Why did the gypsies leave India. A.V

Roma, Gypsies, Roma are a traditionally itinerant people originally from North India, spread throughout the world, mainly in Europe.

Language and origin

Most Roma speak a form of Romani that is closely related to modern Indo-European languages Northern India, as well as in the main language of the country in which they live. It is generally accepted that Romani groups left India many times, and by the 11th century they were already in Persia, at the beginning of the 14th century. - in South-Eastern Europe, and in the XV century. reached Western Europe. By the second half of the twentieth century. they spread over all inhabited continents.

Persons of the Roma nationality refer to themselves by the common name "Roma" (which means "man" or "husband"), and all non-Roma by the term "gadzho" or "gadzho" (a word with a derogatory connotation that means "hillbilly" or "barbarian" ). Many Roma consider the name "Gypsies" offensive.

Demography

Due to their nomadic lifestyle, lack of official census data, and their mixing with other nomadic groups, estimates of the total global number of Roma are in the range of two to five million people. No reliable statistics can be obtained from sporadic reporting across countries. The majority of Roma still live in Europe, especially in the Slavic-speaking states of Central Europe and the Balkans. Many of them live in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, the countries of the former Yugoslavia and neighboring Bulgaria and Romania.

Eternal migrants

The stereotype of nomadic gypsies is often at odds with the fact that fewer and fewer of them are truly constantly migrating. However, their travel is limited. All nomadic Roma migrate along established routes that ignore national borders. They also follow a chain of kinship or tribal ties.

Roma predisposition to forced expulsions or deportations. 80 years after their first appearance in Western Europe in the 15th century, they were expelled from almost all countries of Western Europe. Despite the fact that Roma nationality became the cause of systematic persecution and export abroad, however, gypsies continued to appear in one form or another in the countries they left.

Objects of persecution

All non-settled groups living among settled peoples seem to be becoming comfortable. The same is the case with the Roma, who were regularly accused by the local population of many atrocities, which was a prelude to further official and legal persecution. Their relationship with host country authorities was marked by consistent controversy. Official decrees were often directed at their assimilation or coercion, but the local authorities systematically denied them the right to set up their camp.

During the Holocaust, the only fault of the Roma was their Roma, which led to the murder of 400,000 Roma by the Nazis.

French laws in our time forbid them to camp and made them the object of police supervision, taxed them and called for military service like ordinary citizens.

Spain and Wales are two countries that are often cited as examples of states where the Gypsies have become settled, if not fully assimilated.

In recent times, the countries of the socialist camp in Eastern Europe have tried to implement forced settlement programs designed to end their nomadic lifestyle.

Gypsy professions

Traditionally, the Roma were engaged in jobs that allowed them to maintain a nomadic lifestyle, on the periphery of a sedentary society. The men were cattle dealers, animal trainers and entertainers, tinkers, blacksmiths, kitchen utensils menders, and musicians; women told fortunes, sold potions, begged and entertained the public.

Before the advent of veterinary medicine, many farmers sought out gypsies for advice on animal husbandry and herd health.

The modern life of the Roma reflects the "progress" of the Gajo world. Journeys are now made in caravans of cars, trucks and trailers, and the livestock trade has been replaced by the sale of used cars and trailers. Although the mass production of kitchen utensils has put tinkers out of work, some urban gypsies have become auto mechanics and repair car bodies. If some Roma people still lead a nomadic lifestyle, then many have settled down, practicing their skills or working as laborers. Traveling circuses and amusement parks also provide jobs for modern gypsies as trainers, stall holders and fortune tellers.

