to live, organize production, economic, socio-political and cultural life. A common economic life, a common language, a common territory, some features of the mental make-up of people, manifested in specific features Cultures are the main features of a nation.

It can be said that nation- this is a stable association of people connected by a common language, a common territory, a common economic life and some features of the mental makeup of people, expressed in the specific features of the culture of a given people.

The unity of the nation is promoted by:

• general historical memory;
• developed national identity.

Historical memory - this is knowledge of the past, the best achievements of national culture, outstanding representatives of the nation in the field, as well as the desire to act in accordance with the best examples presented in history.

However, since in the history of every nation there were not only heroic pages, but also unpleasant ones, historical memory also suggests that a nation must admit its guilt for the mistakes it has made and draw conclusions from the lessons of the past.

National identity - a sense of belonging to a nation, identifying its interests with your own.

These interests imply, on the one hand, the desire to preserve national culture and protect its identity, and on the other, the desire to enrich one’s national culture best achievements.

When characterizing ethnic communities, it is necessary, first of all, to define the category “ethnicity”. Here we refer to " Brief dictionary in Sociology", according to which ethnos(Greek - tribe, people) - a historically established stable group of people in a certain territory, possessing common features and stable characteristics of culture (including language) and psychological make-up, as well as an awareness of their unity and difference from other similar entities, in other words - ethnic self-awareness . Signs that express the properties of an already existing ethnic group and separate it from other ethnic groups are language, folk art, customs, rituals, traditions, norms of behavior, habits, that is, components of culture that, passed on from generation to generation, form the so-called ethnic culture with a style specific to it.

It is very important that an ethnos can only be a cultural community that recognizes itself as such, distinguishing itself from other similar communities, i.e. has ethnic self-awareness. In sociology there is a special section - ethnosociology which studies the genesis, essence, functions, general patterns development of ethnic groups, interethnic (international) relations.

Ethnic communities include tribe, nationality, and nation. The beginning of the development of ethnic communities was the family. Several or many families formed a clan. The clans were united into clans, no longer connected by blood, but by the belief in descent from a common ancestor. Several clans united to form a tribe. In the course of further cultural development, tribes, having passed the stage of nationality, turned into nations.

Let us briefly consider the above types of ethnic communities.

Clans- These are clan unions, which are the embryo of political institutions. Clan members recognize themselves as blood relatives. Clans are groups originally characteristic of primitive societies, but in some transformed forms they can play an important role in modern society.

Tribe– usually covering a large number of clans and clans – this is more high shape social organization. A tribe is formed on the basis of a common language, special customs, rituals, and characteristic names. The tribe already has the makings of an internal organization, a leader or a council of leaders; tribal councils deciding important questions, religious rituals. Tribes are also associated with a specific territory. Even if a tribe is nomadic, its range of movement is limited to the territory it defends. Some tribes, consisting of clans and clans, live separately for a certain part of the year, but gather once a year or more often for common purposes. There are known tribes consisting of several tens of thousands of people. The outlines of an economic structure begin to form in the tribes.

Nationality- an ethnic and social community that historically follows the tribe and precedes the nation. Nationality grows out of the mixing of tribes and the formation of tribal unions during the period of decomposition of the primitive communal system and the establishment of new, private-property relations. In contrast to the clan-tribal organization, built on blood-kinship ties, territorial ties become important in a nationality, and a common language is formed on the basis of tribal languages. Nationality is characterized by the presence economic ties, although they do not have such a developed, consolidating character as a nation. The first nations are formed in a slave society. This process continues in other eras. The development of capitalist relations in the social and, mainly, economic spheres leads to the transformation of a nationality into a nation.

Nation is a historically established stable community of people, arising on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, as well as some unique character traits, psychology, culture and way of life, etc. The ability to form one’s own state, its strengthening and development, as well as the ability to make a contribution to universal human culture, is considered the main sign of the identification and formation of a nation. The nation begins to take shape during the period of the decomposition of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism. This is facilitated by the elimination feudal fragmentation, strengthening economic ties between individual territorial entities, unification local markets to the national one.

Nationalism- this is the affirmation of one’s own nation as the highest value, the superiority of one’s own nation, intolerance towards other nations, the desire to subjugate them to oneself. Nationalism often merges with racism, based on racial superiority and the chosenness of a nation to carry out a special mission. Nationalism can also be justified through religion, when a nation claims that it has been chosen by God to perform a special mission.

The term “people” is used very often. People- in the usual sense - the population of a state, country. In a narrower, concrete sociological sense, the people are the totality social groups, engaged in mass activities in the system of social division of labor (primarily in material production). A people is a single social whole because it has a common historical destiny, essential features of a similar way of life and morals, as well as a sense of belonging to a single historical community. The people are the bearer of collective social experience: language, historical memory, cultural values ​​and norms, labor skills and abilities, etc. One of the distinguishing factors of a people is culture. William Toms created the term in 1846 folklore, covering myths, legends, proverbs, songs, dances, customs, etc. Peoples are also distinguished by their characteristic material culture - tools, housing, clothing.

