Passions About Ethnos: Or What Theory of It Is Still Needed? (Part 2)

The main versions for theoretical understanding of the problem of ethnic diversity of mankind are discussed in this article. The current state of theorizing in this area must be recognized as unsatisfactory, since it is characterized by attempts to substitute the concept of "ethnos" with the concept of "identity", calls to explain this phenomenon by cultural diversity and even to return to its description using the word people. The substitution of a full-fledged theoretical understanding of the problem by surveying the history of the emergence and using of the term "ethnos" is very indicative of the recognition of the crisis state of this scientific field. Current data have made it possible to establish that Russian and foreign authors discussing ethnos, including Yu. V. Bromley, L. N. Gumilev, F. Barth, V. Mühlmann, relied on the theory of S. M. Shirokogorov. Therefore, the article puts forward the idea that the theoretical and methodological foundations of the latter are much superior in their heuristic potential to the developments of other authors and it has not lost its significance for the analysis of ethnic phenomena.