A family

The classic Roma family consists of a married couple, their unmarried children and at least one married son, his wife and their children. After marriage, the young couple usually lives with the husband's parents until the young wife gets to know the way of life of her husband's family. Ideally, by the time the eldest son is ready to leave with his family, the youngest son will marry and bring his new wife into the family. Previously, marriages were traditionally organized by family or group elders to strengthen political and kinship ties with other families, groups, or, occasionally, confederations, although this practice was greatly reduced in the late twentieth century. Main Feature marriage unions of the Roma was the payment of kalym to the parents of the bride by the parents of the groom.

ethnic groups

Distinctive features of a Roma representative are territorial differences, reinforced by certain cultural and dialectal features. There are three main branches, or nations, of the gypsies:

Kalderars are tinkers who came from the Balkans and then from Central Europe, being the most numerous.
Iberian gypsies, or zhitanos, are a Romani nationality whose representatives live mainly in the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and southern France. Strong in the art of entertainment.
Manouche (from the French manouche), also known as Sinti, is a Romani ethnicity whose representatives live mainly in Alsace and other regions of France and Germany. There are many traveling showmen and circus performers among them.

Each Roma nationality is divided into two or more sub-groups, distinguished by professional specialization or territorial origin.

Political organization

Not a single body, congress was ever officially created, and not a single “king” accepted by all Roma was elected, although “international” Roma congresses were held in Munich, Moscow, Bucharest, Sofia (in 1906) and in the Polish city of Ruvne (in 1936). However existence political authorities among the Roma is an established fact. Those who received noble titles such as "duke" or "count" in their early historical dealings with the local population were probably nothing more than chieftains of groups that moved in numbers from 10 to several hundred households. These leaders (voivods) were elected for life from among prominent families. Their strength and power varied depending on the size of the association, traditions and relationships with other entities within the confederation.

The voivode was the treasurer for the whole group, determined the route of its migration and participated in negotiations with the local municipal authorities. He led through a council of elders who also consulted with the senior woman of the association. The influence of the latter was strong, especially with regard to the fate of women and children, and was based on the apparent ability to earn and organize women within the group.

social control

The strongest institution of the Roma people was the "kris" - the norms of customary law and justice, as well as the ritual and tribunal of the group. The basis of the Gypsy code was all-encompassing fidelity, coherence and reciprocity within a recognized political unit. The highest penalty of the tribunal, which dealt with all disputes and violations of the code, was excommunication from the group. The sentence of ostracism could exclude a person from participation in certain activities and punish him by performing unskilled work. In some cases, the elders granted rehabilitation followed by a feast of reconciliation.

social organization

Roma groups consist of vicas, i.e., associations of extended families with a common origin on both paternal and maternal lines, numbering at least 200 people. A large vice may have its own boss and council. You can apply for participation in vice as a result of marriage with a member of the genus. Loyalty and economic cooperation is expected at the household level, not at the vice level. The Romani language does not have a common term for household. A person can probably count on the support of a circle of significant relatives with whom he is physically close and not in a quarrel.

Spiritual Beliefs

Gypsies do not have an official faith, and in the past they tended to despise organized religion. Today, Roma often convert to the dominant religion of the country in which they live and describe themselves as "many stars scattered in the eyes of God". Some groups are Catholics, Muslims, Pentecostals, Protestants, Anglicans and Baptists.

Gypsies follow a complex set of rules that govern things like neatness, cleanliness, respect, honor, and fairness. These rules are called "romano". Romano means to behave with dignity and respect like a Roma person. "Romanipe" is the gypsy name for their worldview.

Tradition keepers

The Roma were the disseminators of folk beliefs and practices in the areas where they settled (for example, Romania), preserving national customs, dances and the like, which had largely disappeared from rural life at the turn of the 21st century. Their musical heritage is vast and includes, for example, flamenco. Although the Gypsies have a rich oral tradition, their written literature is relatively poor.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Roma continue to struggle with contradictions in their culture. Although they are less likely to have to defend themselves against persecution by a hostile society, some distrust and intolerance still remain. Perhaps an even greater problem they faced was the erosion of their way of life under the influence of the city in industrialized societies. The themes of familial and ethnic loyalty, typical of Roma music, have helped to preserve certain notions of what Roma nationality is, but some of the younger and more talented exponents of this music, under the influence of material rewards, have withdrawn into the outside world. Individual housing, economic independence, and intermarriage with non-Romans became more common.

Gypsies are one of the largest ethnic groups in the world that do not have their own state. They can be found in any country in Europe, the CIS, in the countries of America, and their number is about 8-10 million people. How did it happen that the gypsies began to lead a nomadic lifestyle and settled in many countries of the world, while their closest relatives continue to live in their homeland?

