ETHNO-DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION AND IDENTITY PROBLEMS OF UKRAINIANS OF SOUTH URAL IN THE SECOND HALF OF XX - THE BEGINNING OF XXI CENTURIES
Some historical features of the formation, changes in the number and the current situation of the Ukrainian population of South Ural are considered as one of the major ethnic communities in the region, which is characterized as the development of the national all-Russian tendencies and local features of ethno-cultural development. On the basis of statistical material of population census and current data, the most important factors in the development of regional diaspora, the main ethno-demographic indicators, and transformation causes of Ukrainian ethno-cultural array are analyzed, the problem of identity crisis is denoted as well. Attention is paid to the dependence of ethnic processes on socio-political and economic processes in the post-Soviet period. Conclusions about the weakness of resources for the preservation of national originality and identity, the crucial meaning of ethnicity change to explain the high rate of population decline are made. As a result, the study predicts some future outlooks of the ethnic group, which can help in the proofreading of the state national policy and in the support of the national cultural movement.