No one will argue that the peoples of different countries are different from each other. Just like people within the same nationality. Such differences are due to the history of the development of the people, the community of traditions, cultural values of a particular group. All this is an extremely interesting object for study by sociologists, historians and psychologists. In the general sense of the word, any nation, nationality can be called an ethnic group. And inside almost any ethnic group, ethnic groups function. Let's try to figure out what it is, how they differ.
We can say that ethnic groups are communities of people who are similar in world outlook, cultural norms, and beliefs. They have individual self-awareness and separate themselves from other communities. As a rule, all members of the group speak the same language, belong to the same religion, and have a similar character set.
Ethnic groups can be formed in several ways:
- By assimilation by one people of another or relocation to another territory. So, for example, there were Yakutians, Kamchadals, Kolyma - Russian people who adopted many traditions and life of the Yakuts.
- Influenced by certain historical events. Such, for example, include the Old Believers who appeared after the split of the Church, or the Chaldons - a community formed after the campaign of Yermak.
- As a result of combining the above reasons. Here we can name the Cossacks, whose life was largely influenced by their residence in territories close to historical military events.
Most states are multinational, everywhere there are ethnic groups that can be considered minorities. Moreover, far from always they are such in the number of their members. So, the national composition of the United States includes not only Native Americans, but also African Americans, Irish, Jews, Arabs, Chinese, Germans - representatives of more than 100 nationalities around the world. Even the indigenous population is heterogeneous and unites approximately 170 tribes.
The same can be said of Russia. Its territory is home to 180 nations. These are not only Russians, but also Ukrainians, Finns, Tatars, Azerbaijanis, Moldavians, Buryats, Chechens, etc. In the European part of the country, the Russian ethnic group prevails, which cannot be said about the Trans-Urals. At the same time, the percentage of the Russian population reaches 80 throughout the country.
And in the United States, the share of Native Americans is only 1.3%. But at the same time, examples of discrimination against ethnic minorities are indicative in both countries. So, everyone knows about the hostility of a certain part of the "primordially" Russian population to immigrants from the Caucasus. Moreover, such rejection often leads to bloodshed. In turn, many representatives of the southern people relate to Russians in their territory in the same way. Russia is no exception to world rules.
We can talk about the oppression of ethnic minorities in America. For example, let us recall the period when the black population was enslaved to the white race. But the number of African Americans far exceeded the number of representatives of the leading nation. And now in the United States it is extremely difficult to find a decent job, get good income for immigrants from Latin America, and yet their number far exceeds the number of “original” Americans.
Now let’s clarify why the word “primordial” was written in quotation marks. The thing is that any ethnic group is not a constant. One way or another, but changes are taking place in it, based on certain historical events. Belonging to a particular community can be based not only on birth, but also on marriage. Mixed alliances are common. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to talk about the age-oldness of belonging to one or another people. Ethnic groups change over time, leaving behind some basic traits and self-awareness.