According to geneticists, the ancestors of modern gypsies left India around the 6th-10th centuries and moved to Persia (the territory of modern Iran). According to one version, 1000 people were transferred by the padishah of India as a gift to the Shah of Persia. According to historical information, they were jewelers and musicians, and the donation of representatives of valuable professions was a common thing for that time. After living there for about 400 years, the gypsies headed west and soon ended up in Byzantium.

On the territory of Byzantium, they adopted Christianity and lived along with other peoples, being full members of society. According to written sources, the gypsies were famous blacksmiths. In addition, they were engaged in the manufacture of horse harness, breeding horses, and also trained animals and gave performances.

But after the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, the gypsies, in search of work and food, left their inhabited places and moved to the north and west of Europe. In Europe itself, there were quite difficult times and the settlers were not very happy. The situation was complicated by the fact that the first gypsies who arrived in new countries were, as a rule, not the best representatives of gypsy society. Unburdened by family and household, seekers of an easy life, they were engaged in theft, swindling and begging. This led to the reputation of vagrants and swindlers for the Roma, it was increasingly difficult for them to find work and become part of European society. Looking for a better life Gypsies from Spain and Portugal began to move to Latin America.

Thanks to a difficult history and constant wanderings, the gypsies found themselves in genetic and linguistic isolation from the closest native speakers of their language - the Indians. The Romani language belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indian languages. The language itself has several dialects, formed in different regions of the compact residence of gypsies. In addition to their native language, gypsies often speak the language of the country in which they live.

According to statistics, the largest number of gypsies live in the United States, where there are about 1 million of them. More than 500 thousand gypsies live in Brazil, Spain and Romania, and about 200 thousand representatives of this people are registered in Russia. Today April 8 is considered Gypsy Day and, despite the fact that these people do not have their own state, they have their own flag, in the center of which there is a symbolic wagon wheel.

Who are the gypsies? These are representatives of a people who, unlike all others, have never had a permanent place of residence and their own state. However, they were able to go through centuries and vast territories with their culture. At the same time, they retained their identity, traditions, unique culture, as well as other characteristic differences from other peoples.

The historical roots of the gypsies

Recent scientific research has been able to determine exact time and the origin of the gypsies. They appeared about one and a half thousand years ago. The homeland of the gypsies is India. The gypsy language in its significant component is Sanskrit. He was also strongly influenced by the ancient languages of the Persians and Greeks.

Historical research proves that 6 centuries after the gypsies formed as a people, they began to come to Europe. It is believed that one of the possible reasons for the resettlement is that they were forced out by Muslims from their original habitats.

Research allows you to build a route of their movements in time and space. The result of these calculations shows with a high degree of probability that the ancestral home of the gypsies is modern Gujarat and Kashmir (territories in western India).

Ways of settling around the world

Experts in the field of genetics suggest that all Roma (another name for gypsies) were united by some basic factors. The main thing is that they come from India, and secondly, on the way to Europe, the Roma actively entered into marriages with representatives of various nationalities. According to preliminary calculations, almost 11 million gypsies currently live in the European part.

The main zone of their settlement is Eastern and Central Europe. They are especially numerous in Hungary and Romania. In these countries, where gypsies live in large enclaves, according to rough estimates, there are from 2.5 million to 8 million people. Despite the fact that their numbers are very significant, this people is difficult to study. This is a consequence of the fact that the gypsies do not lend themselves to any account.

On the part of society, the attitude towards them was ambiguous. This is mainly due to the fact that these people have peculiar traditions and customs, and also lead a specific lifestyle. There are stereotypes in society - gypsies tend to commit deceit, theft and fraud. Others consider them cheerful bright people, whose presence adorns meetings, evenings and holidays. Representatives of this people are welcomed for performing soulful songs and sparkling dances.

The gypsies call themselves Roma, Roma or Romaly. However, there are other designations of this nationality. So, in the north of Europe they are called "black" (kale). In France, the name "Bohemians" stuck behind them. The British call them "Egyptians".

