Modern practices of kunachestvo and good neighborliness in the South of Russia

Sokolova Alla Nikolaevna Doctor of Art History Doctor of Art History, Leading Researcher of the Southern Branch of the Russian Scientific Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage named after D.S. Likhachev; Professor of the Adyghe State University 385008, Russia, the Republic of Adygea, Maykop, Pervomaiskaya Street 208, office #14 professor_sokolova@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025" declares that "the priorities of the state national policy of the Russian Federation are: - strengthening civil unity, civic consciousness and preserving the identity of the multinational people of the Russian Federation (Russian nation); - harmonization of interethnic (interethnic) relations, prevention of extremism and prevention of conflicts on national and religious grounds ^[1];

Strengthening national accord, strengthening civic identity, ensuring unity, and social stability are declared as the main goal of the state national policy of the Russian Federation ^[1].

One of the main tasks of the "Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025" was to ensure interethnic peace and harmony, harmonization of interethnic (interethnic) relations. Specific steps regarding the implementation of this "Strategy" are spelled out in the program "Implementation of the State National Policy", which was initially planned until 2025, but then extended in edited form until 2030. The passport of this program provides for hundreds of events, among which festivals of various directions and statuses occupy a significant place. We will focus only on one group of festivals called "Peace to the Caucasus".

The festival "Peace to the Caucasus". The name of the festival and the time of its creation are a direct reflection on the conflicts of 1994-1995 (the Chechen war) and subsequent events – the return of the Kosovo Adygs to their historical homeland after the American bombing of Yugoslavia, the second Chechen War, the aggravation of relations between Ingush and Ossetians, etc. Culture and arts are identified as the most important tools in establishing interethnic interaction and mutual understanding.

The Peace to the Caucasus Festival actually grew out of a symphony concert held in Vladikavkaz in 1996 by Valery Gergiev, People's Artist of Russia, as part of a meeting of the Association for Economic Cooperation. The renowned conductor supported the initiative of regular interaction between the authorities and business of all the republics of the North Caucasus and proposed to include in the Association's program the participation of professional artists and collectives in order to maintain peace and harmony between the peoples of the region. The idea was warmly supported, and on December 24, 1997 The Coordinating Council of the North Caucasus Economic Cooperation Association (later the Association became known as the South) decided to hold such a festival in the region on a regular basis. The Coordinating Council of the Mir Kavkazu Festival includes heads of Ministries of Culture and Education, rectors of creative universities, heads of state philharmonic halls. It was decided to hold each new festival in a different city, and the members of the Coordinating Council decided on the venue of the next festival by simple vote. At first, it was agreed that only professional artists would take part in the festival, and all concerts and events of the festival would be publicly available, i.e. admission to them would be free. Later, the program of festivals began to include the so-called "Farmsteads", where amateur groups and soloists performed. The idea of holding the Peace to the Caucasus festival was supported in the regions of the Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts. Since then, the festival has "marched" through the regions of Southern Russia 21 times. The last one took place in 2022 in Rostov-on-Don. For each new festival, a new location was chosen, its own coat of arms was created, and status characteristics changed. The second festival (1997) was interregional, the fifth was the festival of masters of arts of the North Caucasus "Peace to the Caucasus" (2001), since 2015 the festival has been given an international status.

Table 1. The festival "Peace to the Caucasus"

The main purpose of the festival was defined in press releases in different ways. For example, the newspaper "Quiet Don", presenting the XXI International Art Festival "Peace to the Caucasus" (Rostov-on-Don, 2022) noted that its goal is "the revival and preservation of national traditions, rituals and customs, the opportunity to rally and unite representatives of different regions and peoples of different nationalities. The festival develops and deepens cultural ties, brings together the cultures of the peoples of Southern Russia. The holding of the festival of masters of arts "Peace to the Caucasus" is of great importance for strengthening friendship and good-neighborly relations" ^[2]. In several expert interviews given by the participants and organizers of the Peace to the Caucasus festival in Adygea, these thoughts were confirmed. The festival for artists of the State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble "Nalmes" or artists of the State Song and Dance Ensemble "Islamey" is an opportunity to meet with friends in the workshop, look at their new costumes and productions, get acquainted with a new region, present themselves to an audience of thousands. For almost three decades, thousands of artists from different regions of Southern Russia have become acquainted with each other and have become friends for a long time, two generations of their listeners enjoy watching colorful concert programs. The event design of the festival has its own traditions – a mandatory walk through the central streets with flags of the subjects of Russia, a final gala concert, dozens of performances in the regions of the region, exhibitions of products by masters of decorative and applied arts and professional painters, a discussion platform.

