MYTHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MODERN NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE MOUNTAINOUS ALTAI

The article is devoted to the study of modern forms of national consciousness in the Altai Mountains. The main stages of formation of the national consciousness of the Altaians are indicated: religious, formation of national intelligentsia and ethnosophical. The modern ethnosophical stage is characterised by new forms of mythologisation, corresponding to the archaisation of both life and consciousness: the revival of the institution of zaisanatstvo, national holidays, clothing and cuisine, the creation of ethnopolitical myths, the reduction of history and the appropriation of the heritage of archaeological cultures. It is noted that ethnosophy, claiming to create a “national philosophy”, nevertheless remains a type of mythological thinking.