It is quite difficult to determine exactly how many Roma live in a particular territory. This is due to the peculiarities of everyday life and the lack of “legal visibility”. Very often, gypsies live in a camp. They have no documents, passports, any registration.

The religion of the Gypsies is diverse. They have different religious beliefs (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism).

This people retained elements of belief in magic and mystical manifestations. There is a belief in natural spirits. Until now, in their midst, the name “devel” (derived from the Indian “deva”) is common for god. Those studying the gypsy worldview associate this with the influence of Zoroastrianism, which once again emphasizes that their ancestral home is the ancient country of the gypsies, India.

Classification of the gypsy people

Currently, it is customary to distinguish 6 branches of this people. It mostly depends on where they live.

Who are the gypsies of the West:

Roma - live in Europe, mainly in the eastern part. Distributed on the lands of the former republics of the USSR and Russia.
Sinti - this is the designation of the gypsies living in Europe, who are dominated by German and French.
Iberian - these are those gypsies who live in Spanish-speaking European countries or those where the main language is Portuguese.

Who are the gypsies of the East:

Lyuli - live on the territory of Central Asia, in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
Bosch (Pasha, Lom). For them, the main habitats are the northern regions of Turkey, as well as the Caucasian republics.
Home - living in the Middle East and in Israel.

Among the varieties of gypsies, there are also narrower groups. In Hungary, they formed their own ethnic group, the number of which, according to various sources, is from 5 to 10% of the total population of the country.

Of particular interest is the ethnic association of gypsies living on the sea, whose representatives are called bajos. They lead a nomadic marine life in the waters of the Indian Ocean. They live in floating huts and fish. Their landing on land is connected with issues of trade, repair of boats, and also, if necessary, the burial of the dead.

History of Russian Gypsies

Who are the gypsies in Russia? These are immigrants from the Balkan countries who came to its modern territory, who moved here approximately in the 15th century. During the XV-XVII centuries, the infiltration of this nationality from the territories of Poland and Germany was established.

Before the revolutionary events of 1917, the main occupations of the Gypsies in Russia were horse breeding and trading (this was done by men), as well as fortune-telling and begging (it was the lot of women). The representatives of this people who settled in big cities since the 19th century have been in demand as musicians and dancers. At this time, their cultural traditions were very popular. There are numerous facts that representatives of the Russian nobility married gypsies.

In the post-revolutionary period, attempts were made by the authorities to organize their way of life. They were sent to attract them to work.

Many representatives of this nationality participated in the battles on the side of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. So very popular with gypsies is a native of this people - Timofey Prokofiev, a marine who became the only gypsy awarded the high title of Hero Soviet Union.

The life of this people in the USSR changed significantly after the publication in October 1956 of the Decree on Settlement. It was called "On the involvement in the work of gypsies engaged in vagrancy." In this document, the state officially called them Roma for the first time.

The implementation of the decree led to the beginning of repression. They began to be caught on the streets, accused of unauthorized trade, parasitism. However, the Decree had positive points, since the state began to officially provide assistance to the Roma in employment, initiation into education, in the provision of land and buildings.

However, practice has shown that the right to choose the sphere of work, as well as the opportunity to receive education, did not take root among the Roma. Only a small part of them took advantage of it.

Gypsy Day

An attempt was also made to unite the Gypsies on a global scale. So, on April 8, 1971, the first Gypsy World Congress was convened in London in England. It was decided that the gypsies recognize themselves as a single non-territorial nation. The gypsy anthem was adopted and approved, as well as the flag. The anthem is based on the gypsy folk song "Dzhelem, dzhelem". Recognizable symbols are used as the coat of arms: a wheel, a horseshoe, a deck of cards. The day of the beginning of the World Congress - April 8 - is considered to be the Day of the Gypsies.

Features of gypsy modern life

The gypsy people have very noticeable differences in prosperity. Often, individual families live in pretentious buildings, richly and elaborately decorated, reminiscent of luxurious palaces, replete with expensive furniture. The other part drags out a beggarly existence.

