Pain E.A. Nation and Ethnos: The Nonlinear Evolution of Ethnological Concepts in Russia. Mir Rossii. 2024. Vol. 33. No. 1. Pp. 6–28. (In Russian)

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://mirros.hse.ru/index.php/mirros/article/view/19061 (дата обращения 19.02.2024)

Abstract

This article analyzes changes in the basic concepts of ethnology, i.e., nation, ethnos, and their derivatives (nationality, ethnicity, ethnography, and ethnology) over two centuries of historical observations in Russia. It demonstrates the fluctuating character of the evolution of the concept of nation in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation. The concept originated as a political concept, then acquired an ethnic meaning, and in the post-Soviet era, its political content manifested once again. As the concept of nation is gradually losing its ethnic meaning, the concept of ethnos is regaining relevance for denoting ethnocultural communities. However, the new terminology struggles to penetrate everyday, public, and academic discourses. In official Russian documents, the traditional ethnic interpretation of the concept of nation is preserved and intertwined with the political one. In Russian and Soviet academia, the concept of ethnos at times took on a predominant role in ethnographic theory, while at other times it was viewed as undesirable. In everyday discourse, the civic meaning of nation is hardly accepted. The author analyzes the political, psychological, and cultural circumstances that prevent or promote the assertion of ethnological concepts and offers his own definitions of the concepts of nation, ethnos, and ethnicity based on a synthesis of the latest developments in social anthropology.