All articles

The article is devoted to preservation of national and cultural traditional elements in the families of the Moscow Armenian Diaspora. Having lived in non-ethnic society for centuries, Moscow Armenians seek to preserve their traditional culture and create all types of educational centers where they bring their children. The article is based on a survey conducted in the spiritual and outreach center called “Ayordeats Tun” among students and their parents in April 2016. The authors paid special attention to the questions of child rearing, to the language preferences in everyday communication and Armenian traditions. The authors examine the role of the parent state and the Armenian apostolic church in the development of the Armenian ethnicity. The key role in preserving national traditions in the Armenian family continues to be played by mothers whose task is to instill in her children love for their country and its culture. The survey results are presented and analyzed.

National and cultural aspects of personality formation are a very difficult and lengthy process. Its basis is undoubtedly laid down in the family which initiates a child’s socialization, education, the molding of his personality, including primary ethnization factors. With new independent states emerging on the territory of the former Soviet Union and new diasporas subsequently springing up, the process of ethnic and cultural identity formation has, too, acquired new aspects. The authors point out that of paramount importance for the characterization of the new diasporas is the fact that their members identified themselves not so much with their maternal ethnic group, as with their mainland, and, consequently, with the value orientations the state demonstrated. The survey and the present study show how national culture is preserved and restored through upbringing and family traditions in Belarussians living in 21st century Moscow. It also explains what determines the Belarussian essence for Belarussians in the Diaspora and the way the latter manifests itself in a modern megalopolis.