PARTICIPATION OF PEASANTS OF THE SIMBIRSK VOLGA REGION IN REVOLUTIONARY AND TERRORIST ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTIONARY PARTY (1905–1907)

In the second half of the XIX century, revolutionary terrorism emerged in the territory of the Russian Empire. This particular kind of socio-political violence was promoted in those years by some populist groups that worked primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for example, the Ishutin circle, which consisted mainly of students. One of its participants, a former student D. Karakozov, shot at the Russian Emperor Alexander II 155 years ago in April 1866 in St. Petersburg. The most famous “revolutionary terrorists” of Russia were members of the largest Russian opposition political organization of the XIX century, “Narodnaya Volya”, most of whom were, as one used to say then, raznochinets. Revolutionary terrorism in the empire reached its peak in the first years of the XX century (1902–1907), when it became part of the strategy and tactics of a number of opposition political parties and organizations of neo-populist orientation. They acted both in the national regions of the country (Little Russia, Transcaucasia) and in Russian capitals and regions. First of all, this has to do with the All-Russian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs). At the same time, in the territory of the Russian provinces in the era of brutal revolutionary terrorism in the country, not only the Socialist revolutionaries had their revolutionary-terrorist (combat) formations. So, during this period, terrorist units were created by the SR Maximalists who left the party during the First Russian Revolution and contributed to the ideological and organizational split of the Social Revolutionaries. In the same years, various anarchist structures had combat organizations. Having become a significant phenomenon of the socio-political life of a huge country, terrorism drew representatives of different social groups of the population into its practice. What was the role of the peasantry in the Socialist-Revolutionary terror? The author gives examples where the peasants of the Simbirsk Volga region took part in carrying out terrorist attacks. The researcher concludes that Russian peasants were among the active participants in combat units, which is clearly seen in the examples of combat structures of Simbirsk provincial organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, in the ranks of which, for example, in rural areas, there were combat squads consisting mainly of peasants.

ACTIVITY OF COURTS IN THE KHANTY-MANSIYSK AUTONOMOUS OKRUG TO STRENGTHEN THE LABOR DISCIPLINE OF THE SOVIET SOCIETY IN THE EARLY 1940s

The article reflects the peculiarities of implementing the penal and labor policy by the Soviet party and state bodies, including judicial ones in the Ostyako-Vogulsky, later Khanty-Mansiysk National Okrug, their interrelation in the early 1940s. The stages of evolving and forming the administrative-territorial structure in the region are also touched upon. The relevance of the stated topic is noted. In the conditions of the Second World War and on the eve of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR, there were noticeable changes in the social policy of the state, which were conditioned by the needs of the country’s defense. It is known that in the 1930s tensions in international relations increased, there was a threat of an attack on the USSR. Due to this in 1940s the transition to an 8-hour working day and a 7-day working week was carried out in all regions of the country. In the same year, a law was adopted on the judicial responsibility up to imprisonment for unauthorized leave, absenteeism and tardiness as a result of which criminal penalties and the role of punitive, including judicial, bodies were strengthened in the country. The article notes that in the harsh northern conditions, taking into account the vast territory of the district, a significant distance separating settlements from each other, the lack of proper transport links between settlements, it was impossible to properly and promptly ensure proper consideration of criminal cases, which did not allow the territorial judicial authorities of the Ostyak-Vogul (Khanty-Mansiysk) National Okrug to make correct and balanced decisions in a timely manner. However, the judicial authorities of the district played an important role in strengthening labor discipline in the region in the early 1940s.

