Russians: ethnographic characteristics. Main features of the Russian national character

The Savior once said about Christians: “If you were of this world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, because I took you out of the world, the world hates you.” These same words can also be applied to the Russian people, into whose flesh and blood Christianity was most deeply absorbed.

Today we are often faced with open Russophobia and hatred from other states. But this is not a reason to panic, it did not start today and will not end tomorrow - it will always be like this.

The world hates us, but it itself does not suspect how much he himself needs the Russian people. If the Russian people disappear, then from the world soul taken out and he will lose the very meaning of his existence!

That is why the Lord protects us and Russians exist, despite all the tragedies and trials: Napoleon, Batu and Hitler, revolution, perestroika and troubled times, drugs, the decline of morals and the crisis of responsibility...

We will live and develop as long as we ourselves remain relevant, as long as the Russian people retain the character traits inherent in our people.

Caring “friends” often remind us of those characteristics inherent in us that can be classified as bad, trying to make us hate ourselves and self-destruct... We will look at the positive characteristics of the Russian soul in order to remember what gifts the Lord has generously endowed us with and what we should always stay.

So, TOP 10 best qualities of a Russian person:

1. Strong faith

The Russian people believe in God at a deep level, have a strong inner sense of conscience, a concept of good and evil, worthy and unworthy, due and not due. Even the communists believed in their “Moral Code.”

It is the Russian person who views his entire life from the perspective son of God — The Father will like it or it will upset him. To act according to the law or according to conscience (according to the commandments of God) is a purely Russian problem.

A Russian person also believes in people, constantly doing good to them and even beyond that. sacrificing personal for the good of one's neighbor. A Russian person sees in another person first of all Image of God, sees equal, recognizes the dignity of another person. This is precisely the secret of the victorious power of Russian civilization, our gigantic spaces and multinational unity.

Russian people believe in themselves as the bearer of Truth. Hence the strength of our actions and the legendary Russian survival. Not a single conqueror in the world could destroy us. Only we ourselves can kill the Russian people if we believe in the negative image of the Russian people that is being imposed on us.

2. Heightened sense of justice

We cannot live in comfort while lies are rampant in the world. “We’ll put together a strong coffin for the scum of humanity!” from the song “Holy War” - it’s about us.

We fought with the Turks for a long time for the freedom of our Slavic brothers, we saved the poor people of Central Asia from the bais and their extortions, stopped the genocide of the Chinese by the Japanese army and saved the Jews from the Holocaust.

As soon as a Russian person believes that a threat to all of humanity comes from somewhere, Napoleon, Hitler, Mamai or anyone else immediately disappears from the historical canvas.

The same rule applies in our internal life - our riots and revolutions are just attempts to build a fair society, punish those who have gone too far and ease the lot of the poor (naturally, if we consider the motivation of ordinary workers and peasants, and not the cynical leaders of the revolution).

You can rely on us - because we keep our word and do not betray our allies. The concept of honor, unlike the Anglo-Saxons, is not only familiar to Russian people, but also deeply inherent.

3. Love for the Motherland

All peoples love their homeland. Even Americans, a people of emigrants, treat their national symbols and traditions with reverence.

But a Russian person loves his homeland more than others! White emigrants fled the country under threat of death. It would seem that they should have hated Russia and quickly assimilated where they came. But what really happened?

They were so nostalgic that they taught their sons and grandchildren the Russian language, they were so homesick for their homeland that they created thousands of little Russias around them - they founded Russian institutes and seminaries, built Orthodox churches, taught Russian culture and language to thousands of Brazilians, Moroccans, Americans, French, Germans, Chinese...

They died not from old age, but from longing for their Fatherland and cried when the USSR authorities allowed them to return. They infected those around them with their love, and today Spaniards and Danes, Syrians and Greeks, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Africans come to live in Russia.

4. Unique generosity

Russian people are generous and generous in everything: material gifts, wonderful ideas, and expressions of feelings.

The word “generosity” in ancient times meant mercy, mercy. This quality is deeply rooted in the Russian character.

It is completely unnatural for a Russian person to spend 5% or 2% of his salary on charity. If a friend is in trouble, then the Russian will not bargain and gain something for himself, he will give his friend all the cash, and if it is not enough, he will throw his hat around or take off and sell his last shirt for him.

Half of the inventions in the world were made by Russian “Kulibins”, and patented by cunning foreigners. But Russians are not offended by this, since their ideas are also generosity, a gift from our people to humanity.

The Russian soul does not accept half measures and knows no prejudices. If in Russia someone was once called a friend, then they will die for him, if he is an enemy, then he will certainly be destroyed. At the same time, it doesn’t matter at all who our counterpart is, what race, nation, religion, age or gender he is - the attitude towards him will depend only on his personal qualities.

5. Incredible hard work

“The Russians are very lazy people,” Goebbels’ propagandists preached and their followers today continue to repeat. But that's not true.

We are often compared to bears, and this comparison is very apt - we have similar biological rhythms: summer in Russia is short and you have to work hard to have time to harvest, and winter is long and relatively idle - chop wood, heat the stove, remove snow, and collect crafts . In fact, we work a lot, just unevenly.

Russian people have always worked diligently and conscientiously. In our fairy tales and proverbs, the positive image of the hero is inextricably linked with skill, hard work and ingenuity: “The sun paints the earth, but labor paints man.”

Since ancient times, labor has been famous and revered among peasants and artisans, scribes and merchants, warriors and monks, and has always been deeply linked to the cause of defending the Fatherland and increasing its glory.

6. The ability to see and appreciate beauty

The Russian people live in extremely picturesque places. In our country you can find large rivers and steppes, mountains and seas, tropical forests and tundra, taiga and deserts. Therefore, the sense of beauty is heightened in the Russian soul.

Russian culture was formed over a thousand years, absorbing parts of the cultures of many Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes, as well as accepting and creatively processing the heritage of Byzantium and the Golden Horde and hundreds of small nations. Therefore, in terms of richness of content, it cannot be compared with no other culture in the world.

The awareness of the immensity of his own wealth, material and spiritual, made the Russian person friendly and understanding towards other peoples of the Earth.

A Russian person, like no one else, is able to highlight the beauty in the culture of another people, admire it and recognize the greatness of achievements. For him there are no backward or underdeveloped peoples, he has no need to treat anyone with disdain out of awareness of his own inferiority. Even from the Papuans and Indians, Russians will always find something to learn.

7. Hospitality

This national character trait is associated with our vast spaces, where it was rare to meet a person on the road. Hence the joy from such meetings - intense and sincere.

If a guest comes to a Russian person, a laid table, the best dishes, festive food and a warm overnight stay await him. And all this is done free of charge, since it is not customary for us to see in a person only a “wallet with ears” and treat him as a consumer.

Our man knows that a guest in the house should not be bored. Therefore, a foreigner who comes to us, when leaving, can hardly put together the memories of how they sang, danced, rode, fed him to the full and watered him to amazement...

8. Patience

The Russian people are amazingly patient. But this patience is not reduced to banal passivity or “slavery”; it is intertwined with sacrifice. Russian people are by no means stupid and always endure in the name of something, in the name of a meaningful goal.

If he realizes that he is being deceived, a rebellion begins - the same merciless revolt in the flames of which all the moneylenders and careless managers perish.

But when a Russian person knows for what purpose he endures difficulties and works hard, then national patience gives incredible positive results. For us, in five years, cutting down an entire fleet, winning a world war or industrializing is in the order of things.

Russian patience is also a kind of strategy for non-aggressive interaction with the world, solving life’s problems not through violence against nature and consumption of its resources, but mainly through internal, spiritual efforts. We do not plunder the property given to us by God, but slightly moderate our appetites.

9. Sincerity

Another of the main features of the Russian character is sincerity in the manifestation of feelings.

A Russian person is bad at forcing a smile, he does not like pretense and ritual politeness, he gets irritated by insincere “thank you for your purchase, come again” and does not shake hands with a person whom he considers a scoundrel, even if this could bring benefits.

If a person doesn’t evoke emotions in you, then you don’t need to express anything - just walk in without stopping. Acting in Russia is not held in high esteem (unless it is a profession) and those who are most respected are those who speak and act as they think and feel as God put it on my soul.

10. Collectivism, conciliarity

A Russian person is not a loner. He loves and knows how to live in society, which is reflected in the sayings: “in the world even death is red,” “alone in the field is not a warrior.”

Since ancient times, nature itself, with its severity, has encouraged Russians to unite into groups - communities, artels, partnerships, squads and brotherhoods.

Hence the “imperialism” of Russians, that is, their indifference to the fate of a relative, neighbor, friend and, ultimately, the entire Fatherland. It was because of conciliarism that for a long time there were no homeless children in Rus' - orphans were always sorted into families and raised by the entire village.

Russian conciliarity, according to the definition of the Slavophile Khomyakov, is “a holistic combination of freedom and unity of many people based on their common love for the same absolute values,” Christian values.