The festival is scheduled for 2023 in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic: "We are glad that in 2023 such a significant festival for all Caucasian peoples will be held in our region and we will be very pleased to receive all guests and participants of the festival," said Zurab Agirbov, Minister of Culture of the Karachay–Cherkess Republic. – I am convinced that our culture, traditions, nature, hospitality and the ability to make friends will not leave any of the guests indifferent" ^[3].

In the general panegyric chorus about festivals, other voices are heard related to their goal-setting. Does the festival form good neighborliness? What is the unity of peoples and ethnic groups? What needs to be done to really make the festival perform a peacemaking function? According to the famous Adyghe choreographer Amerbiy Kulov, director of the III festival "Peace to the Caucasus", which took place in Maykop, all people are products of the interaction of cultures. On the one hand, it is necessary to emphasize cultural communities, and on the other hand, to explain the meanings that are hidden in each individual culture, to demonstrate its uniqueness. Along with concert programs and exhibitions, festivals need a serious scientific component – speeches by philosophers, cultural scientists, historians who are able to formulate strategic goals and propose concrete actions aimed at implementing the main idea – "Peace to the Caucasus". In the meantime, the round tables of the festivals are turning into reports on the work done by various ministries and departments. The representative of the Coordinating Council, Aminat Soobtsokova, also expresses his concern about the future of the festival. She notes that repetitions in scenarios and the participation of the same teams indicate a certain internal crisis of an important ideological event.

"Promoting good neighborliness." All sorts of things have happened between all peoples, especially between neighbors, within the framework of world history – good and bad, peaceful and non-peaceful. The "Anti-corruption" option is required on the websites of many official institutions, including educational institutions. However, there is no "Promoting good neighborliness" option on any site. In the public space, including on Internet resources, attention is not focused on what could unite peoples, promote mutual understanding and cooperation, and psychologically set people up for a positive attitude towards each other. Vladimir Prokofievich Gromov, the then ataman of the Kuban Cossack Army, tried to initiate something similar in the mid-2010s, who planned to organize a set of events "Military valor of Cossacks and Mountaineers in the First World War of 1914-1918" for the centenary of the First World War. As you know, a Wild division fought in the Alps, in which there were a large number of Circassians. Their bravery and exploits were marked with royal awards, which they then had to hide from the Soviet government. The meeting of descendants, held in Krasnodar in 2006, was attended by 186 grandchildren and great-grandchildren of soldiers of the Wild Division, including "the son of Ingush General Elbert Nalgiev, who commanded the Poltava regiment, and then the brigade as part of the Wild Division" ^[4]. Vladimir Gromov subsequently complained that his idea to identify and emphasize for the historical consciousness of the inhabitants of our region the events and facts of the unity of the Cossacks and Circassians, like any other examples of unity, did not receive support from the republican authorities in the 2010s. Today it would be useful to return to the implementation of such an initiative, since it is the emphasis on the positive meaning of military brotherhood in the protection of our country and its cultural values that can actively contribute to the formation of the civic identity of regional communities as part of the identity of the all-Russian state.