THE SYSTEM OF TRAINING HIGHER PEDAGOGICAL STAFF AT THE TURN OF THE XIX–XX CENTURIES

Preparation of undergraduates and privat-docents for professorship in the late XIX – early XX century is considered on the example of Moscow University through the prism of the biography of a historian and a jurist Sergei Andreevich Kotlyarevsky. The uniqueness of his example lies in the fact that he defended four dissertations: master’s and doctoral dissertations on foreign history and master’s and doctoral dissertations on public law. This demonstrates some individualism of the trajectory showing his professional development and formation as a scientist and a teacher. The research perspective includes the process of young scientists’ formation from the moment of continuing working at the university’s profile department to prepare a dissertation up to obtaining the degree. Attention is paid to socio-political circumstances and conditions affecting the possibility of becoming a professional scientist and teacher. Both formal and special features of the training scientific and teaching staff inherent in a particular scientific community are noted. The professional development of future scientists and teachers of higher education was associated with active preparation for the defense of the master’s exam, the first teaching experience, scientific and research work. The best graduates were left at the departments with the support of leading university professors who saw new forces and future professionals in them. However, the personal contribution of the applicants themselves was important, since they were required to reveal their intellectual potential, pedagogical and research skills. At this, an important aspect was the opportunity to go on foreign business trips, in which not only the material of scientific research was collected, but knowledge was enriched as well, including getting to know the peculiarities of teaching in European countries and their socio-political life. The preparation process was completed with the public defense of the master’s dissertation and awarding a master’s degree. At the same time, the path to the teaching environment began, which required further disclosure of scientific potential and the defense of a doctoral dissertation in order to obtain a professorship.

THE WORKS OF SPIRIDON MIKHAILOV (YANDUSH) IN THE ASPECT OF SOME HISTORICAL ETHNOLOGY PROBLEMS

S.M. Mikhailov (Yandush) distinguished two ethnographic groups and two dialects of the Chuvash ethnos. The scientist attributed the population of Kozmodemyansky and the northern part of Yadrinsky uyezds to the upper (Virjal) Chuvash, and that of Tsivisky and Cheboksary uyezds of Kazan province – to the lower (Anatri) ones. Starting with the works of G.I. Komissarov, a third (middle-level) group began to be allocated from the lower group. According to the scientist, the Chuvash, being a separate community of Turkic-speaking peoples, used to live in Zakamye, where they had migrated from Siberia. He developed the Turkic-Bulgarian theory of the Chuvash language origin and the main ethnographic groups (middle lower and lower) of the Chuvash ethnos. He considered the upper dialect to be a mixed group, in whose culture, in addition to Turkic-Bulgar elements he found many elements of the Finno-Ugrians (the mountain Mari and the Mordvins-Erzya), and partly Kazan Tatars. Prior to annexation of the Chuvash Region to the Moscow state, two ethnographic groups of the mountain Chuvash functioned on the right bank of the Volga – the upper and the middle lower. After settling the southern steppe regions, in the process of cultural dialogue with the Mishar Tatars, a third ethnographic group was formed, known to the middle lower Chuvash as the khirti “steppe”. In Modern times, the geographical location of the ethnographic groups of the Chuvash ethnos contributed to penetration of the ideas of the European-Russian Enlightenment in the Chuvash Region (from the western territories to the eastern and southern ones). In the 1950s of the XX century the ideas of the Chuvash enlightenment were first formulated by S.M. Mikhailov, and later they began to spread in the academic circles of the entire Volga region. His works remain a valuable source for identifying the adaptive scheme of the ethnos, which the Chuvash built by localizing the “evil” principle outside of themselves, their society, ethnos.

EPISTOLARY HERITAGE OF N.I. ILMINSKY AS A SOURCE ON THE HISTORY OF EDUCATING NON-RUSSIAN PEOPLES OF EASTERN RUSSIA (in the last third of the XIX century)

