The relative composition of the Mordovian, Russian and Tatar family-households in the first half of the XIX century: a comparative analysis

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study of the nature and direction of changes in the family structure is due to the negative trends in modern socio-demographic development. The study of long-term trends in the transformation of family composition is important for understanding the nature and direction of modern processes, as well as for developing social policy measures. Materials and Methods. In order to conduct a comparative analysis of the family structure, the materials of the audits of the taxable population of 1816, 1834 and 1850 were processed. Due to the complexity of processing primary census materials, the territorial scope of the study is limited to two areas of compact residence of Mordva-Erzya and Mordva-Moksha – Ardatov county of Simbirsk province and Krasnoslobodsky county of Penza province. In the course of the study, it used comparative, historical, problem and chronological, as well as systematic analysis and structural methods. Results and Discussion. At the beginning of the XIX century, families-households of ethnic groups inhabiting the territory of the Ardatov and Krasnoslobodsky counties were represented by both simple and undivided forms. Among Mordva and Russian population in 1816, the share of small families was approximately equal, it was about 40 %; Tatar-Mishar nuclear families stood out against this background with their relative number reached 51,7 %. Among the undivided households, paternal ones dominated: among Russians, there were about 40 %, among Mordva-Moksha – 39,1 %, among Mordva-Erzya – 44,2 %, among Tatars – 38,1 %. Among the Tatar Mishars, fraternal families-households (7,5 %) were more widespread than mixed ones. In 1816–1850, all ethnic groups settled on the territory of modern Mordovia experienced an increase in the number and share of fraternal and mixed-type households. Conclusion. During the first half of the XIX century on the territory of the Mordovian region, various variations of undivided families-households prevailed. The exception was the families of the Tatar Mishars, with the small ones at the beginning of the XIX century slightly exceeded the other types in their relative numbers. In the 1820s–1840s, a decrease in the share of nuclear families and the complication of the kinship structure was observed in all the main ethnic groups of the Ardatov and Krasnoslobodsky counties.