Упражнения по теме The Nationalities of the Russian Federation / Национальности России

1. Read the texts and do some exercises below.

Nationalities of the Russian Federation

In Russia, there are almost 200 peoples and nationalities – of which about 100 are native, that is, peoples whose main ethnic territory is in Russia. In addition, there are more than 60 peoples whose majority of fellow countrymеn live outside of Russia.

The ethnic picture of Russia, reflected in the censuses, is diverse, but not static, due to many factors – for example, the indicator of the exact number of peoples is rather relative: in each population census, the number of peop les was different and if, according to the 2002 census, their number was 182, then the results of the 2010 census recorded 193 peoples.

Currently, the nationality is not indicated in the passports of Russian citizens, therefore, the census data are based on self-determination (that is, the respondent himself determined the nationality). As a result, it was found out that Russians are the most numerous nationality of the Russian Federation – their number was 116 million people. This is 80% of the country’s population.

The largest peoples of Russia are those, whose number exceeds 1 million people. As a result of the 2010 census, 6 peoples were included in this list – Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Chechens and Armenians. Their total number was 12.87 million people (9.02%).

The consequence of the multinational composition of the population and the federal structure is the existence of national autonomies – republics (22), autonomous regions (1) autonomous okrugs (4), as well as national regions (2).

Vocabulary:

Ethnic-linguistic composition of the Russian Federation population

In all regions of Russia, Russian is the state language, while in the republics the language of the titular ethnic group is state language – in most of the republics (19 out of 22) there are two state languages, in Crimea there are three ones, in Dagestan – 14, and in Karelia there is no one.

The ethno-linguistic composition of the population of any country is an indicator that takes into account not only the ethnic affiliation of a person, but also the language he speaks. In the USSR and modern Russia, there is such a situation in which a person can relate himself to some people (for example, because one of the parents belongs to it), and speak (most often) in Russian.

Usually, when sociologists present data from such surveys, they conveniently correlate them with one or another language family.

For Russia, the most common is the Indo-European language family, within which several groups stand out: Slavic (the largest one), Armenian, Iranian, Germanic, Indo-Aryan, Romance, etc.

In numerical terms, it looks like this:

1) the Indo-European language family – 116.6 million people:

- the Slavic language group – 113.5 mln. ppl.

- the Armenian language group – 1.1 mln. ppl.

- the Iranian language group – 0.8 mln. ppl.

- the German language group 340 thousand ppl.

- the Indo-Aryan language group 210 thsnd ppl.

- the Romanesque language group 165 thsnd ppl., etc.

Other language families represented in Russia are Altai, with 12.7 mln. ppl., North Caucasian, with 5.0 mln. ppl., Urals, with 2.3 mln. ppl., as well as Kartvelian (or South Caucasian), Korean Sino-Tibetan, Chukchi-Kamchatka, Afrasian (Semitic-Hamitian), Austro-Asian, Nivkh, Niger-Congolese, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, Yukagir, Eskimo-Aleutian, Austronesian, Yenisei, Japanese. Paratai, Ainu and Basques.

For many Russian linguistic minorities (or the so-called indigenous minorities), the preservation of their native languages is a big problem. Although in the USSR formally there were schools that taught in national languages, the current state policy was aimed at the russification of education and public life in general. This was also facilitated by mixed (multinational) marriages in which Russian became the language of communication between the spouses. And for children in such marriages, Russian was already the mother tongue. In addition, children from hard-to-reach areas (taiga, tundra, mountains) were taken from their parents to boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their native language, wear national clothes and eat food that they were used to. Growing up, such children forgot their native language. As a result, in modern Russia there are a lot of people who consider themselves, for example, Nenets, Khanty or Shors, but speak Russian.

To change this situation active efforts are made in the national republics to promote the study of native languages, festivals are held, and books are published.

Vocabulary:

National cuisines

Since Russia is a multinational country, talking about the cuisine of each people individually takes a very long time. Moreover, Russian cuisine is a combination of culinary traditions of many peoples living in our country.

Its basis is a common for the East Slavic peoples set of dishes: various soups (borsch, cabbage soup, solyanka, etc.), cereals, boiled and baked vegetables, stews, jelly, fruit drinks, pies, etc.

In ancient times, Russian cuisine borrowed such dishes as pelmeni, shangi, kalitki (borrowed from Finno-Ugric peoples). In the Soviet period, such dishes were added to this list: shaslyk, pita bread, kharcho soup, pilaf, halva, sorbet, etc.

Modern Russian cuisine is a product of the Soviet cuisine development, which was formed due to the internal migration of various peoples in the USSR outside the traditional region of residence. This was due to the all-Union construction projects, the development of hard-to-reach lands of Siberia, the virgin lands of Central Asia, the Far East, the Far North and their resources, and the deportation of peoples.