The article is devoted to the analysis of epistolary sources on the history of educating non-Russian peoples of eastern Russia. The correspondence gives an opportunity to present the work of N.I. Ilminsky on education, methods of his activity, difficulties encountered along the way. The correspondence focuses on the development of Orthodox education among non-Russian peoples. The specific composition of letters is diverse. By correspondents, the sources are divided into the following groups: letters to senior statesmen, to figures of the Russian Orthodox Church, to local education figures. By the content, the correspondence is divided into groups of materials: about translation and publishing activities, about organizing the network of non-Russian schools, about training and appointment of teachers and priests, about introducing church worship in native languages. The letters significantly complement our understanding of N.I. Ilminsky’s personality and his educational activities. Currently, many scientists believe that it is necessary to conduct a deeper study and interpretation of historical events concerning educating the population of the country, including non-Russian peoples of the eastern part of Russia, taking into account their diversity. Epistolary sources provide rich material for historical reconstruction, their information potential is rich and diverse. The research methodology is based on historical methods: historical-genetic and historical-comparative. The historical-genetic method enables to trace the course of events in their chronological sequence, the dynamics of processes related to the history of educating non-Russian peoples of eastern Russia. The comparative historical method, which puts the fait accompli as the basis of all arguments and conclusions, was an important method in the historical reconstruction of educational process of the non-Russian peoples of the region under study on the basis of Orthodox education. A variety of epistolary sources made it possible to conduct a holistic historical reconstruction of the period under study in the history of education and to formulate analytical conclusions on the research problem. The author managed to analyze the collected material. The analysis performed gives the opportunity to make a conclusion about the diverse activities of N.I. Ilminsky on education.

ETHNICITY AS A DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTIC OF CHUVASH IDENTITY

Modern processes of the evolution of ethnic identification of different nations require a constant search for new approaches to the explanation of emerging phenomena. The primordialist approach to the study of ethnicity, which is classical in Russian sociology, cannot explain many of the processes occurring within ethnic groups. One such group is the Chuvash people, whose ethnic identification has undergone significant changes since the late nineteenth century, associated with changes in writing, urbanization, and the emergence of their own political institutions. It is a constructivist approach to the study of ethnicity, which emphasizes the consideration of the dynamics of ethnic processes and their historical evolution, is appropriate which will help to explain this changes. The Chuvash people in this case represent a unique object for study. As the largest predominantly orthodox Turkic ethnic group, it differs greatly from its neighbors. The study of the ethnic identification of the Chuvash people from the perspective of the constructivist approach to ethnicity should be given closer attention, in order to solve the problems faced by the scientific community.

ETHNOCULTURAL NEEDS, NATIVE LANGUAGES OF THE STUDENT YOUTH IN CHUVASHIA

The article presents the results of a sociological survey conducted in October 2018 which involved 300 students of three higher educational institutions of Chuvashia. The main attention was paid to the projective opportunities for using various subjects in studies that are directly related to the ethnocultural differences of the peoples of Russia. The theme of the history and culture of the native land became the undisputed leader in this choice, followed by themes related to folk cuisines, national traditions and folk holidays. A significant interest of students in the opportunity to make such a choice is noted: on average, each respondent chose about 5 out of 13 proposed options. Comparing the responses given by the Russians and the Chuvash in terms of frequency of choice and preferences shows that Chuvash students are more interested in national traditions: in 7 out of 13 cases their answers surpassed the answers of students belonging to the Russian nationality in terms of frequency of choosing certain cultural characteristics. The students expressed their viewpoint about possible using the acquired knowledge about folk traditions and culture in their future professions. The answer to the question about native languages confirmed the already existing observations that not one, but two languages act as the native language for one fifth of respondents. For Chuvashia, in the absolute majority of cases, this option means that the Russian and the Chuvash languages are recognized as native languages.

ON THE ISSUE OF INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION IN THE SYSTEM OF SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION (on the example of Sverdlovsk region)

