On the Nation and Nationalism

Abstract

The article is devoted to several problems, which are explored in the monograph by V. A. Tishkov “The Russian people: the history and meaning of national identityˮ. The author of the article perceives the terms “nationˮ and “nationalismˮ differently V. A. Tishkov. According to V. A. Tishkov, the term “nationˮ can be applied both to the population of the state and to the ethnic group — the people. However, in the practice of the modern Russian language the term “nationˮ is mostly perceived as “peopleˮ (ethnos). In addition, the “nationˮ as it is underastood by V. A. Tishkov’s — the unity of the population of the state –indefinable and variable. Undoubtedly, the term “nationalismˮ is supposed to be unambiguous — as a purely negative phenomenon, which is its connotation typical of the modern Russian language. The author of the article is also skeptical of the possibility of “nation buildingˮ, and, by and large, of the idea that human history is determined by the will of the intellectual elite, and not by objective laws of society. Despite the methodological disagreement, the monograph should not be be assessed negatively, on the contrary, itdeserves a commendation. It is necessary to highlight the historiographical aspect of the book — a detailed analysis of the use of the term “nationˮ and “nationalismˮ in the Russian/Soviet social . What is more important is the fact that the author of the monograph is not an indifferent “researcher of the issueˮ, but a citizen, a Russian patriot, however stilted these words may seem. The book by V. A. Tishkov is not only of scholarly, but also of social and political significance. It is from this perspective that acute problems of the current Russian statehood in terms of its multi-ethnicity — the situation in the North Caucasus, migration conflicts, ethical evaluation of events in the history of Russia, the status of the Russians as its constituent ethnic groups etc. — are considered.