Modern humanity is a complex ethnic structure, including several thousand ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, tribes, ethnic groups, etc.), differing both in size and level of development. All the ethnic communities of the world are part of more than two hundred countries. Therefore, most modern states are multi-ethnic. For example, India is home to several hundred ethnic communities, while Nigeria is home to 200 peoples. The Russian Federation currently includes more than a hundred ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

An ethnic community is a historically established stable collection of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) in a certain territory that have common features and stable characteristics of culture, language, mental makeup, self-awareness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity, and their differences from other similar entities.

There are different approaches to understanding the essence of ethnic groups.

Various approaches (theories) to understanding the essence of ethnic groups and their origin:

1) Natural-biological or racial-anthropological approach - recognizes inequality human races, cultural superiority of the Caucasian race. The imperfection of racial characteristics is the basis of the cultural backwardness of nations and nationalities.

2) Marxist theory- proclaims economic relations as the main basis for the formation of a nation. Recognizes the right of nations to self-determination up to and including secession, the idea of ​​their complete equality, and proletarian internationalism.

3) Sociocultural approach - considers ethnic communities as components social structure society, revealing their close connection with social groups and various social institutions. Ethnic community is an important source of self-movement and self-development.

4) Passionate theory of ethnogenesis (origin, development of an ethnos) - considers an ethnos as a natural, biological, geographical phenomenon, as a result of the adaptation of a human group to the natural and climatic conditions of its habitat. The history of mankind is a chain of numerous ethnogenesis. The source of the emergence of a new ethnic group is a passionary impulse. Passionarity is a certain characteristic of human behavior and natural properties, determined by the energy of space, the sun and natural radioactivity affecting society. Passionaries are especially energetic, gifted, talented people.

Types of ethnic communities:

A clan is a group of blood relatives descending from the same line (maternal or paternal).

A tribe is a collection of clans connected by common cultural features, awareness of a common origin, as well as a common dialect, unity religious ideas, rituals.

A nationality is a historically established community of people united by a common territory, language, mental makeup, and culture.

A nation is a historically established community of people, characterized by developed economic ties, a common territory and a common language, culture, and ethnic identity.

In sociology, the concept of ethnic minorities is widely used, which includes not just quantitative data.

The characteristics of an ethnic minority are as follows:

Its representatives are at a disadvantage compared to other ethnic groups due to discrimination (belittling, belittling, infringement) on the part of other ethnic groups;

Its members experience a certain sense of group solidarity, “belonging to a single whole”;

It is usually to some extent physically and socially isolated from the rest of society.

A natural prerequisite for the formation of one or another ethnic group was the common territory, since it created the necessary conditions for joint activities of people. However, later, when the ethnic group has formed, this feature loses its main meaning and may be completely absent. Thus, some ethnic groups even in the conditions of the diaspora (from the gr. diaspora - dispersion) retained their identity without having a single territory.

Other important condition the formation of an ethnos is a common language. But this feature cannot be considered universal, since in a number of cases (for example, the United States), an ethnic group takes shape during the development of economic, political and other ties, and common languages ​​are the result of this process.

A more stable sign of an ethnic community is the unity of such components of spiritual culture as values, norms and patterns of behavior, as well as the associated socio-psychological characteristics of people’s consciousness and behavior.

An integrative indicator of an established socio-ethnic community is ethnic self-awareness - a sense of belonging to a particular ethnic group, awareness of one’s unity and difference from other ethnic groups.

An important role in the development of ethnic self-awareness is played by ideas about common origin, history, historical destinies, as well as traditions, customs, rituals, folklore, i.e. such elements of culture that are passed on from generation to generation and form a specific ethnic culture.

Thanks to ethnic self-awareness, a person keenly feels the interests of his people and compares them with the interests of other peoples and the world community. Awareness of ethnic interests encourages a person to engage in activities in the process of which they are realized.

Let us note two sides of national interests:

It is necessary to preserve its peculiarity, uniqueness in the flow of human history, the uniqueness of its culture, language, strive for population growth, ensuring a sufficient level of economic development;

It is necessary psychologically not to fence yourself off from other nations and peoples, not to turn state borders into “ iron curtain", you should enrich your culture with contacts and borrowings from other cultures.

Ethnonational communities develop from clan, tribe, nation, reaching the level of nation-state.

A derivative of the concept “nation” is the term nationality, which is used in Russian as the name of a person’s membership in an ethnic group.

Many modern researchers consider a classic interethnic nation, in which general civic qualities come to the fore and at the same time the characteristics of the ethnic groups included in it are preserved - language, their own culture, traditions, customs.

An interethnic, civil nation is a collection (community) of citizens of a particular state. Some scientists believe that the formation of such a nation means the “end of the nation” in the ethnic dimension. Others, recognizing the nation-state, believe that we should talk not about the “end of the nation,” but about its new qualitative state.