Dishes of this cuisine were cooked not only by housewives, but were also common in canteens throughout the country. It has become an integral part of home cooking and was used in parallel with national dishes, especially in large cities. In general, Soviet cuisine was shaped by Soviet eating habits and the very limited availability of ingredients in most regions of the USSR. Most dishes were simplified versions of dishes of French, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Caucasian cuisines.

Vocabulary:

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

1. How many nationalities are there in the Russian Federation?

2. How much of them are native ones?

3. Why is the number of peoples different in population censuses?

4. How many peoples were named in the 2002 census? What was their number in the 2010 census?

5. What is self-determination?

6. What was the most numerous nationality of the Russian Federation according to the 2002 and 2010 censuses?

7. What percentage did this make up?

8. What peoples were included in the list of the largest peoples of Russia?

9. What were their total number?

10. In what way do the consequence of the multinational composition of the population and the federal structure of our country correspond?

Exercise 2. Say true or false.

1. In all regions of Russia, Russian is the state language.

2. In the USSR and modern Russia, there is such a situation when a person can relate himself to some people, and speak (most often) in Russian.

3. When sociologists present data from ethno-linguistic surveys, they usually don’t correlate them with one or another language family.

4. The Slavic language group isn’t the largest one.

5. For many Russian linguistic minorities, the preservation of their native languages is not a big problem.

6. The main reason of the fact that Russian became the most common language of international communication in the USSR was the multinational marriages.

7. In modern Russia all native peoples speak their mother tongues.

8. In national republics, festivals are held and books are published to promote the study of native languages.

Exercise 3. Choose the correct variant.

1. Russian cuisine is … of many peoples living in our country.

a) an alloy of culinary traditions

b) a combination of culinary traditions

2. Russian cuisine basis is a common for … peoples set of dishes.

a) the West Slavic c) the East Slavic

b) the South Slavic d) the North Slavic

3. In the Soviet period, such dishes were added to the list of borrowed dishes: … .

a) shaslik, pita bread, shangi c) shaslik, sorbet, kalitki

b) shaslik, pelmeni, halva d) shaslik, kharcho soup, pilaf

4. Modern Russian cuisine is a product of the Soviet cuisine development, which was formed due to … of various peoples in the USSR.

a) the external migration c) the internal migration

b) the different processes d) the deportation

5. Most dishes were simplified versions of dishes of … cuisines.

a) French, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Caucasian

b) Russian, English, German and Caucasian

c) French, Russian, German and Caucasian

d) Scandinavian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and French

2. Read the description of Komi – on of the Finno-Ugrian peoples living in Russian and make your own description of any people you like. Use the glossary and the page from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Russia

Most Komis belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, but their religion often contains traces of pre-Christian beliefs (see Komi mythology). A large number of Komis are Old Believers.

Traditional costumes of this people are diverse and very colorful. Festive clothing was sewn from thin linen, cloth of the best quality, and in later times from factory fabrics. The most prosperous people could even wear silk, brocade, satin and cashmere.

Men of the Komi people were unpretentious in clothes. The peasant’s casual suit consisted of linen, trousers and a shirt, which were sewed from the roughest and cheapest materials.

Hunters, fishermen and lumberjacks wore special footwear with bent noses and solid soles (kym), and a sleeveless jacket (luzan) or a caftan was topped on top, if it was winter. Outerwear was sewn from homespun white or grey cloth, then it was trimmed with leather, the belt was sewn right to the belt, and the shoulders were strengthened with triangular-shaped pieces of fabric. Sometimes suc h a sleeveless jacket had a hood.

Festive clothes differed from everyday color and expensive fabrics. The men wore a shirt-shirt, made of bright silk or satin, girdled with a leather or woven belt, and the trousers sewn from a good soft cloth were tucked into high boots. And from above a jacket or a caftan was thrown, depending on the season.

The casual woman suit consisted of a long shirt and a sundress (sarafan). The shirt usually reached almost to the floor and was sewn from two types of fabric. The upper part, visible to all, was sewed from high-quality fine fabric, and on the bottom was more coarse, but wear-resistant. A sarafan was worn over such a shirt. In ancient times it was cut with wedges, later sarafans became straight, a bodice was added to them, and it was held with the help of shoulder straps. In contrast to the white and gray fabric shirts, they tried to sew this piece of clothing from bright fabric. Even the daily outfit of a Komi woman should emphasize her beauty and skills of the hostess.

The festive clothing was cut in a casual fashion, but it was much richer decorated with embroidery and sewn from better and more expensive fabrics. The rich Komi wore brocade vests on top of the sarafan.

A special part of the dress was headgear. They pointed to the social status of women. Young girls wore hoops, brocade ribbons or tough bandages. Hair hadn’t been covered until marriage. If they were alone, they went to old age. Together with the marriage, the headdress changed. At the wedding, the girl wore a baba-jur, similar to the Russian kokoshnik, and had no right to take it off until old age. In old age they began to cover their heads with simple scarves.