The West was unable to create such a powerful state as Russia, united on spiritual principles, because it did not achieve conciliarity, and to unite peoples it was forced to use, first of all, violence.

Russia has always been united on the basis of mutual respect and mutual consideration of interests. The unity of the people in peace, love and mutual assistance has always been one of the basic values ​​of the Russian people.

Andrey Szegeda

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The character of the Russian people was formed mainly under the influence of time and space. The history and geographical location of our homeland also made their own adjustments. The constant danger from possible raids and wars united people, gave birth to special patriotism, and the desire for strong centralized power. The climatic conditions, not the most favorable, it must be said, forced the people to unite and strengthened their particularly strong character. The vast expanses of our country have given a special scope to the actions and feelings of the Russian people. Although these generalizations are conditional, it is still possible to identify common features and patterns.

Since its inception, Russia has shown itself to be an unusual country, unlike others, which aroused curiosity and added mystery. Russia does not fit the mold, does not fit into any standards, everything in it is not similar to the majority. And this makes its character, the character of its people, very complex and contradictory, difficult for foreigners to understand.

Nowadays, scientists and researchers have begun to find an increasing role for national character in the development of society as a whole. It is a single, holistic system that has a hierarchy of traits and qualities that influence the way of thinking and action of a given nation. It passes on to people from generation to generation; changing it by taking administrative measures is quite difficult, but it is still possible, although large-scale changes require a lot of time and effort.

There is interest in the Russian national character not only abroad, but we ourselves are trying to understand it, although this is not entirely successful. We cannot understand our actions or explain some historical situations, although we notice some originality and illogicality in our actions and thoughts.

Today in our country there is a turning point, which we are experiencing with difficulty and, in my opinion, not entirely correctly. In the 20th century, there was a loss of many values ​​and a decline in national self-awareness. And in order to get out of this state, the Russian people must, first of all, understand themselves, return to their previous features and instill values, and eradicate shortcomings.

The very concept of national character is widely used today by politicians, scientists, the media, and writers. Often this concept has very different meanings. Scholars have debated whether national character actually exists. And today the existence of certain characteristics characteristic of only one people is recognized. These features are manifested in the way of life, thoughts, behavior and activities of the people of a given nation. Based on this, we can say that national character is a certain set of physical and spiritual qualities, norms of activity and behavior characteristic of only one nation.

The character of each nation is very complex and contradictory due to the fact that the history of each nation is complex and contradictory. Also important factors are climatic, geographical, social, political and other conditions that influence the formation and development of national character. Researchers believe that all factors and conditions can be divided into two groups: natural-biological and socio-cultural.

The first explains that people belonging to different races will express their character and temperament in different ways. It should be said here that the type of society formed by a particular people will also have a strong influence on its character. Therefore, understanding the national character of a people occurs through understanding the society, conditions and factors in which this people lives.

It is also important that the type of society itself is determined by the value system adopted in it. Thus, social values ​​are the basis of national character. National character is a set of important methods of regulating activity and communication, created in accordance with the social values ​​inherent in a given people. Therefore, in order to understand the Russian national character, it is necessary to highlight the values ​​characteristic of the Russian people.

The Russian character is distinguished by such qualities as conciliarity and nationality, striving for something infinite. Our nation has religious and ethnic tolerance. A Russian person is constantly dissatisfied with what he currently has, he always wants something different. The peculiarity of the Russian soul is explained, on the one hand, by “having your head in the clouds,” and on the other, by the inability to cope with your emotions. We either contain them as much as possible, or release them all at once. Maybe that’s why there is so much soulfulness in our culture.

The features of the Russian national character are reflected most accurately in works of folk art. It is worth highlighting fairy tales and epics here. The Russian man wants a better future, but he is too lazy to actually do anything for this. He would rather resort to the help of a goldfish or a talking pike. Probably the most popular character in our fairy tales is Ivan the Fool. And this is not without reason. After all, behind the outwardly careless, lazy son of an ordinary Russian peasant who can’t do anything, hides a pure soul. Ivan is kind, sympathetic, savvy, naive, compassionate. At the end of the tale, he always wins over the prudent and pragmatic royal son. That's why people consider him their hero.

The feeling of patriotism among the Russian people, it seems to me, is beyond doubt. For a long time, both old people and children fought against invaders and occupiers. Suffice it to recall the Patriotic War of 1812, when the entire people, the entire army asked to give battle to the French.

The character of a Russian woman deserves special attention. Enormous strength of will and spirit forces her to sacrifice everything for the sake of a person close to her. She can follow her loved one to the ends of the earth, and this will not be a blind and obsessive following, as is customary in eastern countries, but this is a conscious and independent act. You can take as an example the wives of the Decembrists and some writers and poets sent into exile in Siberia. These women very consciously deprived themselves of everything for the sake of their husbands.

One cannot help but mention the cheerful and perky disposition and sense of humor of Russians. No matter how hard it is, a Russian person will always find a place for fun and joy, and if it’s not hard and everything is fine, then the scope of the fun is guaranteed. They have spoken, are speaking, and will continue to speak about the breadth of the Russian soul. A Russian person simply needs to go wild, make a splash, show off, even if for this he has to give away his last shirt.

Since ancient times, there has been no place for self-interest in the Russian character; material values ​​have never come to the fore. A Russian person has always been able to make enormous efforts in the name of high ideals, be it the defense of the Motherland or the upholding of sacred values.

A harsh and difficult life has taught Russians to be content and get by with what they have. Constant self-restraint has left its mark. That is why the desire for monetary accumulation and wealth at any cost was not widespread among our people. This was the privilege of Europe.

Oral folk art is very important for Russians. Knowing proverbs, sayings, fairy tales and phraseological units that reflect the reality of our lives, a person was considered educated, worldly wise, and possessing folk spirituality. Spirituality is also one of the characteristic traits of a Russian person.

Due to increased emotionality, our people are characterized by openness and sincerity. This is especially evident in communication. If we take Europe as an example, then individualism is highly developed there, which is protected in every possible way, but here, on the contrary, people are interested in what is happening in the lives of those around them, and a Russian person will never refuse to talk about his life. This also most likely includes compassion - another very Russian character trait.

Along with positive qualities such as generosity, breadth of soul, openness, courage, there is one, of course, negative one. I'm talking about drunkenness. But it is not something that has gone hand in hand with us throughout the country's history. No, this is an illness that we caught relatively recently and cannot get rid of it. After all, we did not invent vodka, it was brought to us only in the 15th century, and it did not immediately become popular. Therefore, it is impossible to say that drunkenness is a distinctive feature and feature of our national character.

It is also worth noting a feature that makes you both surprised and delighted - this is the responsiveness of the Russian people. It is embedded in us from childhood. When helping someone, our person is often guided by the proverb: “What comes around, so will it come back.” Which, in general, is correct.

National character is not static, it constantly changes as society changes and, in turn, has its effects on it. The Russian national character that has emerged today has similarities with the character that once existed before. Some features remain, some are lost. But the basis and essence have been preserved.

7.1. Russians as representatives of the Slavic ethnic group

Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are peoples very close to each other in genotype, language, culture, and common historical development. The vast majority of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians live within their historically established ethnic territories. But in other states, in various regions of our country, they are settled quite widely and often make up a significant part of their population.

The Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nations are among the most urbanized. Thus, in Russia 74% is urban, 26% is rural, in Ukraine - 67 and 33%, in Belarus - 65 and 35%, respectively. This circumstance leaves its mark on the psychological appearance of these nations, the specifics of their relations with representatives of other ethnic communities. Young people living in big cities are more educated, technically literate, and erudite. On the other hand, a certain part of them, especially in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Minsk and other big cities, are susceptible to the vices of the urban lifestyle, such as drunkenness, drug addiction, debauchery, theft, etc. (which, of course, applies not only to representatives of these nations). City dwellers, who grew up, as a rule, in small families, in conditions of everyday comfort, are often poorly prepared for the complexities of today's life: the intense rhythm, increased psychophysiological and socio-economic stress. They often find themselves unprotected in interpersonal relationships, their moral, psychological and ethical guidelines are not sufficiently stable.

The study of various sources reflecting the life, culture and way of life of representatives of Slavic nationalities, generalization of the results of special socio-psychological studies indicates that, in general, most of them currently have:

a high degree of understanding of reality, although somewhat delayed in time from the specific situation;

sufficiently high general educational level and preparedness for life and work;

balance in decisions, actions and work activities, reactions to the complexities and difficulties of life;

sociability, friendliness without intrusiveness, constant willingness to provide support to other people;

a fairly even and friendly attitude towards representatives of other nationalities;

the absence, in normal conditions of everyday life, of the desire to form microgroups isolated from other ethnic groups;

perseverance, dedication, readiness for self-sacrifice in extreme conditions of life and activity, requiring extreme strain of spiritual and physical strength.

