Rural Population Of Kalmykia: Their Attitude To Mixed Ethnic Family

Abstract

A mixed ethnic family is a subject of research of this article. It is considered from different positions that contradict each other. On the one hand, there is an understanding that this type of union promotes positive interaction of peoples, penetration and mutual enrichment of ethnic cultures. On the other hand, there is an opinion that mixed marriage leads to the erasure of ethnic boundaries and further dissolution of the ethnic group. Therefore, this kind of interaction of peoples at the micro level requires close attention and comprehensive interdisciplinary study. The article analyses the results of sociological studies conducted in 2015 and 2017, and statistical data on the population of Kalmykia. A modern village in Kalmykia is characterized by such problems as unemployment, low income of the majority of villagers, weak social infrastructure, and dramatic migration of the rural population. Villagers have a tendency to marry representatives of different ethnic groups in polyethnic rural settlements. Young people create mixed families when they leave their native land. The research investigates attitude of the rural population of the republic to mixed ethnic marriages. Positive attitude dominates in public consciousness. It increases the role of the intercultural component. Supporters of a mixed family think that a spouse should learn the ethnic language, traditions and customs of his\her spouse. However, there is another opinion that a mixed marriage is an assimilation factor leading to the destruction of the ethnic culture, the disappearance of ethnicity. Rural people having this opinion are against mixed marriages.