Ethnic community (ethnos) It is customary to call a stable set of people, a cultural and historical group, whose members were initially united by a common origin, language, territory, economic life, and over time, spiritually on the basis of a common culture, historical traditions, and socio-political ideals. In addition, any ethnic group has a special feeling, mood and experiences that are accumulated in the expression “we are a group”, designed to emphasize the originality of the ethnic group, the cohesion of its members, their opposition to all other surrounding ethnic groups that have a different cultural layer and psychology (self-awareness) . Today there are over 3,000 different ethnic groups in the world. The number of different ethnic groups varies significantly. Number largest nations exceeds 100 million people (Chinese, Hindustani, US Americans, Bengalis, Russians, Brazilians, Japanese). Tiny endangered ethnic groups do not number even 10 people. For example, in Russia – Izhorians (Leningrad region) – 600 people, Yukagiru (Yakutia) – 800 people. and etc.

The external form of expression of an ethnic group is self-name (ethnonym).

Properties that the ethnic group has:

Self-name (ethnonym). Endoethnonyms are self-names that a group assigns to itself. Exoethnonyms are names given from outside. Sometimes early tribal self-names simply mean “people” in their respective languages ​​(for example, “Nenets”, “Inuit”). Activists of ethnopolitical movements sometimes advocate changing the names of peoples in favor of self-names, especially if the ethnonyms have any negative meaning (for example, “Eskimos” - “those who eat raw meat”).

Historical myth about common origin.

Unity of language. There must be at least one language spoken by all representatives of a given ethnic group. At the same time, its individual local groups may have their own languages ​​and dialects. A common ethnic language may belong to more than just one ethnic group (for example, English).

(However, in Switzerland there are four languages, four ethnic communities - German-Swiss (65% of the total population), Franco-Swiss (18.4%), Italo-Swiss (9.8%), Retromans (0.8%) - but there is a single Swiss nation. 30% of Kazakhs do not know the Kazakh language, they use Russian.)

Common culture (ritualism, folklore, mythology).

Ethnic consciousness is the identification of an individual with the historical past, the ethnic group’s awareness of itself as a stable whole.

Mentality is the attitude, thinking, behavior, value system, and spiritual creativity inherent in an ethnic group.

The main factors that determine the type of mentality:

literature read in childhood and youth,

biological factors (level of physical and mental health),

parents' mentality.

1. art forms.

There are 4 historical types of mentality: barbaric (high levels of hormones, increased health and sexual activity, endurance, desire for new experiences and risks); intelsky (high efficiency, honesty, desire for abstraction, fear of death and physical pain, feeling of dependence on a higher irresistible force (God, Nature)); aristocratic (striving for independence, sophistication, ability to resist fear, honesty); bourgeois (efficiency, asceticism, rationalism, desire for hoarding, low survival rate).

Historical memory is the historical self-awareness of a people, that is, not only knowledge of events and phenomena of the past, but also an attitude towards them, as well as behavior based on such knowledge and attitude.

Properties that an ethnic group does not necessarily possess:

Availability of statehood.

Compact living conditions (gypsies).

One religion.

A natural prerequisite for the formation of one or another ethnic group is a common territory, since it is this that creates the conditions for close communication and unification of people. But later, when the ethnic group has formed, this feature acquires secondary importance and may be completely absent.

Religion can also serve as the main system-forming feature in the formation of a special type of ethnic groups - ethno-confessional formations. A striking example such ethnic groups are Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.

Types of ethnicity - tribes, nations, nationalities, ethnic and ethnographic groups. These forms differ mainly in the organization of political power and in the type of social and economic ties on which these communities are based.

Tribe- this is a kind of association of people that is inherent in primitive formations and is characterized by consanguineous ties between people. A tribe is formed on the basis of several clans or clans that share a common origin from a single ancestor. People are also united into a tribe by common primitive religious beliefs, the presence of a common spoken dialect, the beginnings of political power (council of elders, leaders, etc.), and a common territory of residence.

Nationality- a socio-ethnic community with more or less the same ethnic composition, therefore, along with social characteristics common to nations, it is also characterized by a common consciousness and psychology. This form of ethno-social community is characteristic of an agrarian, pre-industrial society and develops primarily on an ethno-territorial basis. A nationality differs from a tribal organization in more high level economic development, the formation of a certain economic structure, the presence of folklore, that is, folk culture in the form of myths, tales, rituals and customs. A nationality has an already formed language (written), a special way of life, religious consciousness, institutions of power, and self-awareness, expressed in its name. The system-forming factor here is the factor of common territory. In industrial and post-industrial societies, the concept of nationality is usually used to designate the aboriginal population or relatively small ethnic groups (for example, the people of the North, the Far East, etc.)

Nation– a socio-historical community of people, a set of citizens of one state, characterized by a common territory and language, socio-economic and political life. The process of creating a nation, as the most developed form of an ethnic group, occurs during the period of the final formation of statehood, the widespread development of economic ties in the territory previously occupied by several nationalities, general psychology (national character), a special culture, language and writing, and developed ethnic self-awareness. Separated nations create states. Nations, as a rule, do not represent a single ethnic composition, and therefore cannot have the unity of such ethnic characteristics as folklore, customs, and traditions.

Ethnographic group- a community of people who speak the same language with a particular nation, nationality, ethnic group, but have some peculiarities in everyday life, traditions or customs, living, as a rule, on the territory that has belonged to it since ancient times (for example, Cossacks).

Concept " nationality" does not define an ethnic group, it serves to indicate ethnicity.

Social community- this is a collection of individuals, distinguished by relative integrity and acting as an independent subject of the historical process. It represents a stable collection of people who have the same lifestyle, common social norms and values.

