ETHNOSTATISTICAL STUDIES OF MULTINATIONAL RUSSIA IN THE WORKS OF VIKTOR IVANOVICH KOZLOV (on the 100th Anniversary of the Scientist’s Birth)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the ethnographic monographs of Viktor Ivanovich Kozlov, one of the famous and outstanding researchers of multinational Russia. In 1975, V.I. Kozlov’s book “Nationalities of the USSR (Ethno-demographic review)” was published, the uniqueness of which is explained by the fact that it was the first empirical experience of ethnostatistical studying the country’s population. Later, in 1982, V.I. Kozlov’s book “Nationalities of the USSR: an Ethnogeographic Review” was published, which presents scientific material on the Mordvins in the context of the Volga region peoples. V.I. Kozlov analyzed and illustrated the main patterns of demographic development and the reasons for the change in the quantitative indicator of population. In the ethnogeographic review, Viktor Ivanovich singled out a semi-ethnic, semi-estates group of “Teptyars”, representing immigrants from the Volga region, formed from a mixture of mainly the Tatars and the Mordvins. He explained the introduction of the term “Mordovian dialect” in the 1897 census, which took into account the ethno-lingual and religious composition of the population. Viktor Ivanovich is also known for his contribution to the development of Russian cartography and preservation of ethnographic maps when developing the scientific research topic dedicated to the settlement of the Mordovian people. The settlement of the Erzya and the Moksha in the Volga region in 1926 is shown on an ethnographic map, which reflects the results of migrations of the Mordvins over the entire previous period. Materials and methods. With the help of the historical and ethnographic method, a comprehensive analysis of demographic processes, the history of forming the national composition of the population, the geography of settlement of various nationalities across the country, and the features of demographic development was carried out. Study results. The published works of V.I. Kozlov’s works reflect the history of forming the ethnic composition of the population, the geography of settlement of various nationalities on the territory of Russia, and the peculiarities of demographic development. In migration of the peoples of Russia, it is necessary to focus also on multinationality formation in the Republic of Mordovia, as one of the regions of the Volga Region in the Russian Federation. In the Republic of Mordovia, scientists are studying the migration processes of the Eastern Slavs, the peoples of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, ethnographic expeditions have been conducted, but in general this aspect has not been fully understood. Conclusions. Small-numbered peoples live in Mordovia, which have been studied in fragments and require additional research, including according to the All-Russian Census of 2020. Methodology of V.I. Kozlov provided significant assistance in collecting, analyzing and typologizing the formation of multinationality, including foreign population in the Republic of Mordovia.