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certain people and organizations interested in fanning inter-ethnic and inter-confessional discord. By provoking ethnic conflicts they try to mislead society and distract its attention from the heart of the matter, that is, solution of urgent problems. The task of the system of ensuring regional security lies in carrying on propaganda and socio-psychological actions aimed at preventing destructive actions.
We fully agree with the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan R. Khamitov, who maintains that "the Republic is one of the good examples of friendly, good-neighborly relations between people of different nationalities". Inter-ethnic marriages, which become ever more frequent in Bashkortostan and the region, are the most vivid confirmation of this.
The problem of inter-ethnic relations as not a priority one for the Republic. At the same time its leadership realizes the significance of tolerant relations between representatives of different ethnic and confessional communities. It was not accidental that the year 2011 was proclaimed the Year of Greater Inter-ethnic Accord in Bashkortostan.
"Rossiya i eyo regiony v poiske grazhdanskogo edinstva i mezhnatsionalnogo soglasiya", Ufa, 2011.
A. Nabiullina,
Sociologist, Kazan Federal University FORMATION OF NATIONAL SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS OF INDIVIDUAL IN POLY-ETHNIC REGION OF TATARSTAN
National self-consciousness of a person is one of the basic concepts analyzed by sociologists in the investigation process of interethnic relations. National self-consciousness has a complex structure. The ethnic sociologist L. Drobizheva includes in the structure
of national self-consciousness such concepts as the feeling of belonging to an ethnic group (ethnic identity), "images" and "ethnic interests". M. Mnatsakanyan maintains that it is necessary to take into account the fact that the structure of national self-consciousness has not only a horizontal, but also a fundamental - vertical sociological snapshot. In this sense, he maintains, one can talk of deep-rooted foundations of national self-consciousness: psychological, cultural and historical.
However, researchers also note that the growth of national self-consciousness can proceed along the path of cohesion of members of an ethnic community, and also along the road of ignoring the interests of other peoples. Three negative forms of the manifestation of national "I" are singled out: ethnic limitedness, narrow-mindedness (unwillingness to agree to contacts outside the borders of one's ethnos), ethnic egoism (striving for privileges and benefits for one's own ethnos at the expense of other peoples), and ethnic phobia (direct hostility toward other peoples).
National self-consciousness of an individual included in a concrete ethnic community, is formed in the process of socialization. The result of this process largely depends on the ethno-cultural medium in which the socialization of a person takes place. The Republic of Tatarstan is part of the multinational Volga-Ural region which is distinguished by cultural diversity. Three ethnic strata have formed here in the course of more than a millennium: the Ugro-Finnic peoples (Mordovian, Mari, Udmurt); Turkish peoples (Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvash), and Slav peoples (Russians, Ukrainians and Byelorussians).
R. Abdrakhmanov and E. Mavrina note that immediately after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, two basic negative trends took shape in Tatar society, which continued to exist even to this day, namely, that "the Russians are colonialists" and "the Russians are enemies of Muslims". In the latter
half of the 18th century, when Catherine the Great ruled Russia, the legitimized institution of Muslim clergy and permission to build and open mosques somewhat neutralized the second trend. In later years, along with the development of commodity-money relations the first trend largely lost its negative connotation, inasmuch as the requirements of the emerging class of the Tatar bourgeoisie were not limited too greatly by the Russian state.
The greatest tension in the history of Tatarstan - during the 1990s - was caused by a sharp upsurge of nationalism, both political and cultural, which could not but cause a definite strain in the relations between the peoples inhabiting the Republic. According to numerous researchers, despite differences in culture, the language and religion, and certain contradictions between the indigenous peoples during definite historical periods, theses relations were mainly of a friendly character, and tension and conflicts were a result of erroneous nationalities policy of the official authorities. In these conditions the formation of the national self-consciousness of the peoples of the Republic of Tatarstan took place.
In the course of studying inter-ethnic relations in the Republic of Tatarstan in 2007 we carried out a surveillance poll among residents of Kazan on the subject of inter-ethnic relations in our Republic, using the method of semi-formalized interview going deep to the roots of the matter. We studied such components of the national self-consciousness of Tatars and Russians - the two main peoples living in the Republic -as ethnic identity, autostereotypes, and ethnic interests. We asked 36 persons representing three main age groups, Tatars and Russians, as well as men and women who were taken in equal number.
