Mari of Udmurtia: Factors of Preserving Traditional Culture in Modern Conditions

The factors of preservation and intergenerational transmission of the traditional culture of the local group of Mari living in the territory of Udmurtia in a different ethnic environment is examined in the article. The source basis of the article was the field ethnographic materials collected in 2007 among the Mari of the Karakulinsky region of the Udmurt Republic and introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The socio-economic situation of the respondents, the established mechanisms of adaptation to market relations, the preservation of traditional rituals and holidays, material and spiritual culture, the use of the native language, ethno-demographic processes, the activities of the Mari community to support ethnic culture are showed in the work. The author notes that the historically formed mechanism for ensuring the viability of the Mari society includes practices of demographic behavior, ethnic socialization of youth, reproduction of elements of spiritual and religious culture (prayers, family and calendar rituals, songs) and the material world (national costume, elements of architecture, musical instruments, national cuisine), the use of the Mari language. It has been proven that the ritual sphere of the Mari is undergoing transformations, but at the same time it continues to remain an inseparable part of the life of the people. In the course of the work, it was also revealed that the local group of Mari in modern conditions for self-preservation needs to constantly generate ethnic markers based on traditional culture. The key role in this is assigned to the village community, educational institutions and public organizations.

Seasonal Dynamics of Marriage and Fertility of Population of Tambov Province in 1915—1916: Experience of Modernization

The monthly marriage and birth rate of the population of the Tambov province in 1915—1916 is considered in the article. The methodological basis of the work was the theory of modernization, which is considered by the author in the context of the history of Russia in the 19th — first half of the 20th centuries in the classical interpretation of the transition from traditional society to modern. The novelty of the article lies in the introduction into the scientific circulation of data on the seasonal dynamics of marriage and fertility of the Tambovites during the First World War. A comparative analysis of the corresponding numerical indicators among the townspeople and villagers in 1915—1916 with the pre-war period is carried out. The author comes to the conclusion that the seasonal dynamics of marriage and fertility can be used as a quantitative substantiation of such directions of spiritual modernization as the level of secularization and the propensity to innovate. The analysis shows that the general model of the demographic behavior of Tambov residents is generally correlated with the previous periods. The author comes to the conclusion that the revealed differences between the townspeople and villagers of the Tambov province in the studied plan indicate a greater inclination of the former to innovations and their higher level of secularization, and this confirms the position that the Tambov society was only at the initial stage of spiritual modernization.

Population of Urban Settlements: Comparative Analysis of The Russian North and The Republic of Belarus

The article examines the urban population of the Russian North and the Republic of Belarus after 1989. Thepurpose of the article is to comparatively analyze the demographic dynamics of urban settlements, considering the differences between the two countries. The text provides an analysis at three levels: state, regional and at the level of urban settlements. The article presents the general dynamics of the population of Russia, its northern territories and the Republic of Belarus; shows the role of demographic components in population dynamics and their transformation at the end of the twentieth century – the beginning of the XXI century. The authors considered the effectiveness of the migration exchange of the northern territoriesof Russia and the Republic of Belarus, showing the scale of migration losses. The article analyzes the dynamics of the number and population density of urban settlements by type in 1989–2020. In terms of the number of urban settlements, small and mediumsized cities are leading, at the same time, by place of residence, most of the population lives in cities over 100 thousand people. The authors note that the Russian North is highly urbanized, surpassing both Russia and Belarus in this indicator. Particular attention is paid to the spatial analysis of the dynamics of the population of urban settlements. The study revealed patterns in thedependence of the demographic development of urban settlements on the spatial distribution. The results allow us to assess the prospects for the further development of urban settlement systems in the Russian North and in the Republic of Belarus, which will find application in strategies and measures for the spatial development of territories. Further research should be aimed at identifying differences in the demographic behavior of residents of settlements with different economic specialization.

Not Just Later, but Fewer: Novel Trends in Cohort Fertility in the Nordic Countries

With historically similar patterns of high and stable cohort fertility and high levels of gender equality, the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland are seen as forerunners in demographic behavior. Furthermore, Nordic fertility trends have strongly influenced fertility theories. However, the period fertility decline that started around 2010 in many countries with relatively high fertility is particularly pronounced in the Nordic countries, raising the question of whether Nordic cohort fertility will also decline and deviate from its historically stable pattern. Using harmonized data across the Nordic countries, we comprehensively describe this period decline and analyze the extent to which it is attributable to tempo or quantum effects. Two key results stand out. First, the decline is mostly attributable to first births but can be observed across all ages from 15 to the mid-30s. This is a reversal from the previous trend in which fertility rates in the early 30s increased relatively steadily in those countries in the period 1980–2010. Second, tempo explains only part of the decline. Forecasts indicate that the average Nordic cohort fertility will decline from 2 children for the 1970 cohort to around 1.8 children for the late 1980s cohorts. Finland diverges from the other countries in terms of its lower expected cohort fertility (below 1.6), and Denmark and Sweden diverge from Finland, Iceland, and Norway in terms of their slower cohort fertility decline. These findings suggest that the conceptualization of the Nordic model of high and stable fertility may need to be revised.