AT national cuisine Gypsies trace the traditions of Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Their food is quite simple. They prefer poultry, lamb, beef, various vegetables in food. To traditional dish includes tumala - minced meat in a corn cake, harbu - a dish of bacon, liver with the addition of blood. The traditional drink is black tea with herbs and berries.

Traditions and customs

Gypsy life is the observance of traditions, customs and rules, many of which require mandatory implementation. These include:

Special care for children. Gypsies do not have homeless children, they are necessarily adopted, and children can be of any nationality.
The opinion of the older gypsies is very authoritative. Elderly people in this people are revered. Raising a hand against an old person is considered a particularly terrible crime.
Women in gypsy families are much lower in the hierarchy than men. The weaker sex is treated rather disrespectfully until the birth of a child. Only after a woman has become a mother does she begin to be respected.
A woman should always go around a man from behind, if possible, but at the same time she cannot stand behind him if he is sitting.
The habit of smoking also belongs to the ancient traditions. Gypsies believe that smoke can scare away evil spirits.
This people is characterized by wearing a significant number of gold jewelry. In this case, preference is given to rings that are worn on each finger with the exception of the thumb. What are gypsies without jewelry on display? There simply aren't any.
Among the gypsy people, the oath ritual is very important if it is necessary to prove innocence or innocence.

Gypsy laws

The Roma live by their own laws, which are a set of rules that are binding in their environment and beyond for everyone.

Compliance is overseen by elderly members of the gypsy structures. The existing conflict situations and violations of the prescribed rules are dealt with by the gypsy court, which includes gypsy barons and other respected people.

The most terrible sentence is the expulsion of the guilty from the community. Murder, rape, and serious bodily harm are unacceptable here.

The rules of internal order within the gypsy community, which apply to clothing, life, and holidays, are especially described.

Modern reality has made some changes in the gypsy way of life, but has not eradicated the free spirit of vagrancy. Thus, photos of young gypsies are associated among their "civilized" peers as images of an extraordinary anarchist philosophy. Such views and lifestyle still find their supporters and followers today.

For centuries, the origin of the Gypsies has been shrouded in mystery. Appearing here and there, the camps of these swarthy nomads with unusual customs aroused the burning curiosity of the settled population. Trying to unravel this phenomenon and penetrate into the mystery of the origin of the gypsies, many authors have built the most incredible hypotheses.

Europeans first heard about gypsies over five hundred years ago. The mysterious tribe, as if in search of the promised land, wandered from country to country, overcame the seas and oceans, penetrating both Australia and America.

And everywhere the gypsies conjured, sang, fortune-telled and danced until they dropped, conjured snakes, led trained bears on chains, treated and rode horses, worked as blacksmiths and tinkers. Alien to settled life and traditional crafts, indifferent to peasant labor, but not striving to get into the ranks of the townspeople, they were strange and suspicious. Aliens - that's what they would be called today, but in past centuries they were considered almost aliens. If, moreover, we admit that the gypsies were definitely never angels in the flesh, and the need forced them often to resort to dishonest means of extraction (and even when they decided to steal, they did it with the dashingness inherent in them in everything), then it is easy to understand why the gypsies were afraid, not loved, sometimes it came to hatred. Gypsies first appeared in Europe in the 14th century (according to some other sources, in the 15th century), and already from the 16th century, repressive measures were used against them.

The key to the mystery of the origin of the gypsies was found at the end of the 18th century by German linguists E. Grudiger and G. Grelman. They drew attention to the fact that the most important root words of the Romani language belong to the northwestern Sanskrit dialects. Scholars have also tried to find the reason for the exodus of the Gypsies from India in Persian texts. Hamza from Isfahan, who wrote in the middle of the 10th century, tells about the arrival in Persia of twelve thousand musicians - zotts (one of the names of gypsies). Half a century later, the great poet and chronicler Firdousi, the author of the Shahnameh, mentions the same fact: in 420, the Indian king presented the Shah of Persia with ten thousand "luri" - musicians. G. Grelman believed that the Gypsies come from the Suder caste, which at the beginning of the 14th century was inhumanly persecuted by the Brahmins. AT ancient history Kashmir, references were found to camps of "domi" - musicians, blacksmiths, thieves, dancers. They belonged to one of the lower castes, whose name translates as "eating dogs."