The new status of the kingdom. The topic of kunachestvo, its aspects relevant to our time, deserves a separate conversation. In the past, kunachestvo was a natural form of establishing good-neighborly relations, formed in conditions of constant conflicts and social instability (the first written mentions of kunachestvo are found in the manuscripts of travelers to the Caucasus already in the XV century ^[5]). As a project regulated and funded by the state, the revival of kunachestvo was conceived in 2009. in Kabardino-Balkaria, and was carried out over the next 13 years by the Ministry for Cooperation with Civil Society Institutions and Ethnic Affairs of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Families were chosen from different settlements of the republic, in which young men aged 16-17 grew up. Parents and children were invited to a joint tea party, where they met and communicated, after which the young men went to the "host" families for a week. For seven days, young people lived in foster families as their members, went to school, learned national customs, traditions and the way of life of the families they found themselves in, visited museums and memorials, played sports, made new acquaintances among their peers. After that, they became kunaks of almost the entire village. The connections that arose often lasted for a long time: the guys corresponded by e-mail, came to visit each other. Their parents also bonded in friendship.

The kingdom could not exist without the traditions of hospitality. Hospitality among the peoples of the Caucasus is considered a form of international diplomacy. The guest is considered a messenger of God, the hosts take care of his safety and well-being. They understand that through their family, the guest makes up an idea of the whole nation. However, kunak is not just a guest. If the guest is taken care of only at the moment of his stay in the host's house, then the care of the kunak continues for life. Could the project, which was headed by the head of the Ministry for Interaction with Civil Society Institutions and Ethnic Affairs of the CBD, Anzor Kurashinov, achieve such a result? With an annual project financing of 200,000 rubles. It is also surprising that it has existed for such a long time. During this time, about 300 young men became "kunaks", and not only from Kabardino-Balkaria. Over time, Russian regions joined the project, but the pandemic and subsequent political events made their own adjustments to its spread. Nevertheless, Anzor Kurashinov positively assesses the prospects for the dissemination of his initiative, believing that the project goes only beyond the revival of the tradition of good neighborliness and friendship of the peoples of the North Caucasus. "If we can attract other entities to this project, it is promising for the development of tourism. We will welcome residents of other parts of the country as dear guests, prepare a rich cultural program for them <...> After seeing the beauty of the nature of the Caucasus, having found friends here, people will want to return here again and again" ^[6].

Friendship and patronage are not the same thing. Kunachestvo (from Turkic. konak, kunak – guest) is a custom according to which men belonging to different clans, tribes or nationalities enter into friendly relations and help each other. Relatives or tribesmen do not become Kunaks. Kunak is not just a friend, but a person who carries a lot of responsibilities, because he took an oath to help a friend in a variety of life situations. This could be related to domestic issues or serious financial or military problems. Only men became kunaks, and the kunacy could be passed down from generation to generation. It was allowed to have not one, but many kunaks. It was prestigious. Kunachestvo was established by ritual: among different peoples, ritual procedures included various kinds of actions – from a simple feast and the exchange of gifts (most often weapons) to deeper symbolic signs of loyalty (drinking milk from one bowl, drinking bouza from a bowl into which a gold coin was thrown, a blood oath, etc.). At the same time, not only men became kunaks, but all their relatives were included in fraternal relations, that is, groups of people on each side assumed some good-neighborly duties. Kunachestvo contributed to the erasure of interethnic barriers: people of different nationalities began to understand each other more deeply, learn to live side by side, support each other (it is no coincidence that in the Caucasus a close friend is called a "brother"). Trust arose, from which a sense of security and stability (trade relations, economic support) were born, beneficial for the development of society as a whole. It was considered a crime to break the kunak oath. F. A. Shcherbina wrote: "The custom of kunachestvo was sacredly observed by the Circassians. It was possible to take kunak from sakli Circassian only by stepping over the corpse of the owner of sakli" ^[7].