Traditional and new patterns of today's urban youth demographic behavior

The article analyzes specific features of the Russian urban youth demographic behavior.. The empirical base of the study is the data of the representative public opinion poll of the Russian city dwellers aged 18-35 that was conducted in 2019. The levels of reproduction of the traditional patterns and the scale of the spread of new demographic orientations are revealed in the course of the study. It is shown that the mechanisms of postponed marriage and childbirth are taking place in the sphere of young people demographic behavior. The majority of young men are married or plan to be married in future, but even in the age cohort of32-35 around a quarter of respondents are not married and do not have permanent partner. Young marriages are giving way to the tradition of creating family after 25-30 years old that is also preceded by cohabitation without marriage. The optimal age for getting married is being put off and this is particularly characteristic of men. More educated representatives of urban youth are clearly orientated at the model in which the major part is taken by development of educational potential and making career, and creation of family is temporarily postponed. Childbirth remains the unconditional value of Russian youth, however refusal from early reproductive orientations also becomes social norm. The strategy "childfree" becomes actual in the youngest age cohort at the level of 18% and significantly loses its rates to 6-7% when it is getting closer to the age of 30. Mass groups orientated at gender egalitarianism in family relations are clearly distinguished among modern urban youth: the proposed typology shows that around 40% of respondents are characterized by a low level of egalitarianism, and 15% — by the most egalitarian attitudes. In general, the spread of new demographic patterns goes on gradually, while individualistic motivations are combined with preservation of the value of family and childbirth.

Measuring Migration Status Based on the Place of Marriage Overestimates the Share of Male Migrants in Historical Populations. Evidence From Dutch Marriage Certificates

Thanks to the construction of large databases such as LINKS and GENLIAS based on Dutch civil certificates, our knowledge of individual demographic behavior in the past has improved significantly. However, the use of such research infrastructures also introduces some potential pitfalls, as these databases do not contain all information available from the original sources. For instance, variables that are available on the original source but lacking in LINKS are the places of residence of the bride and the groom at marriage. A common practice among researchers using LINKS and GENLIAS is therefore to identify migrants by comparing an individual’s birth place with the place of marriage. The place of marriage, however, is not necessarily identical to the place of residence, because couples traditionally contracted their marriage in the bride's or bride's parents' municipality of residence. It is therefore particularly likely that grooms are erroneously considered as migrants even though they had never moved before marriage. In this paper we explore whether this poses a problem to studies using the place of marriage as an equivalent to the place of residence. This will be achieved with the help of the marriage certificates release from the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN), which, unlike LINKS, contains both the place of marriage of the couple and the residence of the bride and groom, and allows us to compare the findings derived from both approaches. The analyses show that identifying migrants based on place of marriage causes indeed a significant overestimation of male migrants, but not of female migrants. We therefore suggest the use of a couple's place of first childbirth as a robustness check to avoid overestimating male migration in the past.

Evaluation of demographic attitudes by the eyes of men and women under conditions of fertility deficiency

Applied statistical studies / sample surveys in assessing the demographic behavior of society are not just an urgent scientific and practical task, but make it possible to more fully haracterize the reproductive plans of the population, to identify obstacles to demographic development. The article presents an analysis of the results of a sample survey of the population of a number of regions of Russia, on the basis of which the real demographic needs of the population are revealed, gender correspondences / differences in them are characterized. The assessment of the differences in the views of women and men on the obstacles to the growth of the number of children in the family, as well as the motives that induce to postpone the birth of a child. A number of recommendations are proposed to achieve the strategic goal of increasing the birth rate.

Understanding the Mechanisms of Intergenerational Social Inequality in Demographic Behavior

In this chapter I contrast the economic and cultural perspective of intergenerational transmission processes of social inequality in demographic behavior. I systematically compile the underlying social mechanisms that are scattered across the literature and apply them to the relationships investigated within the CONOPP project. Identifying a predominant focus on the parental resource perspective in the literature linking family background and young adult demographic behavior, I argue in favor of widening the theoretical perspective. Greater theoretical width will enable social scientists to more comprehensively grasp the persistent social stratification of demographic behavior across generations and the role of context in moderating these relationships. I conclude with some suggestions on how future research can further push the boundaries of understanding these relationships.

Birth Rate in Siberia on the Eve of Collectivization: Delayed Demographic Transition

The final period of the NEP is characterized by a high birth rate in the country, especially among the rural population. The period was not sufficiently considered by researchers, because it was necessary to compare demographics with the subsequent development of events. Such a comparison was dangerous because of party dictatorship and an attempt to hide or ignore the demographic catastrophe in the country during the collectivization. The population of Siberia maintained the traditional demographic behavior in the reproductive sphere. Land relations in the village, which stimulated the growth of families, early and productive work of young generation in small-scale farming were economic mechanisms that allowed to maintain a high birth rate. In cities but the practice of restricting childbearing was becoming more widespread. The population was well acquainted with the methods of regulating childbearing. The demographic rapid growth observed in the late 20s of the twentieth century could only be prolonged in one case: the refusal to modernize village.