Russian ethnic territory in the former soviet republics and subjects of Russian federation in XVIII-XX centuries

Abstract

The problem of the world peoples ethnical and political borders formation still remains the least investigated. At present, while many peoples got the sovereignty, it has been put forward in number of the most actual. How the ethnic and political borders are formed in the world, what prevents their overlapping and settlement of the interethnic conflicts, if one ethnic group includes the territory of the other one in its state formation - on all these and many other questions we need to find the answer.The process of Russian people ethnic and political borders formation in XVIII-XX centuries is considered in general in the offered paper. The similar work is supposed to be executed for Ukrainian. German and some other largest ethnic groups of Europe, which ethnic and political borders by virtue of many reasons have appeared not concurrent.Russian ethnic territories were formed gradually in borders of present Russia on grounds of the subjects of Russian Federation, but also in some former allied republics (Kazakhstan. Ukraine. Latvia. Estonia). It has become possible only because the existing differentiation at present state has resulted in that extensive territories, where in past, and now the Russian ethnos mainly lived, were not included in the structure of Russian state territory.In the basis of usual state differentiation (conducted mainly in 1919-1925) state boundaries were fixed by not historical or ethnic, but artificial state mode created by the communist regime. They only partially were guided on the ethnic borders between peoples of former Russian empire, usual to 1920th years.As it is strange, but in result the rash disintegration of the USSR casual in many respects, unfair, not adequate to the actual ethnic state borders were completely saved. Coming to authorities democrats have appeared as the most consecutive Stalinists in this case.In result of the disintegration of the USSR the interests of 26 % of all Russians of the former USSR (about 37 mln people) and 31 % of all Russian speaking inhabitants (more than 50 mln.) were not taken into account.The federal authorities try to not notice this problem, underestimate its scales and significance. Quitting many millions of Russian people on the arbitrariness of destiny, the authorities even do not aspire to create though minimal conditions, facilitating their returning on the ground ancestors. And all this occurs in conditions of the physical dyeing out of the Russian ethnos, distinctly displayed with end 1991 year. Never yet in history of Russia with XVIII century, there was neither a year, when in the conditions of peace time and at absence of epidemics of illnesses or universal crop failure in country more inhabitants would die, than them w born. It would be necessary to think, that the day will come, when all peoples of the former USSR will define voluntary and on democratic basis their destiny in their own ethnic borders.