Intensive migration processes of the last thirty years, where the Russian Federation is an active participant, lead to a gradual change in the ethnic composition of residents in a number of Russian regions. On the basis of field research in a number of educational organizations of Sverdlovsk region in 2021 and the analysis of the situation in the field of interethnic relations, the authors substantiate the need for the formation of intercultural competence by means of education. By the population composition with the passing of time Sverdlovsk Region will eventually become even more multinational, including due to migrants from the Central Asian countries coming both to work and to obtain citizenship. The regional authorities take this aspect into account in their work with the population: there is an Advisory Council for Nationalities, dozens of public organizations representing the ethno-cultural interests of a number of diasporas and ethnic groups, large interregional public organizations dealing with interethnic interaction. The problem of adapting children and youth from families with a migration history to a non-ethnic environment deserves attention, since the level of social tension and conflict of interethnic relations in the region where they live will potentially depend on the degree of their inclusion (integration) into the Russian society as they grow up. If multicultural Yekaterinburg schools and schools of Sverdlovsk region from time to time become the subject of consideration by researchers, there are no open access scientific publications of a complex nature that would systematically characterize the situation in the field of interethnic relations in educational organizations in the region, especially at the level of secondary vocational education. The study of the ethno-cultural component representation in the education system of Sverdlovsk region is conducted, as an example, the systematic work in forming intercultural competence in Sverdlovsk Regional Medical College is examined, recommendations are given to introduce “Ethics and culture of interethnic communication” as a basic discipline into the curricula of educational organizations of secondary vocational education.

THE NEW WAY OF LIFE OF THE OLD BELIEVERS IN BURYATIA: “LIFE HAS IMPROVED, LIFE HAS BECOME MORE JOYOUS”? (1930s)

Establishment of the Soviet power in Buryatia was another and the most painful factor in the decline of the lifestyle of one of the communities living here – the Old Believers. Having appeared in the region in the second half of the XVIII century, they managed to preserve their religious identity and cultural specifics, although already at the beginning of the XX century researchers noted trends of breaking with the most orthodox traditions and discontinuity of generational ties. In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks skillfully supported the protest wave of young people against the power of their parents, the desire to change their lives by leaving the confines of a closed community, as well as the idea of Old Believers about everyday life (built around the basis of their identity, the Old-Orthodox religion) as about the dark and hopelessly outdated. Already in the 1930s, the messages of the main newspaper of the republic – “Buryat-Mongol Pravda” – reported on the new happy life of not only young, but also elderly Old Believers who had abandoned religious prejudices and were in the forefront of building the Soviet society in the villages of Buryat-Mongolia. The article considers the issue on what caused such a change in people’s mentality: the ideological victory of the Soviet propaganda or a socially approved behavior (including cases of active and continued general passive resistance to a new life)? Hence, taking into account the desire of the current Old Believers to return and develop old traditions, the tasks of analyzing the external (everyday) changes of the 1930s in working life and searching for attempts to preserve (for further continuity) the identity of the social group are set. The object of the study is the Old Believers’ community of a part of the former Verkhneudinsky uyezd (since the 1930s – Tarbagataisky and Mukhorshibirsky aimaks of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR), the subject is the ideological, cultural and religious processes that took place in their environment during the indicated period. As a brief conclusion, it follows that the ideological campaign in Buryat-Mongolia, which continued in the 1930s, had a formal character in the Old Believer districts, which took place in the adoption of changes in the way of life while preserving the foundations of religious identity.

EXPERT COMMUNITY’S OPINION ON SOME PROBLEMS OF NATIONAL POLICY IN CHUVASHIA

The article presents the views of 30 experts on a number of national policy problems in the Chuvash Republic. According to experts, friendly, conflict-free interethnic and interconfessional relations prevail in Chuvashia, rare cases of negative interethnic contacts are characteristic of everyday situations, most often related to the use of native languages. The possibility of interethnic conflicts is considered as unlikely. They may be associated with potentially ill-conceived actions in the sphere of linguistic and other ethno-cultural interests of representatives of individual peoples. According to experts, preservation and improvement of good-neighborly relations between representatives of certain ethnic groups are greatly influenced by the verified national policy and successful economic development of the republic. Some experts support the opinion which prevails among the republic population on the negative impact of labor migrants on the labor market opportunities for the old-age population, although statistics data do not confirm such attitudes. From experts’ viewpoint, successful implementation of national policy in the republic could be facilitated by organization of a special state management structure (ministry, committee), active involvement of enthusiasts in national cultural associations in various management issues, regular ethnological monitoring, dissemination of positive practices in the field of interethnic relations, etc. In general, experts believe that there is no noticeable influence of the ethnic factor on real politics in Chuvashia.