Social communities develop in the course of objective social development and joint human life. Communities are formed on different objective grounds: production, class, professional. A special criterion for identifying a social community is ethnicity (nationality).

Ethnicity (ethnic community) - This is a historically emerged type of stable social community of people, represented by a tribe, nationality, or nation. Signs of ethnicity are the commonality of the territory on which people interacted and the formation of a community, a common language of communication, cultural unity, manifested in common traditions, values, religion, art, etc., unity economic activity and ethnic self-awareness, expressed in an understanding of the unity of one’s community and opposing oneself to other, “alien” ethnic groups.

The term “ethnic community” is close to the concept of “people” in the ethnographic sense. Sometimes it refers to several peoples, for example the Slavic ethnic community. However, the concept of “people” does not yet have a clear scientific definition. They also designate the population ( Russian people), and the nation (Russian, Ukrainian, etc. people), and people of lower social groups (common people). Today, science has established the opinion that there are four historical types of ethnic groups - this is a clan, tribe, nationality, nation.

Genus- it is an association of people based on consanguinity, conducting common economic activities, speaking the same language and observing common social norms. A clan (tribal community) is the most ancient ethnic community. It arose within the framework of the primitive communal system and united more or less close relatives in their joint economic activities and confrontation with the forces of nature.

As the population increased, clans moved and interacted, they began to unite into tribes. Tribe characterized by a common territory, a dominant language, a more clearly defined organization of power (chief, council of elders, etc.). It is within the framework of the tribal organization that the processes of formation of power structures and class formation are activated.

Strengthening the interaction of tribes, their unification into unions, the formation of a powerful administrative elite ultimately leads to the formation of a state, which, by uniting the territories of related tribes, objectively contributes to the formation of a nationality.

Nationality occupies a large territory, unlike the tribe. A state formed by representatives of one or another ethnic group may include other ethnic entities. So, East Slavic tribes united in ancient Russian people with its own statehood. At the same time, the composition ancient Russian state included representatives of other ethnic groups: Finno-Ugric tribes, some nomadic tribes that settled on the southern borders of Russia, etc. Within the framework of the Old Russian state, a process of formation of national identity took place, which especially intensified with the adoption of Christianity.

The formation of a nationality is an important stage in the development of an ethnic group. At the same time, this is an unstable formation. At a certain stage in the development of feudal relations, a period of fragmentation begins, i.e. isolation of the outskirts of the early feudal state from the center. On the territory of a previously unified state, a mass of small states (principalities, counties, duchies, etc.) are formed, the population of which creates their own special cultural patterns, language dialects, and methods of economic interaction. As fragmentation is overcome, previously independent lands are united around a single center, single centralized states are formed, within which a new type ethnicity nation.

Nation historically develops in a certain territory, on the basis of a common culture, language, economic ties, statehood, developed national identity. The process of formation of nations took place in different historical periods. The formation of related Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian nations was carried out gradually in the XIV-XVII centuries. within different states. Then they unite into a single Russian state. But the German and Italian nations took shape only in the second half of the 19th century. - after the creation of the German Empire and a unified Italian state.

A person’s belonging to a particular nation is indicated by the term "nationality". In a multinational state, it is of greater importance even when the law proclaims the principle of equality of nations. Title, those. a more numerous nation often occupies, precisely because of its large numbers, a leading position in the economic and political spheres. However, modern democratic principles that proclaim the equality of nations provide the opportunity for self-realization also for representatives of national minorities.

Currently interethnic relations divided into relations between nation states And relations between nations within one multinational state. In the first case, interethnic relations acquire a political overtones and are inseparable from foreign policy activities. In the second case, interethnic relations can be combined with religious, economic, and social issues.

History knows many examples of the oppression of one nation by another: Ukrainians and Belarusians by the Poles during the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Irish by the British, representatives of the Balkan peoples by the Turks, etc. Russia has always differed from other states in its tolerant attitude towards national minorities. In our country there has never been any violent assimilation(absorption of one people by another) or imposition of a dominant religion. Restrictions on a national basis existed before the revolution only in relation to Jews, and even then they were, rather, not of a national, but of a religious nature. The result of the interaction of the peoples of Russia among themselves was acculturation - assimilation of elements of the culture of another people while maintaining one’s ethnic identity.

Conflicts based on national hostility still arise in the world to this day. Their reasons are varied. They may be associated with the unfair attitude of one nation towards another, with the uneven distribution of material and spiritual benefits, With discrimination (oppression) or even genocide (policy of destruction) of national minorities. Not last role Prejudices and stereotypes of the everyday consciousness of people play a role in unleashing a national conflict.

Let us note only some of the problems of interethnic relations in the modern world.

Currently, in the United States, American Indians live either in urban ghettos or in the reservations that remain in their possession, which occupy 3% of the continental part of the states. Along with the Indians, the indigenous inhabitants of the country are Mexicans. Their number is, according to various estimates, from 10 to 13 million people. They inhabit mainly the territories of those states that were in different time separated from Mexico: in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado. As a result of US policies, Mexicans living on their ancestral land have lost real opportunity use your native Spanish language in education and justice.

