Sergei Shirokogoroff’s theory of ethnos and criticism of it

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the main content of the theory of ethnos presented by S.M.Shirokogoroff in his 1923 work "Ethnos: the study of basic principles of ethnic and ethnographic phenomena". This theory is based on the idea of the emergence of ethnos as a result of adaptation to the three main types of environments: natural, cultural and created by other ethnic groups. Important meaning of this idea is the equilibrium principle, which should correspond to the components of the ethnos. In fact, Shirokogoroff's main ideas about ethnos represent a systemic understanding of the phenomenon of ethnos. Critics of his concepts reduce its content to a thesis on the biological foundations of ethnos and history introducing the term ethnos into ethnological science. Therefore, in fact, it is the theoretical justification of the ethnos did not lose its significance until of the present.