The issues of ethno-cultural mentality in ethnology

The article presents a review of the main approaches to defining the essence and boundaries of the concept «mentality» in russian and foreign research practice - from the beginning of the xxth century up to the present. The author notes several directions that have been outlined in the definition of this phenomenon - psychological, sociological, cultural, socio-anthropological, semiotic, etc. A significant role in the attempts to delineate the boundaries of the concept is played by the related concepts «picture of the world» and «historical memory».