For a millennium, the Welsh, Scots and Irish living in Great Britain have been fighting for their rights. As you know, Wales lost its independence with the adoption of the Act of Union of 1536. The independence of Scotland was also ended as a result of the adoption of the Act of Union in 1707. The fate of Ireland was no less dramatic. In order to weaken the national liberation movement, this country was divided into two parts, as a result of which the dwarf state of Northern Ireland was created, which came under the rule of the British crown. The struggle of the Irish for their independence continues to this day, and only with the help of military power and intrigue in inciting religious hatred between Catholics and Protestants, the central government manages to keep Northern Ireland within its possessions.

The issue of interethnic relations is also acute in Canada, which consists of English and French (province of Quebec) parts. In addition, there are about a million Indians and mestizos in the country, who are allocated lands on reservations and remote northern regions. Political forces in Quebec have been fighting for a long time to separate the French-speaking province from Canada or to grant Quebec autonomy within the confederation, but the question of recognition of Canada as a binational state remains open.

Relations between the Flemings and Walloons in Belgium remain difficult. The world community is alarmed by reports of tensions between the Basques and Catalans in Spain. In Corsica, the movement for secession from France is intensifying. Long years Africa is torn apart by ethnic contradictions that result in military conflicts.

The experience of interethnic relations in industrialized countries shows that problems in this area require constant attention and care from the state. They periodically escalate, sometimes to the point of antagonism, and are then resolved through armed conflicts, and even national liberation wars.

In various countries there is currently a struggle to grant or expand the rights of autonomy to a particular nation or ethnic group living among a larger ethnic group. Within the framework of Western democracy, there are parties, mass public organizations and movements advocating for the rights of national minorities. These movements are often called separatist, those. with the goal of separating from the state and creating their own national public education

There may be no ideal solution to the national question. Periods of relatively prosperous relations between different nations in one state may change due to demographic reasons, faster population growth in a previously small nation, which may need to increase its territory of residence and expand representation in government structures. Under these conditions, there is a need to adjust public policy.

At the same time, now in no country’s legislation there is a provision on the right of any nation to secede from the state. Previously, such a provision existed in the Constitution of the USSR, and it was implemented in 1991. As a result of the collapse of the USSR, a lot of our compatriots who lived in the former union republics and remained there in the position of national minorities whose rights were infringed, found themselves outside of Russia. This situation has created problems of a social, economic and political nature. Many families were forced to leave their place of residence and move to Russia. The problem of infringement of the rights of the Russian population in Latvia is still acute, which, despite its accession to the European Community, continues to pursue a policy of discrimination.

The objects of politics are all nations and socio-ethnic groups, but only those who have the opportunity and are able to participate in politics at the state level, i.e. capable of translating their national interests into an organized initiative in the development of the state, the formation and implementation of its policies. This participation in politics can be carried out both directly and through the state itself.

The most effective spokesman for the interests of the nation, as historical experience shows, is nation state. But there are few mononational states left on the planet; the majority are multinational. Some of them, until a certain historical stage of their development, remained unitary, where the dominant cultures were the cultures of the state-forming nations. As a result of revolutions or reformatory changes, some nations and nationalities were able to obtain statehood within the framework of a federal structure.

Practice shows that the federation represents a civilized, progressive, viable form of life for nations. The fragmentation of states along national lines is contrary to the interests of the economy, the successful solution of global environmental problems and is not consistent with the interests of the state-forming nations, which have put a lot of effort into protecting the security of their states, including the small nations living in them. However recent history full of examples

the struggle of various nationalities to gain full political independence or national autonomy. One of the most important factors influencing the processes of interethnic relations, the fate of states and international politics is ethnocentrism - confidence in the exclusive correctness of one’s national culture and a tendency to belittle the cultural achievements of other nations.

Undoubtedly, any nation is exceptional because it has a special language, special customs, special history, special traditions, special cuisine, etc. This exclusivity should even be seen as a positive phenomenon. But emphasizing one’s exclusivity and rejecting everything that is not related to one’s own national culture, undoubtedly contributes to national disunity and hostility.

A manifestation of ethnocentrism is nationalism - ideology and practice aimed at inciting interethnic hatred and enmity. However, one cannot but agree with those who believe that nationalism has different meanings, including positive ones. Recently, quite rightly, the word “nationalism” has been used to designate a current of political thought that reflects the social movement of patriotic people who love their nation, in contrast to people who are indifferent to the fate of their people and the Fatherland. Nor should the right of an oppressed nation to fight against its oppressors be denied. Under these conditions, nationalism unites the nation, creates feelings of patriotism and pride in its people, and helps the organized struggle for freedom.

However, the concept of “nationalism” should be distinguished from the concept patriotism , which represents beliefs and social actions based on a feeling of love for one’s Fatherland . Patriotism is love for the small and large Motherland, for family, school, parents, close and distant ancestors who created with their labor material values and those who defended their native language and native land in military affairs. This is recognition in words and deeds of equality between all people living in the Fatherland in accordance with their merits to the people. Patriotism is deep empathy for the domestic and foreign policies of a state.

