SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE TURKIC PEOPLES OF THE SAYAN-ALTAI REGION: ETHNIC HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF FOLKLORE
The article deals with the ethno-political history of the Altai in the 18<sup>th</sup>-21<sup>st</sup> centuries which contributed to building the relations between the ethnic groups of the region and the evolution of their value systems. They were determined by the opposition of "good" and "evil" categories refracted trough the prism of "friendly" and "alien" relations. Using the controversial experience of the past history the multi-ethnic population of the region is trying to find the optimal means for building relationships in the present. Actualization of ethnicity and glorification of the past predetermine the stereotypes of self-consciousness and inter-ethnic communication practices of the population of the border zone of the Altai in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century.