APPENDIX 1.
THE TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPTS USED:
DEFINITIONS
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n this first small chapter we wish to define more precisely the principal terms used further. It's always quite complicated procedure, but in this particular case we can do it quite correctly after describing indicative qualities of every main socio-cultural formation. We do not even hope to present here a completely exhaustive, maximum correct definitions, and in general don't believe such "statements of a things' precise meaning" make any particular sense. It seems more important to define certain theoretical basis that would make it possible to successively and exactly distinguish one socio-cultural formation or process from another, along the whole length of their historical evolution. Complexity of this task is that socio-cultural formations and processes have very long life terms and exist as an astonishing diversity of specific external forms. With it all, their essence remains one and the same. Variety of the socio-cultural formations' and processes' specific forms makes defining the terminology used here quite a practical problem.
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HOMELAND - the most deeply transformed in a socio-cultural respect territory where representatives of a certain socio-cultural formation lived and / or still live during historically lengthy interval of time, absolutely securing this territory as their own. Homeland's territory is always furiously protected and defended from any outside invasions. Representatives of the alien socio-cultural formations may be present there only for a brief time and with many restrictions that especially concerns homelands of socio-cultural systems.
Territories of the Urals and Moscow region may serve as the examples of the Russian homeland. They were assimilated according to Russian standards and are clearly interpreted as Russian homeland, though duration of these territories' occupation by the Russian population differs essentially.
SOCIO-CULTURAL SYSTEM (SCS) - type of the socio-cultural formations dominating in a socio-cultural evolution. SCS-s include main part of the World's population and inhabited territories. SCS-s are characterised by great sizes of their territories and considerable quantities of own population; they possess original standards of a space, society and state organisation as well as many unique qualities because of those they do differ drastically from the rest of the socio-cultural formations.
Unique characteristics of SCS-s are as follows:
* ability to expand own homeland at the expense of socio-cultural assimilation of a new territories;
* ability to generate complicated structure of own space, with internal buffer zones, in order to protect and defend itself from other SCS-s;
* complete cycle of the space socio-cultural assimilation which includes seven principal periods;
* domination of the inner logic over outer factors which are always used in a strict correspondence with the SCS's evolution internal order;
* ability to create naturally dependent vassals in a course of socio-cultural transformation of other territories;
* own world religion, or its own unique version;
* ability to widen a circulation of own language outside own homeland, and first of all - in the internal buffer zone and among the naturally dependent vassals;
* reliability and self-sufficiency of own economy;
* ability to generate and invent stable original economic standards and forms which may have no analogues outside a single SCS.
There are eight socio-cultural systems, and in the process of their evolution each of them goes through seven periods. With this, with every period SCS-s acquire specific distinguished forms. Thus, there are 56 essentially different external forms of SCS-s to examine which we should base all the theoretical interpretations on a correct generalisation of a very high level.
INTERNAL BUFFER ZONE OF SCS - qualitatively original and distinctive socio-cultural part of the SCS's space that is always located on the "outskirts" of the SCS's homeland, along its borders with other socio-cultural formations. Internal buffer zone is destined mainly to protect homeland of a single SCS from immediate contacts with alien SCS-s and their possible aggression. It may border with an external socio-cultural buffer zone as well as an internal buffer zone of a neighbouring SCS. Organisation of an internal buffer zone is characterised by many distinctive qualities determined by the specific evolutionary process of the SCS this particular buffer zone belongs to.
Example of the internal buffer zone of the past is the territory of the Great Novgorod Principality that, during socio-cultural contest of Russian SCS of the XI - XVI centuries, protected Russian homeland from the invasions of Western SCS. Modern internal buffer zone of Russian SCS is formed by the newly independent states rising after the collapse and transformation of the USSR. All of them, excluding Belarus and Kazakhstan, have formed internal buffer zone of Russian SCS, irrespective of their own wishes as well as - and especially - declarations.
NATURALLY DEPENDENT VASSAL - relatively integral territory with own population that retains some - not really principal - differences from the neighbouring, dominating over it SCS, but became this SCS's inalienable part as a result of a lengthy and systematic socio-cultural transformation. It is important that sizes of states - naturally dependent vassals may vary essentially: the point isn't size in itself, but a special socio-cultural type of these formations.
Naturally dependent vassals may possess a considerable amount of political and economic independence, have quite complicated - at times conflicting - relationships with their dominants, being actually just a part of a dominating SCS.