Unfortunately, now that Ukraine and Belarus have isolated themselves and are not part of a single state with the Russians, we have to consider the psychology of their peoples separately from the Russians. There is a certain amount of injustice in this, since representatives of these three nationalities, perhaps, have more in common in behavior, traditions and customs than other people. At the same time, this fact once again confirms: there are the concepts of “we” and “they”, which still reflect the objective reality of human existence, which cannot yet be avoided.

Overwhelming majority Russians live within their historically established ethnic territory, which for them is Russia. The ancestors of the Russian people were the East Slavic tribes (Tivertsi, Ulichs, White Croats, Volynians, Drevlyans, Polyans, Severians, Radimichi, Dregovichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Polotsk, Ilmen Slovenes), who lived at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. on the vast expanse of the Dniester-Dnieper interfluve. VIX-X centuries. they have already settled over a vast territory from the Black Sea to Lake Ladoga and from the upper reaches of the Western Bug to the middle reaches of the Oka and Klyazma. Finno-Ugric and Baltic ethnic groups also took part in their formation (Meshchera, Golyad, Ves, Chud, Izhora, Korela, Lop, partly Em and Letgola, as well as Mordovians, Merya, etc.). In the south of this territory, as a result of consolidation and assimilation processes, a large East Slavic state first emerged - Kievan Rus, the population of which, despite the local everyday and cultural differences that existed in some places, spoke a single Old Russian language and called themselves “Rus”, “Rusichs”, and his homeland “Russian land”.

An ancient Russian ethnic community emerged in Kievan Rus, and the formation of Russian culture and the modern Russian language began, which ended in the 18th century. The Christianization of Rus' (the baptism of Rus' in 988) played a big role in this. Outstanding written monuments were created in the country: “The Tale of Bygone Years,” chronicles, lives of princes; schools and libraries appeared. Churches, cathedrals, and monasteries were built.

The emergence of statehood and the cultural consolidation of the Eastern Slavs contributed to the socio-economic and political development of the country. However, internal strife between the princes and the formation of semi-independent feudal centers led to the fact that in the depths of the ancient Russian community the prerequisites for the formation of three independent but related ethnic groups - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian - were formed.

The formation of a centralized Russian state was a deeply progressive matter. It saved not only the Russians, but also other Slavic peoples and even Western countries from enslavement by foreign invaders. At that time, the territory of Russia was first subjected to raids by the Pechenegs, Polovtsians and Mongols. According to the calculations of the historian S.M. Solovyov, from 1055 to 1462, Russia suffered 245 enemy invasions. And later it was torn apart by German, Lithuanian and Polish feudal lords and Swedish knights. At the same time, we should not forget that Rus' itself had its own civil strife, both within it and on its borders, complex integration, assimilation and social processes were constantly going on, so the Russian princes themselves fought with each other and “went” to Kazan, Astrakhan and Lithuanian lands.

From the first days of their history, the Russian people were forced to defend their land in fierce battles with enemies, defend their independence, while showing examples of military valor, selfless devotion and love for the Motherland. Even foreigners hostile to the Slavs, such as the Gothic historian Jordan or the Byzantines Mauritius and Leo the Deacon, recognized that “this people is courageous to the point of madness, brave and strong.”

In later times, foreign writers and travelers noted in their travel notes the courage and heroic spirit of the Russian people, their endurance and contempt for death. “It is easier to kill Russian soldiers,” they reported, “than to force them into captivity. During the defense of cities, Russian soldiers blocked the breaches of the walls with themselves and fought even when their clothes were burning from the fires.”

A contemporary of the brave and warlike Kiev prince Svyatoslav, the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon wrote: “The Russians, who acquired the glory of victors from neighboring peoples, considering it a terrible disaster to lose it and be defeated, fought desperately.”

According to him, Svyatoslav, surrounded by a numerically superior enemy with his squad at the Dorostol fortress, told his soldiers when some of them proposed to retreat: “We do not have the custom of fleeing to our fatherland: either live as victors, or, having accomplished famous feats, die with glory."

These words became, as it were, a testament for all Russian people throughout the more than thousand-year history of the Russian state.

Such experts on the psychology of Russian people as L. N. Tolstoy, A. N. Tolstoy, V. S. Solovyov, N. A. Berdyaev, N. O. Lossky, K. M. Simonov, and other Russian thinkers and writers emphasized that the distinctive features of the Russian national character are high civic solidarity, willingness to help, sociability, goodwill, courage, courage, unpretentiousness and diligence.

F. Engels, comparing Russians with representatives of Western European countries, wrote: “They never give in to panic. In addition, the Russian is well built, in good health, an excellent walker, undemanding, can eat and drink almost anything and is more obedient... than anyone else in the world" [cit. from: 20. - P. 89]. The high moral and political qualities of Russian military personnel were also recognized by our former opponents. Hitler’s general G. Blumentritt wrote that “the Russian soldier is a worthy opponent; he is steadfast, brave, resilient, formidable in defense, swift in attack” [cit. from: 20. - P. 90].

From time immemorial, the Russian people were famous for their hospitality and hospitality. In any home or family, Russians warmly welcomed and welcome people they know and don’t know, provide accommodation for the night, and treat them to everything they can. These features of Russians have been and remain virtually unchanged.

Representatives of Russian nationality adapt quite easily to the surrounding lifestyle, quickly get used to new conditions for them, and do not show any particular predilection for national food or clothing. They successfully master knowledge and quickly get used to the level of demands placed on them by others. They also accept moving to other regions without much moral and psychological stress, and quite easily endure separation from family and friends.

In general, Russians are usually well prepared for independent life, but in some cases they overly romanticize certain aspects of it, too absolutizing their meaning. This trait often gives them a desire for excessive and disorganized activity, and sometimes leads to some disappointment.

The formation of friendly ties among Russians is based primarily on common life experiences and interests. In this process, they consider the main criterion to be the individual qualities of their comrades in joint activities, and not the nationality of the latter. Moreover, their experience of communication and relationships with people of other nationalities is often small and is largely acquired while in a particular multinational region.

The peculiarities of the Russian national character were noticed by many both domestic and foreign writers and scientists, believing that they are expressed not in belonging to the Russian nation, but in a “special state of mind.”

The formation and functioning of the psychology of the Russian people, of course, was and is influenced by Orthodoxy. It is impossible to understand the Russian person, his worldview, spiritual aspirations and way of action without correctly understanding the essence and spirit of his religious priorities, their difference from other religions and other denominations of Christianity.

Orthodoxy has always instilled in people humility, obedience, submission, and the desire to get rid of negative habits in behavior. In Orthodoxy, the Lord appears as compassionate, loving and merciful, and not as a punitive and formidable ruler and judge. The path of salvation for an Orthodox person consists primarily of love - for God and neighbors, and not in obedience to the church hierarchy, as is typical for Catholicism, and not in horror of the Last Judgment, as in Protestantism. Salvation for an Orthodox person does not come down only to self-improvement and transformation of the world around him, as in Buddhism and Taoism, or only to prosperity, as in Protestantism, where a person is brought up to be bourgeoisly calculating and cold-bloodedly purposeful. Orthodoxy has always endowed people with a messianic calling: service to Christ, humble and martyrdom of death. It condemns wealth and asserts the equality of all people, regardless of what position in society they occupy or what benefits they have.

That is why such psychological qualities as love and compassion, sacrifice and responsibility, solidarity and mutual assistance, perseverance in suffering and the absence of strict regulation of human behavior have firmly entered into the psychology of the Russian people and are constantly manifested in it.

At the same time, it must be remembered that working with representatives of Russian nationality requires a certain control, great strictness, and prevention of the sometimes encountered laxity, irresponsibility, and negligence. V.I. Lenin emphasized, for example, that the Russian people have many good qualities, but there is also disorganization and a superficial attitude towards work that does not always correspond to the prevailing circumstances. In a conversation with A. M. Gorky at one time, he noted: “We Russians are predominantly talented, but lazy in mind.”

In addition, representatives of Russian nationality sometimes may not be inclined to independence, they too often succumb to negative influences, in some cases they too easily and quickly adopt other people’s vices, and they can be too trusting and talkative. All these features must be taken into account when working with representatives of Russian nationality and interethnic relations with them.

The Russian people are representatives of the East Slavic ethnic group, the indigenous inhabitants of Russia (110 million people - 80% of the population of the Russian Federation), the largest ethnic group in Europe. The Russian diaspora numbers about 30 million people and is concentrated in countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the countries of the former USSR, the USA and EU countries. As a result of sociological research, it was found that 75% of the Russian population of Russia are followers of Orthodoxy, and a significant part of the population does not consider itself to be a member of any particular religion. The national language of the Russian people is Russian.

Each country and its people have their own significance in the modern world; the concepts of folk culture and history of a nation, their formation and development are very important. Each nation and its culture are unique in their own way, the flavor and uniqueness of each nationality should not be lost or dissolved in assimilation with other peoples, the younger generation should always remember who they really are. For Russia, which is a multinational power and home to 190 peoples, the issue of national culture is quite acute, due to the fact that in recent years its erasure has been especially noticeable against the background of the cultures of other nationalities.

