Lamazhaa Ch. K., Namrueva L. V. Complex Manifestations of Neo-Traditionalism and Archaization in the Regions of the Southern Federal District
The article was written with support from the Russian Foundation for the Humanities (project “Research Database Russian Models of Archaization and Neotraditionalism in the Conditions of Modernization”, grant No. 13-03-12005в).
Abstract ♦ The article provides an overview of studies in archaization, neo-traditionalism and their manifestations in the regions of the Southern Federal Districts (comprising Republics of Adygea and Kalmykia, as well as Astrakhanskaya, Volgogradskaya, Rostovskaya Oblasts and Krasnodarskii Krai). Judging by the diversity of its constituent parts, the district itself can be characterized as the epitome of the multiethnic and multicultural Russia.
Collecting, analyzing and systematizing literature was a joint responsibility of a research team comprising researchers from the Institute of Fundamental and Applied Studies, Moscow University for the Humanities, and from a number of other research centers. The materials are prepared and published in the research database “Russian Models of Archaization and Neo-Traditionalism in the Conditions of Modernization” (www.neoregion.ru).
As our survey has shown, researchers are primarily focused on two complex processes — religious neo-traditionalism and the Cossack movement. These social phenomena contain a number of neo-traditionalist and archaizing tendencies and thus have a significant impact on the socio-cultural, political and economic life of regional communities.
We consider religious neo-traditionalism an important factor in the socio-cultural life of the region. It both embodies an adaptation strategy in a society undergoing transformation and acts as a source of social instability and interethnic tension. When the masses turn to religion, this process also has archaic elements — a certain “mythologicality” of thought and a “pact” with the supernatural forces in order to solve problems of the everyday life. A revival of the cultural values of the traditional religions often runs counter to the goals of modernization and social reform.
The Cossack movement also performs an adaptational function and plays an ethno-mobilizational role for people experiencing social transformation. This movement comprises a number of neo-traditionalist (folklore, military, ideological, festive, religious, etc.) practices and can be considered a complex and controversial social phenomenon.
Keywords: Southern Federal District, religious situation, religious neo-traditionalism, archaization, archaic practices, neo-traditionalism, database, overview, Cossack movement, forms of neo-traditionalism.
Lamazhaa Chimiza Kuder-oolovna, Doctor of Philosophy, Deputy Director, Institute of Fundamental and Applied Studies, Moscow University for the Humanities; Full Member, International Academy of Science (Innsbruck, Austria). Postal address: 5 Yunosti St., 111395 Moscow, Russia. Tel.: +7 (499) 374-75-95. E-mail:
lamajaa@mail.ru
Namrueva Liudmila Vasilievna, Candidate of Social Science, Associate Professor; Head, Department of Sociopolitical and Environmental Studies, Kalmyk Institute for Humanitarian Research, Russian Academy of Sciences. Postal address: 8 Ilishkin St., Elista, Kalmykia, Russian Federation, 358000. Tel.: +7 (84722) 3-55-06. E-mail:
lnamrueva@yandex.ru
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