On Folk Paroemias, National Consciousness, and “Little Russianness” as an Ethnopsychological Phenomenon

Abstract

The author is interested in the relationship between the awareness of ethnic groups and other components of their psyche. Associative reactions of different ethnic groups serve as the material of the study. Analyzing proverbs is used to reveal specific ethnic imaginary structure of consciousness. A specific ethnic focus group is people living in region called “Malaya Russ’” in the Ukraine starting from the middle ages. Empirical material is collected from research projects before the 1930s.