Culture and life of the Russian people

(Russian folk costume)

The first associations that arise with the concept of “Russian people” are, of course, breadth of soul and strength of spirit. But national culture is formed by people, and it is these character traits that have a huge impact on its formation and development.

One of the distinctive features of the Russian people has always been and is simplicity; in former times, Slavic houses and property were very often subjected to looting and complete destruction, hence the simplified attitude towards everyday issues. And of course, these trials that befell the long-suffering Russian people only strengthened their character, made them stronger and taught them to get out of any life situations with their heads held high.

Another trait that prevails in the character of the Russian ethnic group can be called kindness. The whole world is well aware of the concept of Russian hospitality, when “they feed you, give you something to drink, and put you to bed.” A unique combination of such qualities as cordiality, mercy, compassion, generosity, tolerance and, again, simplicity, very rarely found among other peoples of the world, all this is fully manifested in the very breadth of the Russian soul.

Hard work is another one of the main traits of the Russian character, although many historians in the study of the Russian people note both its love of work and enormous potential, as well as its laziness, as well as complete lack of initiative (remember Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel). But still, the efficiency and endurance of the Russian people is an indisputable fact that is difficult to argue against. And no matter how much scientists around the world want to understand the “mysterious Russian soul,” it is unlikely that any of them can do it, because it is so unique and multifaceted that its “zest” will forever remain a secret to everyone.

Traditions and customs of the Russian people

(Russian meal)

Folk traditions and customs represent a unique connection, a kind of “bridge of times” connecting the distant past with the present. Some of them have their roots in the pagan past of the Russian people, even before the baptism of Rus'; little by little their sacred meaning was lost and forgotten, but the main points have been preserved and are still observed. In villages and towns, Russian traditions and customs are honored and remembered to a greater extent than in cities, which is due to the more isolated lifestyle of city residents.

A large number of rituals and traditions are associated with family life (this includes matchmaking, wedding celebrations, and the baptism of children). Carrying out ancient rites and rituals guaranteed a successful and happy life in the future, the health of descendants and the general well-being of the family.

(Colorized photograph of a Russian family at the beginning of the 20th century)

Since ancient times, Slavic families were distinguished by a large number of family members (up to 20 people), adult children, having already gotten married, remained to live in their home, the head of the family was the father or older brother, everyone had to obey them and unquestioningly carry out all their orders. Typically, wedding celebrations were held either in the fall, after the harvest, or in the winter after the Epiphany holiday (January 19). Then the first week after Easter, the so-called “Red Hill,” began to be considered a very successful time for a wedding. The wedding itself was preceded by a matchmaking ceremony, when the groom's parents came to the bride's family together with his godparents, if the parents agreed to give their daughter in marriage, then a bridesmaid ceremony was held (meeting the future newlyweds), then there was a ceremony of collusion and hand-waving (the parents decided on the dowry and the date of the wedding festivities ).

The rite of baptism in Rus' was also interesting and unique, the child had to be baptized immediately after birth, for this purpose godparents were chosen, who would be responsible for the life and well-being of the godson all his life. When the baby was one year old, they sat him on the inside of a sheep's coat and cut his hair, cutting a cross on the crown, with such meaning that evil spirits would not be able to penetrate his head and would not have power over him. Every Christmas Eve (January 6), a slightly older godson should bring kutia (wheat porridge with honey and poppy seeds) to his godparents, and they, in turn, should give him sweets.

Traditional holidays of the Russian people

Russia is truly a unique state where, along with the highly developed culture of the modern world, they carefully honor the ancient traditions of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, going back centuries and preserving the memory of not only Orthodox vows and canons, but also the most ancient pagan rites and sacraments. To this day, pagan holidays are celebrated, people listen to signs and age-old traditions, remember and tell their children and grandchildren ancient traditions and legends.

Main national holidays:

• Christmas Jan. 7
• Christmastide January 6 - 9
• Baptism January 19
• Maslenitsa from 20 to 26 February

• Forgiveness Sunday ( before the onset of Lent)
• Palm Sunday ( on the Sunday before Easter)
• Easter ( the first Sunday after the full moon, which occurs no earlier than the day of the conventional vernal equinox on March 21)
• Red hill ( first Sunday after Easter)

• Trinity ( on Sunday on the day of Pentecost - the 50th day after Easter)
• Ivan Kupala July 7
• Peter and Fevronia Day July 8
• Elijah's day August 2

• Honey Spas August 14
• Apple Spas August 19
• Third (Khlebny) Spas August 29
• Pokrov day October 14

There is a belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala (July 6-7), once a year a fern flower blooms in the forest, and whoever finds it will gain untold wealth. In the evening, large bonfires are lit near rivers and lakes, people dressed in festive ancient Russian attires lead round dances, sing ritual chants, jump over the fire, and let wreaths float downstream, in the hope of finding their soul mate.

Maslenitsa is a traditional holiday of the Russian people, celebrated during the week before Lent. A very long time ago, Maslenitsa was more likely not a holiday, but a ritual when the memory of departed ancestors was honored, placating them with pancakes, asking them for a fertile year, and spending the winter by burning a straw effigy. Time passed, and the Russian people, thirsting for fun and positive emotions in the cold and dull season, turned the sad holiday into a more cheerful and daring celebration, which began to symbolize the joy of the imminent end of winter and the arrival of the long-awaited warmth. The meaning has changed, but the tradition of baking pancakes remained, exciting winter entertainment appeared: sledding and horse-drawn sled rides, a straw effigy of Winter was burned, throughout the entire Maslenitsa week relatives went to pancakes with their mother-in-law and sister-in-law, an atmosphere of celebration and fun reigned everywhere , various theatrical and puppet shows were held on the streets with the participation of Petrushka and other folklore characters. One of the very colorful and dangerous entertainments on Maslenitsa was fist fights; the male population took part in them, for whom it was an honor to take part in a kind of “military affair” that tested their courage, boldness and dexterity.

Christmas and Easter are considered especially revered Christian holidays among the Russian people.

The Nativity of Christ is not only a bright holiday of Orthodoxy, it also symbolizes the revival and return to life, the traditions and customs of this holiday, filled with kindness and humanity, high moral ideals and the triumph of the spirit over worldly concerns, are being rediscovered and rethought by society in the modern world. The day before Christmas (January 6) is called Christmas Eve, because the main dish of the festive table, which should consist of 12 dishes, is a special porridge “sochivo”, consisting of boiled cereal, drizzled with honey, sprinkled with poppy seeds and nuts. You can sit down at the table only after the first star appears in the sky. Christmas (January 7) is a family holiday, when everyone gathered at one table, ate a festive treat and gave each other gifts. The 12 days after the holiday (until January 19) are called Christmastide. Previously, at this time, girls in Rus' held various gatherings with fortune telling and rituals to attract suitors.

Easter has long been considered a great holiday in Rus', which people associated with the day of general equality, forgiveness and mercy. On the eve of Easter celebrations, Russian women usually bake kulichi (festive rich Easter bread) and Easter eggs, clean and decorate their homes, young people and children paint eggs, which, according to ancient legend, symbolize drops of the blood of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. On the day of Holy Easter, smartly dressed people, meeting, say “Christ is Risen!”, answer “Truly He is Risen!”, followed by a three-time kiss and an exchange of festive Easter eggs.

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Introduction

1. Psychology of the nation

1.2.2 Dynamic components of the psychology of a nation

2. Features of the psychology of the Russian nation

2.1 Features of the formation of Russian national identity

2.2 Psychological characteristics of Russians

Conclusion

List of sources and literature used

Introduction

Of all the variety of phenomena and socio-psychological problems of the community, the subject of greatest attention among philosophical researchers, sociologists and psychologists has always been the psychology of nations. The study of national psychology has aroused interest in society since ancient times, since the nations themselves were formed with their inherent psychological characteristics. The development of human society was accompanied by an expansion of knowledge about the surrounding world, the accumulation of information about near and distant peoples. Already in ancient times, along with ethnographic observations, which were based on natural human curiosity, military, political and economic interests, attempts were made to theoretically generalize ethnopsychological data. Among the outstanding researchers of the psychology of nations were Herodotus (490-425 BC), Hippocrates (c. 460-370 BC), Democritus (c. 460-350 BC). ). Great contributions to the development of the theory of the psychology of nations were made by C. Helvetius (1715-1771), C. Montesquieu (1689-1755), D. Hume (1711-1776), G. Hegel (1770-1831).

The beginning of ethnic psychology itself as an independent branch of knowledge was laid by M. Lazarus (1824-1903) and H. Steinthal (1823-1899), whose ideas were then developed in the works of W. Wundt (1832-1920), G. Le Bon (1841-1899). 1931), G. Tarda (1843-1904), N.K. Mikhailovsky (1842-1904), N.A. Berdyaev (1874-1948), V.M. Bekhtereva (1857-1927), D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky (1853-1920), G.G. Shpet (1879-1937) and other scientists.