Nationalism in it positive manifestations- quite rare. Most often it gives rise to hatred and enmity between peoples. National intolerance leads to wars, enslavement and extermination of people. The extreme form of nationalism is fascism - an ideology and policy that not only proclaims the superiority of one nation over another, but also calls for the destruction of “inferior” nations. The establishment of fascism as state ideology led, as we know, to the outbreak of the Second World War and enormous loss of life.

To prevent the emergence of national conflicts, modern state should guarantee the realization of individual rights and freedoms, regardless of their nationality, contribute to raising the level of political culture of citizens and counteract all manifestations of ethnocentrism.

Questions and tasks

1. What is ethnicity? What are its symptoms?

2. What types of ethnic groups exist? How are they different from each other?

3. What is the significance of nationality? Under what conditions does its role increase and under what conditions does it decrease?

4. How are interethnic relations manifested?

5. What are the causes of interethnic conflicts? Give examples of such conflicts.

6. What role should the state play in overcoming national contradictions?

7. What is ethnocentrism? What are its varieties?

8. What are the similarities and differences between nationalism and patriotism?

9. Have you encountered manifestations of interethnic relations in your life? How did this manifest itself?

FAMILY

Each of us is a member of a family. First, a person lives with his parents, then creates his own family. The family is the primary unit of society, without which its existence is impossible. The family performs an extremely important function - the reproduction of the human race. In the family, children are born and raised, they take care of the elderly and disabled, and organize everyday life and recreation. In a good, friendly family, a person finds his happiness, children grow up to be healthy and worthy members of society. The family acts as the main carrier of cultural patterns inherited from generation to generation, as well as a necessary condition socialization of the individual.

There are two approaches to defining the concept of “family” - sociological and legal. From a sociological point of view family - this is a group of people connected by marriage and kinship, which ensures the upbringing of children and satisfies other socially significant needs. In legal terms, family is understood as a circle of persons bound by mutual rights and obligations arising from marriage, kinship, adoption of children

for education. Despite the existence of legislation in the family sphere, many relations of this institution are outside legal regulation and are determined by other social, mainly moral, norms.

The family as a social institution has passed different stages of its development. Many modern nations have only one type of family - monogamy , those. marriage of one man to one woman at the same time. For some peoples in the past, and in some places even now, the usual form of family was polygamy - the simultaneous existence of more than one partner in a marriage. The most common form of polygamous marriage is polygyny, or polygamy. A very rare form of polygamy - polyandry, when one woman has several husbands.

By composition families can be extended (multi-generation) and nuclear. Extended families consist of married couple with children and relatives of the husband or wife living in the same house and leading a common household. Multi-generational families were common in the past, with children continuing to live in the parental home after marriage. Currently, young spouses strive to live separately from their parents. Thus, the extended family is replaced by nuclear, within which two generations live together - parents and children,

The family is the unit of society. The emergence and cessation of its existence has a certain social meaning, which is manifested in a number of activities performed by the family. functions. Firstly, this reproductive function , human biological reproduction. Secondly , social status function, associated with the hereditary transmission of family status to the child and his role preparation for mastering the status norms of his parents. Thirdly, economic and household function, manifested in satisfying the material and household needs of family members and maintaining a common household. Fourthly, emotional function , based on the human need for love, care, intimate communication. Fifthly, sexual regulation function , those. streamlining natural sexual needs. And finally child socialization function , those. their preparation to fulfill the necessary social roles and adaptation in society.

Each family has its own specific development and period of existence. The so-called family life cycle - the period from its origin to the termination of its functioning. The family life cycle consists of four periods. The first is the period from marriage to the birth of children. The second is the existence of a family consisting of spouses and children. During the third period, children separate and create their own families.

The fourth period is associated with the breakdown of the family due to the death of one or both spouses.

It must be noted that the identification of periods in the family life cycle refers to a complete family consisting of parents and children. There are often cases in life when a family consists of one parent and a child, when spouses do not have children, or when a man and woman are in an unregistered marriage. All these nuances create special difficulties in determining the type of family and the period of life in which it is located.

A number of issues concerning family relations, is the subject of government response. The Constitution of the Russian Federation in Article 38 establishes that the family, motherhood and childhood are under the protection of the state. The state regulates the work of child care institutions, develops a system of family assistance measures, establishes benefits for large and low-income families, single mothers, and takes other measures to social protection family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood.

The state regulates relations in the family sphere with a number of documents, which, in addition to the Constitution, include Family code, adopted in 1995 (effective March 1, 1996). This law is the main one in the field family law- branch of law regulating marriage and family relations. Principles of Family Law constitute voluntariness of marriage relations, monogamy, equality of rights of spouses, priority family education children, ensuring unconditional protection of their interests and rights, as well as the interests and rights of disabled family members.

Family law differs from other branches of law in its specific composition of subjects (parents, children, spouses), and a special set of legal facts (marriage, divorce, birth of children). Primary in family law are personal relationships (love, care), which cannot always be regulated by law (for example, you cannot oblige people to love each other), and property relations are derivative.