In fact, they practically cannot change their socio-cultural status, and the point isn't just separate, single economic or political actions, but socio-cultural measures that should be conducted successively during several centuries and (most probably) on the competing SCS-s' own initiative. Only initiative or, especially, declaratory wishes of a naturally dependent vassal itself are never quite enough to change its socio-cultural status, and no single example of a naturally dependent vassal really changing its status is known. Study of eight SCS-s along the whole length of their history confirms that, if some territory was formed as a naturally dependent vassal of a certain SCS, then it remains as such forever.
Example of a naturally dependent vassals are modern, now politically independent states rising in place of the disintegrated former USSR. All of them, excluding only Belarus and Kazakhstan, are naturally dependent vassals of Russia.
EXTERNAL SOCIO-CULTURAL BUFFER ZONE - type of the socio-cultural formations that evolves to separate two or more alien SCS-s. As a rule, external buffer zones border not immediately with the SCS-s, but with their internal buffer zones completely controlled by their own SCS-s. External buffer zone as a special socio-cultural formation is characterised by extreme instability and dependence on dynamics of those SCS-s it separates.
East Europe may serve as the classic example of the external buffer zone, being a special type of the socio-cultural formation which separates Western and Russian SCS-s.
SOCIO-CULTURAL DOMAIN (SCD) - type of the socio-cultural formations that is quite similar to socio-cultural system, but possesses a substantial quantity of a principal distinctions. It's characterised by stable and prolonged existence as well as specific economic, social and cultural forms. Fundamental differences compare to SCS are that SCD-s are categorically unable to assimilate and transform new territories into own homeland, expanding it with this, and create naturally dependent vassals: so, there is no systematic work with space as in case of a socio-cultural systems. The effect is a sort of socio-cultural conservation: SCD-s do not change / expand their own space and in general do not evolve in themselves during very prolonged periods; modern results of such phenomenon are quite modest sizes of their territories. Another essential SCD-s distinction from SCS-s manifests itself in their extraordinary situational behaviour.
At the present level of knowledge about socio-cultural formations and processes, there is no possibility to determine the reasons for emerging differences of socio-cultural systems and domains with respect to space, but it's possible to describe all the details and components of these distinctions.
MIXED SOCIO-CULTURAL REGION - territory that has no distinct internal socio-cultural dominant and where various socio-cultural formations (SCS-s, SCD-s and buffer zones) co-exist. As a rule, these are regions of the young historical assimilation which, in some perspective, gain socio-cultural certainty, but with this may retain in their boundaries presence of a several socio-cultural formations. Most probable evolution of a mixed socio-cultural regions is into naturally dependent vassals and external buffer zones, and as a more rare case - into part of the homeland of some SCS.
ENCLAVE - territory of a historically temporary domination of a particular SCS within another socio-cultural and / or political formation. Genesis and evolution of enclaves are diverse and in many respects depend on a specific characteristics of a particular SCS's dynamics. As a rule, enclaves are generated in a process of expanding areas controlled by one or another SCS. They carry out important socio-cultural tasks, but are not lasting as from historical point of view. Next in turn stage of the SCS's evolution may become the reason for enclave's degradation, even in the absence of an external pressure.
ENCLAVE-COMMUNITY WITHIN ALIEN SCS - critical self-reproducible quantity of one SCS' population permanently living on the territory of another SCS and retaining with this own specific socio-cultural standards. Enclave-community reproduces itself by means of both natural growth and mechanical migrations of population from maternal SCS into SCS of permanent inhabitancy. Enclave-communities are most typical for the regions of mixed socio-cultural assimilation as well as pioneer colonisation.
As the classical example we may consider black inhabitants of North America, and the USA in particular.
CIVILISATION - initial form of the territories' sporadic socio-cultural colonisation that may be found in a socio-cultural systems, but does not bear an compulsory character. It is typical for the first periods of the SCS-s' evolution. As soon as SCS starts large-scale spatial assimilation, civilisation is being absorbed by its own SCS and then change its organization into another forms. Civilisations are isolated one from another, but not from their own SCS-s. It is an initial form of the SCS's existence, its possible first exterior manifestation and appearance.