Of course, modern psychology of ethnic groups has been significantly enriched compared to past times. A significant contribution to its development was made by the works of domestic scientists S.M. Harutyunyan, Yu.V. Bromley, G.D. Gacheva, P.I. Gnatenko, V.G. Krysko, A.A. Nalchadzhyan, Yu.P. Platonova, Z.V. Sikevich, G.U. Soldatova, T.G. Stefanenko and others.

Relevance of course work. Today, interest in the fundamentals of national psychology is dictated by the urgent needs of reality, the harsh reality of the modern world. The processes of expanding interethnic ties, the collapse of a number of multinational states, aggressive nationalism, a whole series of bloody ethnic conflicts, and international terrorism completely refute humanistic illusions about a single humanity and the future erasure of national local differences. Globalization and modernization of society, including in our country, are marked by ethnic tensions. These processes affect the psychological atmosphere of society, including the state of psychology of the peoples of Russia. Recently, there have been many transformations in various areas of activity, which are taking place as a “carbon copy”, according to Western patterns. This is due to the fact that with liberal reforms and globalism, values, culture, technologies, ideas, scientific thought, and images of the Western world come to our country. And very often, these innovations do not take into account our native specifics, the specifics of the Russian people and society, which were formed throughout the entire period of our Russian history. In this regard, the study of the psychology of the Russian nation is especially relevant.

In the course of this study, I would like to touch upon some problems directly related to the ethnic conditioning of the individual, to the problem of self-determination of an individual living in a society that is heterogeneous in its national components.

The psychology of a nation has its basis: language; consciousness and self-awareness, including national ethnicity, national stereotypes, national values; national interests and tastes; culture; their specific media. The psychology of a nation is a combination of the properties of each specific nation, unique in its individuality, forming a unity and reflecting what this community has in common. National psychology consists of the following structural elements: national temperament, national character, national mentality, national traditions, national feelings and emotional states. It should be noted that in reality, in national life, all the identified components act as an undifferentiated whole, therefore the division of national psychology is possible only in the abstract, as a methodological technique necessary for their more detailed study.

The object of the study is the psychology of the Russian nation.

The subject of the study is the specifics of the psychology of the Russian nation.

The purpose of this work is to study such a phenomenon as the psychology of the Russian nation.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of problems:

1. study the psychological basis of nations;

2. study the content of the psychology of nations;

3. summarize the features of the formation of Russian national identity

4. identify the psychological characteristics of the Russian nation

The structure of the course work. The course work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

1. Psychology of the nation

1.1 Psychological basis of the nation

psychology nation Russian self-awareness

The set of traditional characteristics of behavior and mental activity inherent in the representatives of a given people, transmitted from generation to generation, is usually considered as the psychology of nations or national psychology. It represents one of the stable foundations of behavior of people of one nation, even those belonging to different social strata. There are implicitly two components of this phrase - “national” and “psychology”. The word “psychology” has two meanings: everyday, everyday and scientific. In everyday language, the word “psychology” is used to characterize the mental make-up of a person (its “mentally colored” part), the characteristics of a particular person, a group of people: “he (they) have such a psychology.”

Nation is a very vague polysemantic concept in modern science, used to characterize large socio-cultural communities of the industrial and post-industrial era. There are two main approaches to understanding a nation. In historical materialism, a nation is the highest form of historical community, which, in addition to ethnic characteristics, also presupposes an economic, political (it has its own statehood), and cultural community. In modern European science, a nation is a civil community that includes people of different ethnicities, but united by the state, law, and political and legal culture. The nations are Germans, French, Americans, etc. .

The original concept of the main features and conditions for the formation of a nation was proposed by the Russian-American sociologist P.A. Sorokin. According to P.A. Sorokin, a nation is a diverse (multifunctional), solidary, organized, semi-closed socio-cultural group, at least partially aware of the fact of its existence and development. This group consists of individuals who:

1) are citizens of the same state;

2) have a common or similar language and a common set of cultural values ​​deriving from the common past history of these individuals and their predecessors;

3) occupy the common territory on which they live or their ancestors lived.

P.A. Sorokin emphasizes that state, linguistic, cultural and territorial communities by themselves do not yet give rise to a nation. Only when a group of individuals belongs to a single state, is bound by a common language and territory, does it truly form a nation.

Thus, a nation is a historical community of people, consisting of a national elite, intelligentsia, the masses, united by a national-civilizational idea, spiritual culture, state power, social formation, way of life and competing with other nations for a place in human and earthly space. In this regard, the nation acts as a historically earlier community compared to civilization and is the basis and obstacle to the development of the latter. The most important structural element of a nation is the national elite (spiritual, political, economic), this is its brain and consciousness, it governs the nation in difficult historical conditions.

Let us explain some important characteristics of a nation (people). Historical fate includes the totality of historical events that were experienced by representatives of a given people during its existence. The Mongol-Tatar yoke, the Battle of Kulikovo, the Troubles of the 16th century, the invasion of Napoleon, the October Revolution, the building of socialism, the Great Patriotic War, etc. - these are the events that Russians experienced and which they know about from training and communication with elders.

One of the main signs of the existence of a nation is historical memory, which represents the testaments of antiquity, the traditions of our fathers, the feeling of only one birth, i.e. involvement in the spiritual mission of one’s clan, people, nation, Motherland. A person with historical memory is aware of his place in the spiritual relay of generations. A representative of a particular nation can understand who he is only by remembering who his ancestors were.

The most important feature of a nation is the self-identification of its members. Thus, E. Gellner writes that a group of people becomes a people if and when the members of this group firmly recognize certain common rights and obligations towards each other by virtue of the membership that unites them. It is the mutual recognition of such an association that turns them into a nation, and not other qualities - whatever they may be - that separate this group from all those standing outside it. E. Gellner insists that it is the conscious, ideological aspects of people, and not objective factors (territory, language, economy, state, as was believed in Marxism-Leninism) that turn people into nations.

The concept of “nation” is somewhat broader and more complex than the concept of “ethnicity”. “Ethnos” translated from Greek means “tribe”, “people”. This concept is very ambiguous and multifaceted. In colloquial language it is traditionally called the people. In scientific discourse, scientists have not reached a consensus on its content. Some consider racial differences to be the main distinguishing feature of an ethnic group, i.e. a special combination of hereditary biological characteristics such as skin color, facial features and physique. Other researchers, such as the American sociologist N. Smelser, consider ethnicity as a social community, while others, for example, L.N. Gumilyov - as a behavioral one. There are other approaches to defining ethnicity. Note that, despite the diversity of existing points of view, all researchers are talking about approximately the same set of characteristics.

Nations can be homogeneous or heterogeneous. The difference between them is that the former were formed on the basis of one ethnic group (for example, the Polish nation), and the latter as a result of the interaction of different ethnic groups (for example, almost all Latin American nations). Therefore, for a national community, in contrast to an ethnic one, the most characteristic features are socio-economic (primarily the presence of a common market throughout the entire territory of the country), political (the presence of a certain form of statehood, as well as the unification of the language, etc.).

Derived from the word “nation” is the term “nationality” - a certain genetic, socio-economic and cultural community of people, a social characteristic of representatives of specific nations. In the traditional sense, a person can belong to only one nation (Russian, Korean, Japanese, etc.). This makes it possible to identify whether a person or group of people belongs to a particular nationality or nation (for example, in a population census, questionnaire, passport registration system).

Each nation exists due to a system of stable internal connections and relationships of its constituent people. The possibility of a long-term existence of a nation is determined by the functioning and constant improvement of the foundations of an original national psychology, which are expressed in the national language, consciousness and self-awareness, national interests and tastes. The manifestation of all these components constitutes the life of a nation.

The fundamental basis of any nation is language - an objective form of accumulation, preservation and transmission of human experience. The term "language" has at least two interrelated meanings:

1) language in general, language as a certain set of sound, vocabulary and grammatical means of expressing thoughts;

2) a specific, so-called national language - a specific really existing sign system used in a specific community, at a specific time and in a specific space. The plurality of languages ​​is inversely proportional to the number of people who speak them: out of 1500 languages, 22 belong to 75% of humanity, and 7 languages ​​belong to 50% of humanity.

There are about 3 thousand languages ​​in the world, of which 2796 are described, another 4 thousand languages ​​are dead. All this diverse material, on the basis of genealogical classification, is reduced into related groups and branches, united in the highest classification form - the language family. Language is a socio-historical phenomenon, therefore the concept of family when applied to them means only that these languages ​​are interconnected in the process of origin and historical development, the nature of which is determined by its social nature.

Those that do not show any genetic connections are allocated to a special group of isolated (or independent) languages. The latter include Basque (Spain, France), Andamanese (Russia), Ainu (Russia, Japan), Japanese and Korean (recently, connections between Korean and the Tungus-Manchu languages ​​have been found). One of the most studied and numerous language families is Indo-European, whose languages ​​are spoken by 45% of the world's population. This family is divided into 11 groups, including the Slavic, which includes three subgroups: East Slavic (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians); West Slavic (Poles, Sorbians, Czechs, Slovaks) and South Slavic (Slovenians, Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians). Until now, the time of formation of the Indo-European language family and the place of the initial formation of the peoples included in it have not been established precisely - these issues continue to be the subject of debate.

