The attitude of Gagauz to inter-ethnic marriages in the context of adaptation culture and ethnic tolerance: the past and nowadays contexts

The article examines the attitude of the Bessarabian Gagauz to mixed marriages. Their inherent ethnic preferences in this matter are revealed. Through the attitude towards mixed marriages, their culture of adaptation and the degree of ethnic tolerance are analyzed. The reasons for a certain distance between the Gagauz and the Bulgarians in the issue of concluding mixed marriages are considered. Based on the results of ethnosociological studies, the author concludes that the Gagauz people are a community that is quite open for intercultural contacts and interaction, but at the same time capable of resisting assimilation processes. It is emphasized that an integral part of the ethnic consciousness of the Gagauz people is a tolerant attitude towards other peoples and cultures, which is also manifested in a rather large number of mixed marriages. It is noted that this attitude is «registered» in the Gagauz code of traditional moral values and is passed down from generation to generation.