Family of Mordovian population of the Republic of Tatarstan: the dynamics of ethnic development in the XX - the beginning of the XXI century

Introduction. The structure of the family, its livelihoods and in modern conditions retains its ethnic specificity, it still remains the cell of the reproduction of the ethnos, the carrier and successor of its cultural and everyday traditions. In this regard, family research is important for understanding modern national processes that occur in various regions of our country. Research methods. The comparative-historical method was used as the main one, which allowed revealing strata of various historical epochs in the life activity of the Mordovian family of the studied region, determining the stages of formation and further development of its structure-forming components. The method of processing statistical sources was also applied, which is now widely used in ethnology. Results. On the basis of the analyzed statistical material and scientific literature, the article traced the dynamics of quantitative changes that occurred in the family structure of the Mordovian population of the Republic of Tatarstan during the 20th and early 21st centuries, as well as the trends in the evolution of family rituals. This made it possible, on the one hand, to reveal the regional characteristics of these processes, and on the other, their commonality with similar phenomena among the Mordovian population of the neighboring regions. Discussion and conclusion. As a result of the study, it was revealed that at present the underlying factors of the ethnic development of the family of the Mordovian population of the Republic of Tatarstan were simplification of its demographic characteristics, as well as family rituals, the main functions of which were not sacral manifestations, but emotional, psychological and regulatory. These phenomena are basically similar to those occurring among other territorial groups of the Mordovian people.