The national language is the conceptual and logical apparatus that is inherent in the worldview of a particular people.

Structural properties of language:

a) symbol dictionary - a warehouse of elements for creating messages. For example, in the English language there are about 500 thousand commonly used and 500 thousand special words. But in normal communication, about 5 thousand words are used. An educated person can know up to 15 thousand. Shakespeare's dictionary is approximately 30 thousand words.

b) grammar - the rules by which sentences (patterns) are constructed. Grammars vary in complexity. English is classified as simple, and German or Russian is classified as complex.

c) syntax - rules for managing words. The Russian language is syntactically freer than English. Perhaps this is due to the attitude of Russian people to order.

d) languages ​​are redundant: one word can express different meanings. For example, a complete English dictionary lists about 14,000 possible definitions for the 500 most common words. A simple word like round has 79 meanings.

Language is not only differentiated (diverse), but also stratified by levels. The main forms of language are distinguished: literary, colloquial, vernacular, territorial dialects, social dialects (sociolects).

It is obvious that representatives of different nations look at the world with different eyes. It's not even about the eyes. We may know another people's customs, preferences and taboos, we may even internalize their beliefs and philosophy, but only by learning their language would we be able to throw off (in terms of our ability to describe the world) the shackles of our native language and perceive reality as fully as they do. Different languages ​​correspond to different experiences, and we have no choice but to study languages. We cannot learn them all, but the mere fact that we are familiar with the problem and take into account the picture of the world of a foreign friend will help establish such a level of mutual understanding as is possible with differences in national psychologies.

Thanks to a single language of communication for the entire community, the most important information communications are realized, justice and public administration are carried out. In the Soviet Union, the equality of the languages ​​of all peoples inhabiting the vast country was officially proclaimed. But formal equality does not mean actual equality. Different languages ​​cannot really be equal in terms of the scope of functions they perform. Therefore, in a multinational state, a certain hierarchy of languages ​​is certainly established - spontaneously or legislatively. The language of interethnic communication is of primary importance. Historically, this role was played by the Russian language on the territory of the Russian Empire and then the USSR. In the newly formed states the situation has changed radically. The situation of the Russian and Russian-speaking population almost everywhere became more and more difficult. A civilized solution to this problem is seen in the legislative introduction of bilingualism.

So, a common language lays the foundation for the formation of a unified national culture and ethics. And also such a subtle psychological phenomenon, which in psychology is called the collective unconscious. The national language, being an effective means of communication, accumulation and expression of the experience of members of the nation, makes it possible to give their culture and all life a specific sound and self-expression. And, of course, based on it, mutual sympathy, trust in interpersonal relationships, and compatibility of all representatives of the nation arise and constantly manifest themselves, functioning as a result as a single and indivisible organism.

The interaction of such features of a national community as territory, historical memory, language, etc., their total influence on its preservation are expressed in the form of a secondary phenomenon - national consciousness. National consciousness is the totality of a nation’s ideas about its origin, history, place in the modern world, and relations with other similar communities. This is part of public consciousness (theoretical and everyday, social psychology, political, legal, moral, religious, philosophical consciousness, etc.), which bears the features of national identity.

National consciousness exists at the theoretical and everyday levels. The theoretical level of national consciousness is a scientifically formalized, systematized structure consisting of national ideas developed by a nation over a long period of its existence and determining the strategy of its development.

The national idea is ideas, firstly, about a national society, which in the national consciousness is represented as an ideal, and secondly, about the place of this national society in the global system. This is a systemic quality of a nation (people) and characterizes it in relationships with other peoples of humanity. This idea orients the state towards certain goals and objectives that are of decisive importance in given specific historical conditions. The national idea characterizes the nation as a state whole and is the core of national identity and the defining feature of the nation. By acquiring its idea, a nation rises to a higher level of self-awareness, organization, cohesion, initiative and activity.

Several ideas can be listed that people, represented by their ruling elites, choose as national:

1) preserving oneself among other peoples in demographic, cultural, economic, political terms;

2) state self-determination within a federation or the creation of an independent national state for the purpose of developing one’s land, preserving and developing one’s national culture and civilizational identity;

3) participation together with other peoples in the development of the Earth and the organization of the life of earthlings;

4) the desire for regional or world domination, etc.

The listed types of national ideas can be combined. The choice of one or another idea as a national one depends on the number of people, the size of its territory, economic power, military potential, the ruling class, the ruling elite, the preached ideology, and leaders.

Today, in the public consciousness of Russians, a wide range of very different, sometimes mutually exclusive ideas have emerged - from nostalgia for “developed socialism” to a reckless desire for “pure capitalism”, from extreme “Westernism” to modern versions of Eurasianism. In some circles of the public there are calls for the promotion of a national idea for Russia. It is believed that it should be formulated briefly, expressively, understandably for the people and correspond to the worldview of our ideocratic society, accustomed to living under the shadow of some inspiring idea.

The ordinary level of national consciousness includes the needs, interests, value orientations, attitudes, stereotypes, feelings, moods and traditions of members of this community, manifested in everyday life and activities. All these components are in close unity and are inextricably linked with each other. It should be noted that ordinary national consciousness is the main psychological basis of various kinds of interethnic tensions and conflicts, since it is in it that national prejudices, negative attitudes, and intolerance towards other characteristics are formed.

In general, national consciousness has the following characteristics:

The presence of a holistic ethnic picture of the world, which is a set of stable, coherent ideas and judgments about social existence, life and activities inherent in members of a particular ethnic community;

Its “correct” transmission from generation to generation in the process of socialization normally developed by a given ethnic community;

His determination of the entire holistic and complex perception of life by the ethnic community;

Its correlation with behavioral stereotypes characteristic of members of a given ethnic group;

Its compliance with the social conditions of life of an ethnic community, the stage of its social development, the structure of life support (material base), as well as the relationship of the ethnic picture of the world with the norms and values ​​​​dominant among other peoples, which can be expressed as inclusion of oneself in some interethnic cultural unity or as isolation , opposing oneself to other nations.

National consciousness is a product of long historical development, and its central component is national self-awareness, which is understood as the awareness by members of an ethnos of their group unity and belonging to a particular ethnic community. National identity can express the interests of both a separate ethnic group (Western and Eastern Buryats, Northern and Southern Udmurts) and the nation as a whole (Russians, French).

National self-awareness usually has three main components - cognitive, emotional-evaluative and behavioral. The cognitive component of self-awareness characterizes the content of the ethnophor's (individual as a bearer of national consciousness) ideas about himself. It includes everything that allows him, on the one hand, to feel a community with his people, other ethnic groups, to unite himself with them, and on the other hand, to distinguish himself from everyone else, to recognize himself as a special, unique person.

The emotional-evaluative attitude towards oneself is manifested in self-esteem. National self-esteem is a value that, to varying degrees of significance, is attributed to both the nation as a whole and its individual aspects. It combines an individual’s assessment of his capabilities and qualities, his role in the ethnic community with an assessment of the significance of the nation as a whole among other nations. National self-esteem can be:

Understated, when a person does not know the capabilities and merits of his people, has not revealed his and his potentials, is burdened by the imaginary inferiority of his fellow tribesmen and therefore, if possible, disowns them (in this case, such human states as humiliation, depression, oppression, humility, etc.) .p., which are often transformed into the state of the ethnic group as a whole);

Adequately low, when a person is convinced of the significance and value of his nation, is aware of its so far insignificant or not fully appreciated contribution to interethnic cooperation, but is not depressed by this, believes in the future, although he does not flaunt this conviction (he, together with his people takes upon himself all the hardships of his real situation);

Adequately high, when a person is convinced of the significance and value of his nation, knows its historical and modern contribution to the world community, is proud of famous representatives of his people, idolizes them and strives to follow their path (pride, a sense of national dignity, respect for oneself and one’s ethnic group - this is what such a person experiences);

Overestimated, in which a person, for some reason, overestimates the weight of his own nation among others, deliberately emphasizes its exclusivity, constantly emphasizes its well-known and little-known advantages, inadequately overestimates the importance of its representatives, while identifying himself with them:

The level of self-esteem predetermines a person’s behavior in relation to both his own and other ethnic groups. Extreme levels of self-esteem - both low and high - have a negative impact. The danger of the first is that a person with low national self-esteem behaves inertly, passively, does not strive to change the current situation and can become a silent instrument in the hands of unscrupulous people. Equally, if not more, dangerous for interethnic contacts is inflated national self-esteem, especially for those people who dogmatically believe in its infallibility. Such an assessment naturally determines appropriate behavior towards other people. D. Carnegie noticed this very subtly, although with a certain bias, when speaking about the irrepressible craving for awareness of one’s own high importance among people of different nationalities: “Don’t you think that you are higher than the Japanese? But, in truth, the Japanese believe that they are much higher than you. Thus, a conservative Japanese man becomes furious at the sight of a white man dancing with a Japanese woman...” .

