TRANSFORMATION OF THE “PATRON IMAGE” AND LOCALIZATION OF THE “SOURCE OF EVIL” IN THE PERSONAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE CHUVASH ETHNIC GROUP OF THE EARLY XX CENTURY

The relevance of this study is determined by the fact that the problems of functional intraethnic conflict and personal consciousness from the standpoint of the theory of historical ethnology on the material of the Chuvash ethnos have remained undeveloped to date. The purpose of this work is to determine the type of mechanism of action of the intraethnic conflict of a particular ethnic group (in this case, the Chuvash) based on the poetic creativity and behavior of ethnophores with a vivid personal consciousness. In our opinion, the functional foundations for the intraethnic conflict of the Chuvash ethnic group can be found only in a historical context. Materials and methods. The materials for the study were the creative and biographical facts of specific Chuvash poets in the context of the most significant cultural and political events in the life of the Chuvash ethnic group of the early XX century. The theoretical and methodological provisions of historical ethnology from S.V. Lurie’s textbook were used. Results. The analyzed material shows that for the poets of the peoples of the Volga region with a developed personal consciousness, the beginning of the XX century really became a stage of a sharp rise in their national consciousness and an active search for ways to further develop their people. K. Ivanov (Kashkyr) and other literary classic authors developed their concepts of the spiritual and moral relationship between a creative personality and the people, the man and the society. They were concerned about many constant formulas and cultural codes of their native ethnic groups. As people with a developed personal consciousness, they were looking for ways for the ethnic group to function in the new conditions of reality. The functional conflict of the Chuvash ethnic group, which served as a mechanism for its development, had a clearer outline at the beginning of the XX century. In the context of a wide range of socio-political models, it became an effective conflict taking place within the ethnic community itself. Conclusions. The Chuvash people with personal consciousness in the early XX century began to place the evil inclination both outside their ethnic group and inside it. Accordingly, the images of patrons also changed: the moral qualities of people came to the fore in them, without highlighting their national origin. The Chuvash students became more intolerant of public and everyday criticism of them, both from representatives of other ethnic groups and from some of their fellow tribesmen who preferred traditional values of more prestigious ethnic groups.