Russian Ethnic Groups, Language, Religion, and Culture

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Russian Ethnic Groups, Language, Religion, and
Culture
C/Maj Josh Clegg 645 XP/CC
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Overview

• Ethnic Groups
• Language
• Religion
• Culture
• Questions

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Diverse Area

• Approx 290 million people live in the former
  Soviet area (Russia is largest w/ 141 million)
• 150 distinct nationalities
• 125 different languages
• 40 religions
• 6 major ethnic groups (Slavs, Turco-Tartars,
  Japhetics, Finno-Ugrians, Balts, Jews)

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Overview
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Slavs

• Largest percentage of people in the area are
  Slavs
• Three types
• Great Russians
• Ukranians (Little Russians)
• Belarusians (White Russians)

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Turco-Tartars

• Live primarily in Central Asia
• Azeris
• Bashkirs
• Chuvash
• Crimean Tatars
• Kazakhs
• Kazan Tatars
• Kyrgyz
• Turkmen
• Uzbeks

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Japhetics

• Live in the Caucasus area
• Abkhazians
• Armenians
• Georgians

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Finno-Ugrians

• Extreme NW corner of Soviet Union
• Estonians
• Finns
• Karelians
• Mordavians

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Balts

• Live in those states by the Baltic Sea
• Latvians
• Lithuanians

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Languages

• Over 120 languages were spoken in USSR
• Discrimination on the basis of language was
  illegal, however their statuses were far from
  equal
• Lenin felt a national language was not necessary
• Russian was the language of interethnic
  communication, de facto official language, made
  official in 1990!
• All language groups were strongly encouraged to
  write in the Cyrillic alphabet (since 1991, many
  have decided to return to their formal written
  language)

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Russian
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Russian
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Cyrillic Alphabet

• The Cyrillic alphabet is named after St. Cyril, a
  missionary from Byzantium. It was invented
  sometime during the 10th century AD, possibly by
  St. Kliment of Ohrid, to write the Old Church
  Slavonic language. The Cyrillic alphabet achieved
  its current form in 1708 during the reign of
  Peter the Great. Four letters were eliminated
  from the alphabet in a 1917/18 reform.
• The Cyrillic alphabet has been adapted to write
  over 50 different languages, mainly in Russia,
  Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In many cases
  additional letters are used, some of which are
  adaptations of standard Cyrillic letters, while
  others are taken from the Greek or Latin
  alphabets.

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Religion

• USSR was officially an atheist state (only 1/3
  professed religious belief, 1/2 professed atheism)

• Lenin said, Religion is the opium of the people
  this saying of Marx is the cornerstone of the
  entire ideology of Marxism about religion. All
  modern religions and churches, all and of every
  kind of religious organizations are always
  considered by Marxism as the organs of bourgeois
  reaction, used for the protection of the
  exploitation and the stupefaction of the working
  class.
• Major religions were
• Christianity (Eastern Orthodox)
• Islam
• Buddhism
• Judaism

Russian Orthodox Cathedral
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Russian Orthodox Church

• The Soviet authorities sought to control it and
  exploit it, although their ultimate goal was to
  eliminate it
• By 1941 only 500 churches remained open out of
  about 54,000 in existence prior to WWI
• Stalin used the Church during WWII to arouse
  patriotism to defeat the Nazis, number grew to
  22,000
• Krushchev launched a campaign to lessen its power
  when he came to office
• In the late 1980s, the Russian Orthodox church
  had roughly 50 million followers, but only 7,000
  registered churches (4,000 in Ukraine)

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Russian Orthodox Church

• Like all Orthodox churches, places an emphasis on
  preservation rather than adapting its doctrines
  and practices throughout time
• Its followers take great pride that their
  practices and ceremonies have been the same for
  over 1,000 yrs
• Great Schism of 1054 Eastern churches broke with
  church in Rome, this began the divide between the
  Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox churches
• Main cause of the Schism was over papal authority
• Also split along doctrinal, theological,
  linguistic, political, and geographical lines

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Russian Orthodox Church

• Buildings differ in design from many western-type
  churches. Firstly, their interiors are enriched
  with many sacramental objects including holy
  icons, which are hung on the walls. Murals often
  cover most of the interior. Some of these images
  represent the Theotokos, saints, and scenes from
  their lives.
• There are no pews. Most churches are lit with
  candles rather than electric light. Virtually all
  churches have multiple votive candle stands in
  front of the icons as well.
• Sometimes the bottoms of crosses found in Russian
  Orthodox churches will be adorned with a
  crescent. Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the
  city of Kazan which had been under the rule of
  Muslim Tatars, and in remembrance of this, he
  decreed that from henceforth the Islamic crescent
  be placed at the bottom of the crosses to signify
  the victory of the cross (Christianity) over the
  crescent (Islam).

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Russian Orthodox Church
St. Andrews Church
St. Basils Cathedral
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Russian Culture

• Very rich and colorful, has greatly influenced
  other cultures around the world as well
• Known for
• Food
• Literature
• Music
• Ballet
• Figure skating
• Matryoshka dolls

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Russian Food

• Rich and varied due to the vast and multicultural
  expanse of Russia
• Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide
  for a plethora of breads, cereals, kvass, and
  vodka
• Its location along the Silk Road as well as its
  proximity to Ottoman and Persian Empires gives
  most foods an Eastern character to cooking
  methods
• Common foods include
• Borscht, shchi, kasha, blini, caviar, shashlyk,
  beef stoganoff

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Russian Food
Shchi
Borscht
Borscht
Vodka
Caviar
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Russian Literature

• During mid-1800s, literature and the arts began
  flourishing, novels and plays became an important
  aspect of culture
• The Golden Age began with the poet Aleksandr
  Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky
  followed with the great novels. Playwright Anton
  Chekhov followed

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Russian Music

• Russia has a long history of classical music
  innovation
• Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) was the first to add
  religious and folk elements to classical
  compositions
• Other prominent Russian composers include
  Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and in the 20th
  century Stravinsky who is best known for his
  ballets

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Russian Ballet

• Very important aspect of Russian culture
• Became very popular in Russia during Tsarist rule
• Some of the best dancers in the world come from
  Russia
• Swan Lake
• The Nutcracker

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Russian Figure Skating

• Soviet Union began to dominate the scene in
  mid-1960s, especially in pair skating
• At every Winter Olympics since 64, a Soviet or
  Russian pair has won gold, often considered the
  longest winning streak in modern sports history

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Matryoshka Dolls

• A set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one
  inside another. "Matryoshka" is a derivative of
  the Russian female first name "Matryona", which
  is traditionally associated with a fat, robust,
  rustic Russian woman.
• Matryoshka dolls usually follow a particular
  theme from peasant girls in traditional dress,
  to fairy tale characters and even Soviet leaders
• Relatively new handicraft, first ones dated from
  1890

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Matryoshka Dolls
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Summary

• Ethnic Groups
• Language
• Religion
• Culture

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Questions
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Sources

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Sovi
  et_Union
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Sovie
  t_Union
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Chur
  ch
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_culture
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Russia
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll
• http//www.ivodka.com/kamchatka.html
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cuisine