The national question in Russia

The national question and its structure are studied from the economic, demographic, ethnographic, political and other points of view. The study of ethnic systems is necessary to better understand the features of the social development of modernity.

As you know, people have gone through several stages in their ethnic formation. The human race in the course of development was formed into a nation. At the same time, the opinions of many sociologists agree that this term (nation) can be called a large social group that has developed in a certain territory and has a common historical past, a literary language, and specific features of the psychological order. It should be noted that for the most part the nations were formed in the era of capitalism.

In the world there are countries whose territories are inhabited by many different nationalities. Russia is one of the multinational states. However, the exact number of people living on its territory is very difficult to name. More than 94% are ten numerically large peoples.

Unlike some other states (for example, America), where representatives of different nationalities have an ancestral home and an opportunity to "re-emigrate", in Russia the majority of nationalities are indigenous people.

According to analysts, the national question has become more acute after perestroika. In Russia, according to polls, in early 1989, more than seventy percent of residents were treated equally by representatives of different nationalities. Thus, the country was characterized by a high degree of national tolerance. Relatively high was the level of interethnic interaction. So, more than 40% positively spoke about marriages between representatives of different nationalities. In addition, more than fifty percent were in kinship ties, and almost 90% had friends among the representatives of other nations. There was also a negative attitude towards people of a different nationality. He expressed about three percent of the indigenous population. More than eight percent believed that there should not be representatives of other nationalities in the region.

During the years of perestroika, the situation has changed a lot. The national question was exacerbated in connection with the struggle for popular sovereignty. Armed detachments began to appear, which controlled the behavior of the population. With the development of movements of a nationalist nature, serious clashes increasingly arose. As a result, the so-called "ethnocratic states" began to be formed. In them, representatives of another nation experience enormous difficulties in obtaining citizenship, and therefore have to emigrate.

It should not be thought that with the collapse of the USSR the national question itself was eliminated. On the contrary, the situation became even more complicated. In some territories relations between indigenous and non-indigenous residents have become more acute, and refugees have appeared. Great influence on the national question was provided by federalization and disintegration in Russia, Kazakhstan and other states.

At the same time, the centralization of the economy was noted. Under such conditions, the question of equity in the distribution of the income of the nation inevitably arose. So, in almost every republic there was a suspicion that it receives much less than it gives.

As it was said above, the national question is a problem relating to various spheres of society's life. One of the most important directions is the study of processes and phenomena reflecting the spiritual development of the people - its traditions, language, culture. With the internationalization of the social and economic spheres of life, the spiritual component remains in some way a repository of national identity, traditions, and spirit.