In the XX century, the kunachestvo acquired a symbolic character. Nikolai Kondratenko (head of the Krasnodar Territory) and Aslan Dzharimov (head – President of the Republic of Adygea) were among the first to show an example of the kunachestvo "working" to strengthen political unity. The idea of "political" kunachestvo was also based on folk wisdom, expressed in the Adyghe proverb: "Two hands without meeting, they will not be able to wash each other." The example of regional leaders has become indicative for cultural figures. Viktor Zakharchenko (head of the famous Kuban State Cossack Choir) and Aslan Nekhai (the first professional composer of Adygea, head of the State Song and Dance Ensemble "Islamey") They also declared themselves Kunaks, demonstrating the bonds of non–blood kinship - the bonds of brotherhood, strengthening the good-neighborliness of the Adygs and Cossacks, strengthening peace and friendship between all the peoples of the North Caucasus. Joint concerts of the Kuban Cossack Choir and the State Ensemble of the song "Islamey" were held in the region, the heads of renowned creative collectives performed with texts of ideological content declaring friendship between peoples, and exchanged works. Aslan Nekhai's song "My Sunny Land" performed by the Kuban Cossack Choir (soloist – People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Lizvinsky) was a kind of "musical bridge" of fraternal trust in the name of a peaceful and prosperous future. For its part, the Islamey ensemble, speaking to a regional audience, performed business card songs of the Kuban Cossack Choir ("Oh, at the meadow", "Unhitch, lads, horses", "Love, brothers, love").

At each concert and in numerous interviews, V. Zakharchenko and A. Nekhai still consider it important to emphasize the enormous importance of the contribution of both twin collectives to the development of the musical culture of the region, Russia and the world. After one of the Islamea concerts, Viktor Zakharchenko wrote in the band's feedback book: "I am shocked by the talented and deeply national music of the composer and the highest performing technique of singers, soloists and instrumentalists. I am deeply convinced that this is a real classic, and Aslan Nekhai is flesh of the flesh of his people. He made a huge contribution to the development of musical culture not only in Adygea, but also in Russia. Islamey can decorate any international music festival." Aslan Nekhai, speaking about the work of Viktor Zakharchenko, emphasizes the soil of his writings, deep patriotism and reliance on traditions: "Everything that Viktor Zakharchenko does, he does sincerely and humanly. I believe in his friendship and support. He is a man of global stature. He raised the Kuban Choir and the Cossack song to such a height from which it is “visible" not only to ordinary people, but also to the powerful of this world. He proved the power of music in solving social and political problems. I am proud of our kunachestvo." The patronage of Viktor Zakharchenko and Aslan Nekhai is, so far, perhaps the only large-scale example in the North Caucasus. It is a pity, because in fact it has shown itself to be a powerful creative, political and ideological tool for the formation of a culture of interethnic peace and harmony.

Kunachestvo is a conscious friendship of people responsible for the life–creating result of human, family, ancestral, and interethnic ties, promotes personal maturity, creates an atmosphere of friendly rivalry, and allows them to publicly morally and creatively support each other. As a result, a symbolic connection is born, which has a beneficial effect on the whole society. In this sense, the creative community can quite adequately join a number of other creative unions. It is necessary to encourage and give a decent public status to such a form of interaction between creative collectives of the North Caucasus (including in its orbit connections with collectives of the whole country). It will be good if the North Caucasus comes up with such an initiative.

Kunaki is a documentary film festival. The kunaki token became the headline of the open festival of documentary films and television original programs of the North Caucasus, established by the Union of Journalists of Russia in 2007 at the next International Media Forum "All Russia" in Dagomys. The inspirer and main organizer of the Kunaki Festival, Suliyet Kusova–Chukho, was its president until her death (2018). In one of the interviews, Suliet emphasized: "Our main task is to destroy negative myths about the Caucasus and its inhabitants. We want to show that this is a land that dreams of peace and stability, that open and hospitable people live here, just like everyone else. Yes, this is a very difficult region with its own problems and contradictions, but they are all completely solvable. This requires three indispensable conditions: unity, goodwill, respect for the traditions and historical past of the peoples of the Caucasus. Regional journalism can and should do a lot in this regard, and despite all the difficulties of the modern period, it is alive and continues to develop actively. We are coming together, among other things, to discuss common creative problems, to think about how to make a local television product produced in Chechnya, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory, Adygea, Dagestan or, say, in Kalmykia accessible. Documentaries that are "informal" for federal TV channels should find their audience in all corners of the country" ^[8].

At first, the Lazarevsky district of the Krasnodar Territory acted as the host of this festival, then the venue moved to Kabardino-Balkaria, Abkhazia, Dagestan. The organizers chose a symbolic time for the event – November 4, National Unity Day. The number of participants grew annually, and the geography of the regions included in its work expanded (representatives of Belarusian Soligorsk, Voskresensk near Moscow, Azov, Rostov region, etc.).

