Evaluation of Changes in the Ethnic Mosaic of Regions of European Russia in Periods Between the 1897, 1959 and 2010 Censuses

Abstract

The article presents the results of analysis of the dynamics of ethnic processes that took place in European Russia from 1897 to 1959 and from 1959 to 2010. As an integral indicator that reflects the complexity of the ethnic structure of the population of territories, B.M. Eckel ethnic mosaic index was used. This indicator and its dynamics for the indicated time intervals were calculated within the boundaries of the modern federal subjects in the European part of Russia. As a result of the analysis, differences in processes, the conditional border of which was the middle of the 20^th century, were identified: 1) in the first half of the 20^th century, the Russian population actively moved to the national outskirts (modern republics), which almost ceased in the second half of the century; 2) until the middle of the 20^th century, intensive assimilation of the non-Russian population (Finno-Ugrians, Belarusians, Ukrainians) along the modern western and southern borders of Russia was taking place, but in the second half of the century assimilation of the Finno-Ugric population was continuing in the northern part of European Russia; 3) for more than a century there was a migration inflow of non-Russian population to the central part of Russia; 4) from the middle of the 20^th century, some delay in the intensity of assimilation of foreign-speaking migrants began in comparison with their inflow, which reduced the degree of monoethnicity of a number of regions in the central part of Russia; the exception was Moscow and Leningrad / St. Petersburg, strengthening their assimilation functions; 5) from the middle of the 20^th century a new process emerged — the growth of the monoethnicity of a significant part of national autonomies, that accelerated in the post-Soviet period.