The law connects the emergence of a family with marriage. Marriage - this is an equal, voluntary union of a man and a woman, concluded in compliance with the procedure and conditions provided for by law, with the goal of creating a family and giving rise to mutual personal and property rights and obligations for spouses. In our country, only a registered marriage in the civil registry office (authorities) enjoys state support civil records). Actual marriages, as well as marriages formalized according to religious canons, are not protected by the state.

Those wishing to get married must submit an application in person. When concluding a marriage, the presence of both persons entering into marriage is required at the registry office. Registration of marriage in absentia is not allowed. If one of the parties to the marriage cannot come to the registry office for an objective reason (for example, illness), then registration of the marriage by registry office employees at his place of residence (at home, in a hospital, etc.) is allowed. The parties must be aware of each other's health status.

The law establishes several conditions for the validity of marriage. The bride and groom must give mutual voluntary consent to joining a family union. This is manifested both in the joint submission of an application to the registry office, and during the wedding ceremony itself, when the bride and groom are asked whether they agree to get married.

The next important condition is reaching marriageable age, which is set in Russia at 18 years old. If there are good reasons, local governments may allow persons over the age of 16 to marry.

Persons getting married must not be in another registered marriage. This is determined by checking the marriage mark in the passport.

Marriage between close relatives is not allowed by which we mean relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren). It is also not allowed to enter into a marriage between an adoptive parent and an adopted child, since they are equated to parents and children.

It is prohibited for a legally incompetent person to enter into marriage due to mental illness and dementia of a person (legal capacity is the ability to independently exercise one’s rights and obligations; incapacity is established by a court).

Violation of these conditions, as well as concealment by the person entering into marriage of the presence of HIV infection (AIDS) or venereal disease and entering into a fictitious marriage, i.e. getting married without the intention of starting a family can lead to declaring the marriage invalid. The court decides on this. The parties are brought to their original position, as if there was no marriage at all and no rights or obligations arise between them (acquired property is not considered common, no right to alimony arises, etc.). However, declaring a marriage invalid does not affect the rights of children born in such a marriage.

If the recognition of a marriage as invalid terminates the marital relationship both for the future and for the past, then Divorce ends the marital relationship only for the future. Both spouses have the right to jointly acquired property, in some cases - to alimony, etc.

Dissolution of marriage (divorce) is carried out in the registry office or in court. In the registry office, a marriage is dissolved if the spouses came to a mutual decision about the impossibility of continuing their family life, and if they do not have common minor children. If there are such children and the second spouse is against divorce, then the issue is resolved in court. At the same time, the court decides questions about who the children will live with, the payment of funds for their maintenance, the division of joint property, etc. The marriage is considered dissolved from the moment of the court decision. Former spouses are only required to appear at the registry office to get a divorce stamp in their passport.

A married man and woman have personal non-property And property rights and obligations. Marriage does not limit the rights of each spouse. One of them, regardless of the will of the other, can independently make decisions on personal issues: choose a profession, occupation, place of residence or stay. When getting married, spouses can choose the premarital surname of one of them as a common surname or add the surname of the spouse to their surname if their premarital surnames were not double. All issues of family life, including raising children, must be resolved jointly by spouses on the basis of consent and equality.

The law distinguishes personal And joint property of spouses. Children do not have ownership rights to property owned by their parents. Personal property includes property acquired before marriage, acquired during marriage, but with money received before marriage, acquired as a gift, by inheritance, objects personal use, as well as property that was acquired during a registered marriage, but after the actual termination of the marital relationship. Each spouse uses and disposes of personal property independently.

Property acquired during marriage is the joint property of the spouses. The Family Code distinguishes between legal and contractual regimes of marital property. Regime of spouses' property under the law applies if the marriage contract does not provide otherwise, namely, the spouses have equal rights to common, joint property, i.e. for the property they acquired during the marriage. During division, this property is divided into equal shares, even if one of the spouses did not have independent income, ran a household, and raised children. Disposal of property located in joint ownership, occurs by mutual consent of the spouses.

The Family Code provides for conclusion matrimonial()<>. <>thief both during the marriage and before its registration. Such an agreement is subject to notarization. A prenuptial agreement can change the legal regime of joint property. The spouse has the right to determine their rights and obligations regarding mutual maintenance, the procedure for bearing family expenses, and options for dividing property after a divorce. But a marriage contract cannot limit the legal capacity of the spouses, violate the principles of equality of men and women in marriage and contain conditions that would contradict general principles family law. The marriage contract expires from the moment the marriage ends. It can be changed or terminated only by mutual consent of the spouses.

With the birth of a child, parents have rights and responsibilities towards him. When registering the birth of a child with the civil registry office, he is assigned the surname of his parents if they have a common surname. If the surnames of the father and mother are different, the parents have the right to assign the child any of their surnames, and if they cannot come to an agreement, then the surname of one of them is assigned as directed by the guardianship and trusteeship authority. Parents have the right to independently choose a name for their child.

Every child from the moment of his birth has the right to education. This means providing him with such physical, mental, spiritual and moral development, as a result of which he could become a full-fledged member of society, fruitfully participate in all areas of his life, and have the opportunity to most fully satisfy his material and spiritual needs. The basic rights of a child include the right to live and be raised in a family, the right to know his parents, the right to be cared for and raised by his parents (and in their absence, by other persons responsible for this), the right to ensure his interests, comprehensive development and respect for his human dignity, the right to communicate with both parents and other relatives, the right to protect his rights and legitimate interests, including - independently apply for their protection to the guardianship and trusteeship authority, and upon reaching 14 years of age - to the court, the right to express his opinion on all matters affecting his life, the right to receive maintenance and the right of ownership of the property belonging to him.