The result and outcome of the identification process is ethnic identity. Ethnic identity of a person is awareness of oneself as a representative of a certain ethnic group, a person’s experience of his identity with one ethnic community and separation from others. It is necessary to differentiate the concepts of ethnic identity and ethnicity - a sociological category related to the definition of ethnicity according to a number of objective characteristics: ethnicity of parents, place of birth, language, culture. If ethnicity is an ascriptive (attributed by society) characteristic, then ethnic identity is achieved by an individual in the process of constructing social reality based on ethnicity, but is not reduced to it.

There are two main components in the structure of ethnic identity:

1. Cognitive, which characterizes the content of ethnic identity and consists of:

Ethnic awareness - objective knowledge and subjective ideas about ethnicity, about one’s own and other ethnic groups, their history and traditions;

Ethnic label-ethnonym (self-name).

2. Emotional-evaluative, which combines:

A person’s experience of identity with an ethnic community;

Satisfaction with one’s own ethnicity and assessment of its significance;

Desire to belong to an ethnic group;

A complex of ethnic emotions and feelings (pride, love, devotion, commitment, solidarity, resentment, shame, guilt, infringement, humiliation, etc.).

Recognition of the unity of one’s origin with other members of the community and difference from others is recorded in the name of the people - the ethnonym. It is formed both in the process of ethnogenesis and in interaction in contacts with other peoples. Ethnonyms are divided into endoethnonyms (endononyms) and exoethnonyms (exononyms). Endononyms are self-names, i.e. what the people themselves call themselves. An exononym, in contrast to an endononym, is a name given to an ethnic group by another ethnic group.

Ethnic identity is more pronounced among those people who live in a cultural environment that is significantly different from their own. An important role is played by the fact which ethnic majority (or minority) group a person belongs to. Ideas about ethnic groups are formed more quickly and sharply among members of an ethnic minority, but sometimes in childhood members of a minority do not prefer their own group, but want to be in the group of the ethnic majority.

There are three main types of ethnic identity: ethnocentric, multiethnic and transethnic. Ethnocentric identity denotes a person’s orientation towards only one thing, his ethnic community, with which he connects his expectations, life plans, attitudes, and his destiny. Everything that is ours, “ours,” is the best, superior to everything else. But there are cases when people not only do not consider their own culture, morals, and customs to be the best, but, on the contrary, they display something like an inferiority complex, revering everything foreign. Multiethnic identity is characterized by an equal attitude towards several ethnic groups, knowledge or desire to know several languages, and a desire to simultaneously be in two or more cultural environments. Transethnicity manifests itself when a person, without classifying himself as a member of any ethnic group, considers himself to be part of all humanity, reaching the supra-ethnic level of understanding his “I” as a subject of the world community (citizen of the world).

Under the influence of various factors, ethnic identity is updated and undergoes certain transformations. The following types of transformations are distinguished:

a) ethnic indifference (indifference to one’s ethnicity, national values, independence from the traditions of one’s ethnic group, etc.);

b) hyperidentity (national fanaticism, ethno-isolationism, ethno-egoism);

c) hypoidentity (ethnonihilism - denial of the value of ethnicity as such, usually associated with a derogatory assessment of the status of the ethnic group with which the person is related by origin).

Ethnic identity, being one of the most important components of social identity, is closely interconnected with civil, religious, European and other identities.

Stereotypes are important elements of national identity. A national stereotype is a simplified, schematized, emotionally charged and extremely stable image of a national community, easily extended to all its representatives (ethnic image), as well as a schematized program of behavior typical for representatives of a particular ethnic group.

Western social psychologists identify four characteristics of a stereotype:

2. Uniformity - the degree of consistency of people in attributing certain characteristics to a national group.

3. Orientation - the general positive or negative perception of the object of stereotyping.

4. Intensity - the degree of prejudice towards the stereotyped group, expressed in the stereotype.

National stereotypes are formed on the basis of selectivity - comparison of one's nation with others. Stereotypes are positive, negative and neutral; overgeneralized and overly simplified; accurate and approximate.

A behavior stereotype is a system of stable, regularly repeated forms of behavior, transmitted from generation to generation through training and education and, to a greater extent, through the conditioned reflex of imitation. The first relates to conscious actions - to the sociosphere, the second to subconscious - to the biosphere, as well as to the ethnosphere. Historically, the formation of each ethnic group has always been associated with a specific territory, but in the modern world a very small number of ethnic groups live compactly - many of them are scattered across countries and continents.

National differences are manifested in the way people dress, eat, and in their favorite postures of standing or sitting, although all people on earth dress, eat, and sit. These differences are manifested in the design of actions, while the nature of the actions remains universal (you can eat with a spoon, chopsticks, hands, etc., but you cannot eat at all). Even when getting into a road accident, representatives of one nationality explain this by objective reasons (for example, poor visibility, road condition), while in the case of a representative of another nationality the reason is attributed to the personality of the driver. Stereotyped forms of behavior include rituals, customs, standards of communication (etiquette), technological processes (work techniques and skills), traditional ways of raising and teaching children, play behavior, organization of recreation, holidays, fashion, methods of courtship, insults, punishment, etc. d.

Changes in national stereotypes occur very slowly and are determined by the relationship between national and ethnic groups; for example, the stereotype of Hungarians changed several times, although the national character could not change at such a speed.

The phenomenon of ethnocentrism is closely related to national identity. Ethnocentrism is defined as the ability of national self-awareness and national consciousness to perceive and evaluate the world around us through the prism of the traditions and values ​​of one’s own ethnic group, which is obviously recognized as better than all others. The extreme form of ethnocentrism is the belief in the biological and cultural superiority of members of one's own ethnic group over other groups, but even in its mildest forms, ethnocentrism manifests itself as a tendency to evaluate all other ethnic groups from the perspective of the interests of one's own.

Being one of the mechanisms for uniting an ethnic group, ethnocentrism is often purposefully stimulated and exploited by ideological and political structures for the purpose of rapid and effective ethnopolitical mobilization and consolidation. Ethnocentrism can have both positive consequences, acting as the basis of patriotism, and negative ones, leading to nationalism and chauvinism. Nationalism is an ideology, social practice and policy based on the idea of ​​the superiority of some, “superior” nations over others, “inferior”, “inferior”. Nationalism is characterized by preaching exclusivity and superiority, and a disdainful attitude towards other nations and nationalities.

A special role in the life of a nation is played by its national interests, which are understood as a generalized expression of the urgent needs of the majority of members of a particular ethnic group related to ensuring its existence and development. They are the result of understanding history, the actual state of affairs and the long-term goal of the nation’s development. Long-term national interests include: maintaining or restoring the territorial integrity of the regions where an ethnic group lives, preserving or achieving national independence, ensuring its optimal numbers, preserving the national language and culture, etc.

National interests are the basis of patriotism, channeled emotions, such as historical optimism, faith in the future, etc. National interests are one of the powerful driving forces of behavior and activity of both the ethnic group itself and its members - individuals. Therefore, any attempts to infringe on national interests are perceived as an attack on the vital foundations of the corresponding ethnic community and are fraught with aggravation of interethnic relations. An attempt to infringe on the interests of a nation is always considered by its members as an attack on their freedom and vital rights. Possessing a developed national consciousness, representatives of various ethnic communities strive for unity, do not compromise their national interests, protecting them by all possible means, not only political, but also legal, as well as armed.

The national interests of the Russian people, for example, have always been expressed in the desire of its representatives to live in peace with other nations, the desire to provide them with help and support and, thus, maintain an atmosphere of friendship and mutual assistance in the multinational Russian society, thereby ensuring its cohesion.

National interests are based on the values ​​of the nation. In the broadest sense, values ​​usually mean phenomena of reality (facts of the ideal and material world) that have one or another meaning for society, its groups or individuals. They appeared in the history of the human race as certain spiritual supports that help a person to organize reality and introduce evaluative moments into its understanding. Values ​​are revealed in the connection between the subject, who cognizes and transforms the world, and the object on which the subject’s influence is directed.

In the context of globalization, the question of the relationship between universal and national values ​​arises. A number of documents and declarations of major international organizations (UN, UNESCO) note the paramount importance of universal human values ​​and assert that they should form the spiritual basis of modern society, going beyond social, religious and national boundaries. These statements are sometimes met with an ironic or even clearly negative attitude. However, universal human values ​​undoubtedly exist. For example, among the universal human values ​​common to Russians and Europeans are the following: 1) respect for the intellect, science, education and enlightenment; 2) love for the motherland, patriotism; 3) a tendency to be proud of the history of one’s country, its culture and great figures; 4) natural desire to be happy; 5) predominance of traditions, conservatism; 6) thirst for justice; 7) temperament and sensitivity; 8) sense of humor; 9) artistry, taste, penchant for artistic creativity; 10) sociability, love of conversation.

