Family as a factor of formation and strengthening of interethnic concord in the Republic of Buryatia

The article analyzes the role and importance of family in society, its main functions. A family, performing its most important function of educating younger generation, is one of the factors that influence on the nature of interethnic relations in society. The author considers the family influence on formation and strengthening of interethnic tolerance of personality. The opinions of residents in the Republic of Buryatia are interpreted concerning the relations in their families and their attitude towards representatives of other nationalities and towards interethnic marriages. As for the Republic of Buryatia, the family is one of the prior positive factors in the formation and strengthening of interethnic tolerance, since in the family a child acquires parental patterns of behavior to others, parental norms and values. The author considers that relations between two indigenous nationalities, two main ethnic peoples in Buryatia, Buryats and Russians are characterized by not only interethnic tolerance but their relationships are closer. The author offers to call this type of interethnic relations as the interethnic concord. Such an important social institution as the family makes the significant contribution to the process of formation and strengthening of interethnic concord in the region.