In some cases, the law provides for the emergence nutritional obligations. They ensure the receipt of funds for the maintenance of disabled and needy family members from other 14" members. These obligations are strictly personal in nature and exist as long as both their participants - the payer and recipient of alimony - are alive. Only with the death of one of them do alimony obligations cease. The most common payment alimony for the maintenance of minor children - in the event that their parents are divorced.But it also provides for the recovery of alimony in favor of the former spouse if, for example, he lost his ability to work during his marriage.

Alimony can be paid by the obligated person personally or sent by mail, transferred to the recipient’s personal bank account, or paid in other ways. Without going to court, you can conclude a notarized agreement on the payment of alimony between the person obliged to pay alimony and the recipient, as well as between the legal representatives of these persons. Unilateral changes to such an agreement are not allowed, and the matter must be considered in court.

In the absence of an agreement on the payment of alimony, they are collected in court, and the amount of alimony for minor children is established by law as a percentage of the earnings and (or) other income of the parent: for one child - one quarter, for two children - one third, for three and more children - half the income.

The parties can independently determine the methods and procedure for paying alimony. As payment of alimony, it is allowed to provide property (apartment, residential building, land, etc.). If a person obligated by a court decision to pay alimony does not have earnings sufficient to pay alimony, the writ of execution is transferred to the bailiff, who collects alimony from the person’s funds in a bank or other credit institutions. Execution may also be made against any other property of the person obligated to pay alimony.

Russian family legislation examines in detail issues of raising children without parental care. One of the options for placing such children is adoption. This is a legal act by virtue of which a set of relations is established between the adopted child and the adoptive parent, including legal ones that exist between blood parents and children. Family law quite strictly regulates the procedure for the adoption of children. When carrying out this procedure, the greatest attention is paid to the question of the feasibility of adoption and its compliance with the interests of the child. At the same time, separation of siblings is not allowed.

Another form of raising children left without parental care is guardianship And guardianship. Relatives of children or other close people can act as guardians and trustees. Only legally capable adult citizens who have not been deprived of parental rights can be appointed as guardians and trustees. The decision to appoint a person as a guardian (trustee) is made by the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. In this case, the moral and other personal qualities of the applicant, his physical health, and attitude towards the child are taken into account. In some cases, the child’s own opinion is also taken into account. A child under guardianship (trusteeship) retains all rights provided for by law (the right to upbringing, education, comprehensive development, maintenance, etc.). For the maintenance of the child, the guardian is allocated monthly amounts of money in the amount established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Raising a child left without parental care is possible and in a foster family. An agreement is concluded between the guardianship and trusteeship authorities and the foster family, which stipulates all the essential points (conditions for the maintenance, upbringing and education of children, the rights and obligations of adoptive parents), as well as the grounds and consequences of termination of this agreement. Persons wishing to take a child into their family are subject to the same requirements as guardians (trustees).

Guardians (trustees) and adoptive parents act as official representatives of their children in their care, have the right and duty to educate them, and take care of their moral and physical development.

Family law establishes liability for violation of family law. Thus, for improper upbringing of children, deprivation of parental rights. This occurs in cases of evasion of parental responsibilities, refusal to pick up a child from the maternity hospital, abuse of parental rights (for example, forcing a child to beg), as well as if the parents are chronic alcoholics, drug addicts, and if the parents have committed a deliberate crime against the life and health of the child .

The decision to deprive parental rights is made only by the court. Parents deprived of parental rights lose the entire range of rights in relation to the child. They cannot raise a child and communicate with him, cannot receive alimony for him and enjoy other benefits, or inherit his property. Deprivation of parental rights does not relieve one from the obligation to support one’s child. The child retains all property rights in relation to his parents, for example, the right to receive an inheritance. Deprivation of parental rights is a reversible sanction. If a parent has reformed and changed his lifestyle, the court, at his request, can restore him to parental rights.

In addition to deprivation of parental rights, family law provides penalties for non-payment of alimony. Sanctions for this violation can be of a property nature (for example, a penalty), or, in the case of malicious evasion of alimony payments (which means not only a direct refusal to pay alimony awarded by the court, but also concealment of income, change of job and place of residence, or evasion from work), in the form of criminal liability.

Questions and tasks

1. What role does the family play in society?

2. What is the difference between sociological and legal approaches to understanding the family?

3. What types of family exist?

4. What functions does the family perform?

5. What stages can be distinguished in the life cycle of a family?

6. What are the features of family law?

7. What is marriage? How does it work?

8. What are the conditions for marriage?

9. How is the annulment of a marriage different from a divorce?

10. What are the rights and obligations of spouses?

11. What is a prenuptial agreement? Why is it needed?

12. What are the rights and responsibilities of parents and children?

13. What are the alimony obligations?

14. Describe the options for placement of children left without parental care.

15. What is the responsibility for violating family law?