In order to find a place for ethnic identity among other identities we asked our respondents about the importance of perception of their belonging to their people and also asked to name the most important
identities for them. We offered a list containing nine identities: citizen of the world, inhabitant of Eurasia, Russian, citizen of Tatarstan, Tatar (Russian), Muslim (Orthodox Christian, other), member of a professional team, mother (father, son, daughter), wife (husband, girl, boy) and gave them an opportunity to name their variant. But nobody availed of it.
The predominant opinion of our respondents was the importance of perception of their closeness to their fellow-compatriots, irrespective of nationality, and negative answers were given by some Tatars and Russians. The range of opinion concerning the place of ethnic identity among other identities was quite wide among both Russians and Tatars, however, there were certain differences. Not a single Russian respondent put his or her ethnic identity to first place, but it was at fourth or fifth place. The Russian respondents considered more important their belonging to family, religious identity, civic identity (belonging to Russia), belonging to the entire world, belonging to professional team, etc.
Among the Tatar respondents there were people who put their ethnic identity at first place, and some respondents did not mention it at all among the identities important for them. On the whole, there is a tendency of Tatars placing their ethnic identity at first, second and third places. These respondents considered their civic identity (belonging to Russia and Tatarstan), as well as religious identity, belonging to the entire world, and belonging to their family also important.
In analyzing the autostereotypes of Russians and Tatars it was revealed that not all respondents have them, and among those having autostereotypes there are more people who form their perceptions and views on the basis of moral and communicative qualities, but there are also those who prefer to assess specific features of the way of life and work habits of representatives of the two people - Russian and Tatar.
As to assessments of visage, the respondents of both Tatar and Russian nationalities unanimously state that during many long years of living side by side people have mixed with each other to such an extent that it is very difficult, if at all possible, to find any noticeable distinctions in the appearance of Tatars and Russians. Positive and negative autostereotypes are also characteristic of respondents of both nationalities, which make it possible to speak of an adequate and critical assessment of their people by representatives of both nationalities.
The following autostereotypes have been revealed among the Tatar respondents. Tatars are more decent, reserved, peaceable, industrious, hospitable, and communicative; Tatar women are patient and tolerant, and they can forgive. The Russian respondents had the following autostereotypes: they are easier to get on with, they have closer relations between themselves, they are peaceable, more careless and less disciplined.
In analyzing the importance of ethnic interests for the respondents we also tried to reveal the presence or absence of ethnic egoism among them, that is, striving for getting privileges for their people at the expense of other peoples.
We have found that ethnic egoism was rather more characteristic of Russians than Tatars. In general, ethnic egoism was manifested in a weak form in all age groups and among respondents of both sexes, but among certain young male respondents of Russian nationality ethnic egoism was stronger and there was greater discontent with inadequate satisfaction of their ethnic interests. It is interesting that these respondents came across the negative attitude to them on the part of Tatars, and they assert that sometimes they come across national discrimination in Tatarstan. The Tatar respondents expressed ethnic egoism in a weak form, which was revealed among representatives of
all age groups, men and women in equal numbers. A strong form of ethnic egoism was not found.
Our investigation made it possible to draw a conclusion that relations between the Russians and Tatars are friendly or neutral, but not at all conflicting. Thus it can be assumed that in the Republic of Tatarstan the national self-consciousness of both Tatars and Russians has been formed in the conditions of friendly, goof-neighborly relations, and despite a negative influence of erroneous nationalities policy and certain cases of negative experience they have been based on mutual tolerance.
"Kazanskaya Nauka ", Kazan, 2010, No 10, pp. 350-352.
V. Merkuryev,
D. Sc. (Law), (Academy of the General Prosecutor's Office) TERRORISM AND CRIMINAL GANGS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS
In analyzing organized crime in the North Caucasus it is important to take into account the presence of a definite number of organized crime groups, their characteristic features and connections between them, as well as the means of establishing these connections and agreed-on terrorist activities. In view of this it would be expedient to examine the system of organization and operation of criminal gangs and the place of the "Imarata Kavkaz" organization in this system. The North Caucasian region, where more than 76 percent of all terrorist acts registered in the Russian Federation occurred in 2010, continues to remain the main source of the terrorist threats to the Russian Federation's security. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