Quite often, ecological crises become the specific reason for transition from the territories' sporadic colonisation within civilisations to their large-scale spatial assimilation. Such crises are being generated as an indications of the achieving the certain level of the space assimilation processes. Results of ecological crises generated by civilisations are usually migrations of their population to other regions. From that point of view, civilisations might also be considered as a cause for the growth of the SCS's population up to certain quantity. Most of the known civilisations are the facts of the distant history: they either remained in the past, or have grown into SCS-s. It is especially important to link the fact of the existence of civilisations as a quite reserved centres of culture and territories' assimilation and the fact that they often did not produce any inheritance to the fact that the general process of socio-cultural assimilation "re-covers" such formations, absorbs and "dissolves" them within.
Ecological crises as a reason for the civilisations' decay, or their drastic degradation, should be examined from the general positions of fundamental socio-cultural process of the territories' assimilation. In such context, it is clear that ecological crisis is the most efficient way and reason to make the population of a certain civilisation to "spread" around the under-populated territory of its own SCS.
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEST - process which is inherent only for socio-cultural systems. Its socio-cultural meaning lies in developing and selecting the most efficient, in a specific historical conditions, socio-cultural basis for a certain SCS which should determine further ways of solving this SCS' most fundamental and principal problems. Socio-cultural contests may take place during various periods of the SCS-s evolution and, as a rule, in a form of a cycle of civil wars, domestic quarrels and feuds, economic and cultural depression. They do usually leave the very gloomy and strange memories in the following generations and become the subject of subsequent falsifications from the side of their very own SCS-s. In reality, socio-cultural contests are absolutely necessary for the efficient growth and development of any SCS and are a kind of its response to changing arrangements of socio-cultural powers.
SOCIO-CULTURAL STANDARD - combination of the specific regulating principles and norms that rule a state's and society's organization, as well as specific forms through those internal potential of a socio-cultural formation is being realised. Initial socio-cultural standard emerges together with its socio-cultural formation. As for SCS's, it's being formed during first period of their evolution; then it may be essentially transformed as a result of a socio-cultural contest conducted by SCS. Transformation of a socio-cultural standard takes place only in SCS-s: it is an indication of their high adaptability to changing (socio-cultural) environment / conditions.
SOCIO-CULTURAL MIGRATIONS (SOCIO-CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT MIGRATIONS) - migrations that are directed outside the traditional homeland of a certain SCS and aimed at the socio-cultural transformation of the alien territories into the new homeland of the SCS in question, or creating its naturally dependent vassals. Ability to generate such migrations is the unique quality of SCS-s. Specific causes that bring them about may be very different, but, as a rule, manifest themselves through generating a sort of the "end of the World" within traditional homeland.
Example of the migrations aimed at the expanding the own homeland is eastward flight of Russians to new territories in Siberia and Far East as from the second half of the XVI century, and especially - as from the second half of the XVII century. The result of the "time of troubles" within the traditional - at the time - Russian homeland and the Russian Orthodox church schism were mass migrations of the Russian population to new lands that thus became the new Russian homeland - not the result of a fortuitous, but socio-culturally grounded process.
Processes of the rise and growth of the Cossack movement in Moscow Tsardom and Russian Empire as well as resettlements of a considerable numbers of Russians in Baltic Republics and Central (Middle) Asia during Soviet times may serve as the examples of the migrations aimed at the creating naturally dependent vassals. Results of such "melting" actions and processes began revealing themselves only after the USSR disintegration. Transformed in a socio-cultural respect territories turned out to be greatly dependent from Russia.
Such processes are of universal character and take place in the evolution of actually all the SCS-s - socio-cultural migrations are not unique for any one of them.
SCS's EVOLUTION - process of the SCS's change through realisation of its own internal potential and taking into consideration outer factors and conditions. External factors may exert essential influence on SCS, mainly on its specific forms, but in general, process of the SCS's evolution is a product of its own internal development.
PERIOD - historically significant interval of time in the SCS's evolution during which radical and clearly identified transformation of the entire SCS's space, based on its own internal logic, takes place. Qualitatively redesigned organization of the entire SCS's space is usually the result of the completed period.
SUBPERIOD - a part of a period during which vital and definitely identified transformations of some territories within the SCS's space are being performed. Such transformations may be regarded as individual manifestations of a more fundamental processes of space assimilation within SCS.
The basic distinction between the period and subperiod is that changes occurred during a subperiod may be of a local character, connected only to a separate regions within SCS. A sum of subperiods forms a period. A period, depending on its own specifics and current tasks of a SCS, may include a varied number of empirically established subperiods (as a rule, from 2 to 5).