About some changes in the material culture of the modern urban population of Azerbaijan (based on materials from the city of Sumgayit)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the changes taking place in the field of ethnic culture in the cities of Azerbaijan on the example of the city of Sumgait. In cities, social and cultural processes are more intense than in villages. As a result of constant migration processes in cities, different cultures and ways of life come into interaction with each other, sometimes conflict, and in many cases assimilate. As a result of these processes, a specific lifestyle is formed that is characteristic of each city and is determined by the ethnic culture of its main population. The main objective of the study is to identify ethnocultural changes taking place in the lifestyle and material culture of the population of Sumgait, the second largest and industrial city of Azerbaijan. As the results of the survey of urban housing in Sumgayit show, despite the standardized appearance of modern city apartments, local ethnocultural features are preserved in the subject environment, structure and color scheme of the interiors. The study suggests that, despite the intense interaction between the various sociocultural groups that made up the population of Sumgayit, at present the city has not formed common stereotypes of urban culture and lifestyle typical for the whole city. In this regard, the interior decoration of residential buildings often does not correspond to the characteristics and traditional ideas of different population groups. It was found that the interior of the apartments as a whole and their specific ethnic characteristics often depend on the type of housing. The study suggests that the popular culture, which is rapidly spreading in Sumgait and in Azerbaijan as a whole, determines the spread of a globalized, mainly Western way of life and modern stereotypes of behavior.