Determinants of Demographic Behavior in the Traditional Family of the Peoples of Kabarda and Balkaria in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The article analyzes the demographic behavior of the peoples of Kabarda and Balkaria in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The aim is to identify the main factors affecting the size of the traditional Caucasian family, its forms, specifics of marital relations, value orientations, and individual needs. The article provides an analysis of the transformation of family organization and historical types of family during this period. Particular attention is paid to studying the main determinants that influenced the reproductive behavior of highlanders. It is emphasized that the fundamental value of a large family was large, but the socioeconomic consequences of the abolition of serfdom in Kabarda and Balkaria led to a reduction in the number of children in families and the formation of a nuclear family type. It has been proven that both the Kabardians, bearers of an agricultural culture, and the Balkars, bearers of a pastoral culture, demonstrated a high degree of biological and socio-cultural adaptability in the context of political, economic and socio-cultural transformations, which ensured social stability for the traditional type of demographic behavior of the mountain peoples of Kabarda and Balkaria over a long period of time.