Spatial and temporal representations in the public mind of the North Caucasus Cossacks in the late 18th - early 19th centuries

The study discusses the spatial and temporal representations of the North Caucasus Cossacks later reflected in the public consciousness of the inhabitants of the region. The research analyzes various historical, geographical, social and cultural factors determining their specific nature and manifestation in the everyday life of the Cossacks, the attitude of the latter to the surrounding reality. In the author’s opinion, they had a significant impact on the values, standards of social and cultural life of the Cossacks, their daily life and routine and formed a special type of consciousness inherent in representatives of the Russian South. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to identify the significant differences in these ideas of public consciousness of the inhabitants of the region and the all-Russian ones. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that on its basis the author reveals the social and cultural type of the personality which has been formed in the regional social environment. The study analyzes the specific features of the worldview of the population of the North Caucasus and its reflection in the social structure and economic activity in the region. The research findings may be useful in developing the modalities for the implementation of the national policy of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus as one of the most sensitive and specific regions in the modern Russian state.