Detachment 645, The Ohio State University Integrity - Service - Excellence Russian Ethnic Groups, Language, Religion, and Culture C/Maj Josh Clegg 645

Detachment 645, The Ohio State UniversityIntegrity - Service - Excellence

Russian Ethnic Groups, Language, Religion, and Culture

C/Maj Josh Clegg

645 XP/CC


Overview

• Ethnic Groups

• Language

• Religion

• Culture

• Questions


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)


Overview


Slavs

• Largest percentage of people in the area are Slavs

• Three types:•Great Russians

•Ukranians (Little Russians)

•Belarusians (White Russians)


Turco-Tartars

• Live primarily in Central Asia•Azeris

•Bashkirs

•Chuvash

•Crimean Tatars

•Kazakhs

•Kazan Tatars

•Kyrgyz

•Turkmen

•Uzbeks


Japhetics

• Live in the Caucasus area

• Abkhazians

• Armenians

• Georgians


Finno-Ugrians

• Extreme NW corner of Soviet Union

• Estonians

• Finns

• Karelians

• Mordavians


Balts

• Live in those states by the Baltic Sea

• Latvians

• Lithuanians


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)


Russian


Russian


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.


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


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)



• Like all Orthodox churches, places an emphasis on preservation rather than adapting it’s doctrines and practices throughout time

• It’s 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



• 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).



St. Basil’s Cathedral St. Andrew’s Church


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


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


Russian Food

BorschtBorscht

Shchi

Caviar Vodka


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


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


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


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


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


Matryoshka Dolls


Summary

• Ethnic Groups

• Language

• Religion

• Culture


Questions


Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Soviet_Union

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Soviet_Union

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church

• 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

Documents

Detachment 645, The Ohio State University Integrity - Service - Excellence Russian Ethnic Groups, Language, Religion, and Culture C/Maj Josh Clegg 645