National values ​​act as social and psychological regulators of the behavior of people of the same ethnicity. Different ethnic groups may give preference to different values: for example, in one community heroism on the battlefield is valued, and life is viewed as war, in another, humility and renunciation of the joys of life come to the fore, i.e. asceticism. Moreover, such values ​​are, if not universal, then very widespread, characteristic of a given nation.

The specificity of national interests is given by national tastes, which represent a historically established uniqueness in the understanding, assessments and attitude towards significant values, life phenomena, good and bad among the majority of representatives of a particular ethnic community. National tastes are manifested in behavior, everyday culture, lifestyle, home decoration, clothing, relationships between people, art, literature, painting, dance and music of representatives of specific ethnic groups.

The psychology of a nation is a complex structural formation. It includes static (system-forming, conservative, long-term) and dynamic (mobile, short-term) components.

1.2.1 Statistical components of the psychology of a nation

The main elements of the static component of national psychology are psychological makeup (in the narrow sense of the word), national mindset and traditions. The psychological makeup usually includes national temperament and character as components. The concept of “national temperament” is borrowed from general psychology. It defines temperament as constant and stable natural personality traits that determine the dynamics of mental activity, regardless of its content. The properties of temperament are: 1) extraversion and introversion; 2) sensitivity; 3) the rate of reactions; 4) plasticity and rigidity; 5) reactivity and activity. Extraversion - introversion determines what a person’s reactions and activities primarily depend on - on external impressions arising at the moment (extrovert), or on a person’s internal images associated with the past and future (introvert). Extroverts include sanguine and choleric, and introverts include phlegmatic and melancholic. Sensitivity characterizes the least force of external influence necessary for the occurrence of a particular mental reaction, and the speed of its development. A person who is characterized by sensitivity subtly senses the mood of others, knows how to take it into account, knows how to console and support another person. High sensitivity in the absence of neurotic reactions makes a person calm. Such a person is sensitive and attentive, but will not tolerate inappropriate behavior and will calmly answer or refuse communication. By nature, the most sensitive melancholic people.

The pace of reactions characterizes the speed of mental processes and reactions (speed of mind, rate of speech, dynamics of gestures). The rate of reactions is increased in choleric people, sanguine people and well-rested melancholic people and decreased in phlegmatic people and tired melancholic people. Reactivity is the degree of involuntary reactions to external and internal influences and irritations (critical remark, offensive word, harsh tone, external influence). These are automated defense and orientation reactions. High reactivity is in choleric and sanguine people, low - in phlegmatic people. Activity - characterizes the expression of a person’s energy potential, with which a person overcomes obstacles and achieves goals. Activity is expressed in perseverance, focus, concentration and is the main quality of temperament that contributes to achieving the goal. A phlegmatic person is most active, although due to low reactivity he gets involved in work more slowly. The phlegmatic person is highly active and is not in danger of overwork. In a choleric person, high activity is combined with reactivity. Sanguine people are quite active, but if the activity is monotonous, they may lose interest in it. Melancholic people are characterized by low activity.

Temperament leaves its mark on business communication: sociability, or sociability, is different for people with different types of temperament. The most pronounced communication abilities are among sanguine people, who easily and quickly establish psychological contact with communication partners and maintain an active dialogue with them.

Phlegmatic people, compared to sanguine people, do not establish contact with people as easily, but they are able to maintain stable business relationships with partners for a long time, although, of course, their circle of contacts is less wide than that of sanguine people.

Melancholic people experience specific difficulties in communication, which are associated with an internal fear of new situations and new people. In the process of business communication, melancholic people often become lost and embarrassed; psychological support from others is required.

A choleric person is psychologically difficult to communicate: it is difficult for him to communicate and it is difficult for him to communicate with him. The choleric person is prevented from establishing good and long-term psychological contact by his temper and lack of restraint. The choleric person constantly strives for leadership in interpersonal relationships, which causes opposition from other partners.

National temperament is determined by a genetic factor, the type of higher nervous activity prevailing in a given country. Its originality is explained by the influence of the physical and climatic environment, lifestyle, occupation of ethnophors, and specific ethnic culture. Hence the obvious differences in emotional reactions to life situations, phenomena of the familiar and unusual environment. In popular scientific literature, as a rule, the “southern” (subtropical) temperament of southern peoples and the “cold” temperament of northern peoples are distinguished. It is generally accepted, for example, that residents of central Russia are sanguine by temperament, while representatives of the Caucasian peoples are choleric. However, this does not exclude the presence of other temperaments among these people.

Features of temperament are often masked and transformed by systems of connections developed under the influence of life, education and self-education, i.e. character - an individual combination of stable psychological characteristics of a person that determine a typical way of behavior and emotional response for a given person in certain life situations and circumstances.

The structure of character includes such interconnected essential components that are common to all people. The structure and content of each person’s character are determined by:

a) the dynamics of the will (depending on how capable a person is of achieving his goals, i.e. whether his will is weak or strong);

b) the specificity of the manifestation of a person’s emotions and the emotional background (for example, conflict) that accompanies certain of his actions;

c) intellectual characteristics of a person;

d) the interconnection of all these components (for the structure of character, what is important is how fused they are, harmonious with each other, or, conversely, in conflict or contradicting each other.

A person’s character is determined by his attitude towards the world, other people, business and himself. Relationships are related to beliefs and worldview. Belief is a certain mental state, which is characterized by a genetic inseparability of intellectual-rational, sensory-emotional and volitional components. This is a sensory experience of knowledge as value-significant, reliable, filled with the energy of will.

Beliefs contain what people are actually committed to, what they are guided by in their daily activities, and what they embody in patterns and patterns of behavior. When beliefs change, the entire complex of personal orientations in the world around us radically changes. The evolution of beliefs relates, first of all, to their content. The features of the individual’s worldview, which constitutes the core of character, increasingly appear in them.

Almost all scientists admit that character can be decomposed into certain elements (traits, properties, qualities, etc.). What is the specific list of these elements, the way they are organized, and other structural problems? Different theories give different answers to these questions. Scientists are more united in general requirements for the structure of traits than in describing exhaustive structures, of which there are very few in science today. So, N.D. Levitov proposed one of the most complete classifications of character traits. By traits he understands complex individual characteristics that are indicative of a person. The main thing when studying traits is to identify the leading ones among them. He divides all traits into two groups: traits of orientation and volitional traits. Traits related to the content and subject of focus include issues of worldview and culture, attitude towards science and art, attitude towards oneself and other people, attitude towards work, focus on non-existent goals. On the traits associated with the psychological nature of orientation, N.D. Levitov refers to meaningfulness, rationality; emotional traits; strong-willedness, enthusiasm. Traits associated with directional strength include depth, stability, and flexibility.

N.D. Levitov believes that a character type is a specific expression of general traits in the individual character. Because a person’s character is always a product of society, which reflects a variety of typical traits: professional, age, national.

An integral characteristic of a representative of a nation is national character - a historically formed set of stable psychological traits of representatives of a particular ethnic community, which determine their habitual manner of behavior and typical mode of action and are manifested in their attitude to the social environment, to the world around them, to work, to their and other nations.

The concept of “national character” includes only those character traits that are characteristic of the majority of representatives of an ethnic group, which arose as a result of their common communications, experiences, and lifestyle.

National character can be described by such parameters as conservatism, religiosity, optimism, pessimism, efficiency, practicality, accuracy, punctuality, commitment, enterprise, passivity, disorganization. For example, representatives of some ethnic groups, according to Russians, look like this: Englishman: prim, calm, reasonable, critical, smart; German: practical, organized, hardworking, punctual, efficient; Russian: frank, generous, reckless, kind, impractical, trusting, peace-loving; Georgian: selfish, impulsive, combative, aggressive; Tatar: proud, self-confident, quick-witted, hardworking, cunning, quick-tempered.

The basis of character is an attitude - a person’s unconscious predisposition to perceive and evaluate certain situations, people in a certain way and an unconscious readiness to act in a certain, pre-formed way, without taking into account the specific situation, i.e. attitude is readiness for a certain activity.

In sociology there is the concept of “social character,” which includes socially determined elements of a person’s character, primarily needs, interests, beliefs, i.e. those elements of character that orient a person in the social environment. In this regard, they distinguish “market character”, traditional character (oriented towards the traditions of society), individualistic character (oriented towards oneself), collectivist character (oriented towards others), etc.

Recently, the concept of “national character” has been used less and less in scientific literature; it has been replaced by the concepts of “mentality” and “mentality” to denote the psychological characteristics of ethnic communities. The category “mentality” originates from the adjective mentalis, which appeared in the 14th century and in medieval scholasticism denoted belonging to reason, reason, intellect. The advent of the term into science came gradually from colloquial language. Ethnology, psychology, and anthropology began to use it.

Mentality is a generalized socio-psychological property of a subject (people, nation, nationality, social group, person), which has developed as a result of a historically long and fairly stable influence of natural-geographical, ethnic, socio-political and cultural living conditions on the subject of mentality, arising on based on the organic connection between the past and the present.

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