Over 300 films were announced at the XII festival (Makhachkala), 50 of which were selected by the jury for competitive screening in five nominations. Directors and journalists from Russian regions and CIS countries showed films created after 2015, gave master classes, press conferences, and participated in discussion platforms. The XIII festival, held in Nalchik after the death of S. Kusova-Chukho in 2019, accepted 368 applications and selected 56 films for competitive screening (the award to the winners is from 70,000 to 100,000 rubles). The condition for inclusion in the festival program was the subject of films: the rich historical experience of living together among the peoples of multiethnic regions; family and society; culture and art of the peoples of the Caucasus; ethnic and confessional diversity. However, the scale of this event, its political and ideological significance remained very modest: the films of the winners were not widely shown either on federal channels or in the entire South of Russia. This significant omission should be eliminated as soon as possible by properly setting up information support for future stages of the festival and organizing a retrospective of the best works of the Kunaki festival on Central Television and regional TV channels, starting from 2007 to the present. Otherwise, the Festival will remain closed to the direct participants and viewers of the competition programs.

Based on the results of our analysis of the implementation of the possibilities of reflecting and developing the practices of kunach and good neighborliness in the modern artistic environment in the North Caucasus, it is obvious that the most ambitious project aimed at friendship and mutual understanding and funded by the state is the Peace to the Caucasus festival so far. Currently, it requires updating a number of its components, first of all, it is necessary to bring the scientific component of its discussion platforms to a level that meets modern requirements.

The rest of the festival initiatives initiated by individual passionaries, even those with certain levers of influence on society, are local in nature. This applies primarily to the Kunaki Documentary Film Festival, which has existed since 2007, but has not yet been provided with information support and the opportunity to organize any wide screening of the best works. It is necessary to eliminate the artificially erected barrier by the organizers of the mass media between the real achievements of modern domestic documentary filmmaking and the television audience of the country and the region. A retrospective of the most striking works of the Kunaki festival, starting from 2007 to the present, will undoubtedly be useful as an alternative to the stamps of "mass television production", which depersonalized the stream of TV shows, including on the Central Television Station. Without the opportunities offered by such alternatives, we will not be able to make television a tool for fostering responsible citizenship and will not cope with the impoverishment of television production in general.

Conclusions. Studying the experience of the past can be very useful for supporting initiatives aimed at the peaceful existence of peoples. Since the task of widespread dissemination of friendly initiatives is now a priority for all levels of organization of public interactions, we would suggest introducing the section "Promoting good neighborliness" on the websites of many official institutions, including educational institutions: make it as mandatory as the currently available option "Countering corruption". All this will make it possible in the public space, including on Internet resources, to focus attention on what unites peoples, promoting peaceful everyday cooperation, psychologically setting people up for civil unity and positive attitude towards each other.

The organizational and ideological provision of good-neighborliness between the peoples of the North Caucasus and the South of Russia, as well as the formation and promotion of the basic values of national unity of the peoples of the Russian Federation cannot be considered sufficient, although very large amounts of money are allocated for this. Only festival concerts or sporadic events will not solve such a grandiose problem. Real actions that are permanently taking place in the region's space in schools, universities, clubs, on television, on the Internet, etc., have a chance to generate a unique socio-cultural phenomenon of good neighborliness, solidarity and positive interaction. Attempts to transfer the problem from the discursive to the practical plane will be successful only if it is seriously studied theoretically. The examples we have shown, even despite the long period of their existence, did not have the desired result. In any case, festivals of any kind are short–term events, the "tip of the iceberg", and its bulk consists in daily painstaking work, not always visible and declared, but always thoughtful and purposeful.  In each individual region and at the interregional level, it is necessary to inspire thematically united socio-cultural practices aimed at organizational and ideological ensuring the unity of people, psychological acceptance of "others" through interest and initial empathy. The issue of constructing good neighborliness lies both in the plane of the historical past and in the creation of new thematic solutions introduced into the everyday culture of various social groups of the population.