Here is what G. Grelman said about the semi-legendary origin of the gypsies and the reasons for their appearance in Europe:

“When the strong and powerful Timurleng, or Tamerlane, under the pretext of exterminating idols, conquered the northwestern part of India in 1399 and glorified his victories with extreme cruelty, a wild tribe of robbers, called gypsies, who lived in Guzurat and especially near Thatta, fled. This tribe, which consisted of half a million people and owned innumerable treasures, was called in its Guzurat language - rum (people), and by the black color of the skin - kola (black), and by residence on the banks of Sind - Sints "(Sind - now the river Indus).

In Persia, the language of the Gypsies was enriched by a whole series of words, which were subsequently found in all European dialects. Then, according to the English linguist John Simpson, the gypsies were divided into two branches. Some of them continued their way to the west and southeast, others moved in a northwest direction. This group of gypsies traveled to Armenia (where they borrowed a number of words carried by their descendants up to Wells, but completely unfamiliar to representatives of the first branch), then penetrated further, to the Caucasus, enriching themselves with words from the Ossetian vocabulary.

Ultimately, the gypsies end up in Europe and the "Byzantine" world. Since that time, mentions of them in written sources are found more and more often, especially in the notes of Western travelers who made pilgrimages to holy places in Palestine.

In 1322, two Franciscan monks, Simon Simeonis and Hugo the Enlightened, noticed in Crete people who looked like the descendants of Ham; they followed the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church, but lived, like the Arabs, under low black tents or in caves. In Greece, they were called "atsiganos" or "atkinganos", after the name of the sect of musicians and fortune tellers.

But most often Western travelers met with gypsies in Modon - the fortified and largest port city on the western coast of the Seas, the main transit point on the way from Venice to Jaffa. They were mainly engaged in blacksmithing and, as a rule, lived in huts. This place was called Little Egypt, perhaps because here, among the withered lands, there was a fertile region, like the valley of the Nile. This, apparently, is based on the idea, at one time very common, that the gypsies are immigrants from Egypt. And their leaders often styled themselves dukes or counts of Lesser Egypt.

Greece diversified the vocabulary of the gypsies, it also gave them the opportunity to get acquainted with the way of life of other peoples, because here, at the crossroads of civilization, they encountered pilgrims from all over the world. The pilgrims enjoyed many privileges compared to other travelers, and when the gypsies set off again, they already pretended to be pilgrims.

After a long stay in Greece and living in neighboring Romania and Serbia, part of the Gypsies moved further west. Their political position in the territories that repeatedly passed from the Byzantines to the Turks, and vice versa, was difficult. And so the gypsies created a myth that, having left Egypt, they were first pagans, but then they were converted to Christianity, then they again returned to idolatry, but under pressure from Christian rulers-monarchs, they converted to Christianity for the second time and now make a pilgrimage to around the world in atonement for many sins. These emerging legends about the origin of the Gypsies, about the reasons for their wandering lot, include both political savvy and a spell from dangerous people, lordly anger, unexpected misfortunes, etc.

Thus, dear reader, the magic of the road is born, first of all, as a means to protect yourself and your neighbors from numerous imaginary and real troubles that are possible on the way.

And the paths of the gypsy people diverge more and more, break up into separate paths. But each group of gypsies that has begun an independent journey through Europe is trying to justify their intentions and give their nomadism a meaningful character. Great myth-makers and romantics, the gypsies skillfully combined practicality and beauty of fiction in their "legends".

The earliest Russian official document mentioning gypsies dates back to 1733 - Anna Ioannovna's decree on new taxes on the upkeep of the army:

In addition to the maintenance of the regiments, determine fees from the gypsies, both in Little Russia they are collected from them, and in the Sloboda regiments and in the Great Russian cities and counties assigned to the Sloboda regiments, and for this collection to determine a special person, since the gypsies are not written in the census . On this occasion, the report of Lieutenant-General Prince Shakhovsky explained, among other things, that it was impossible to write gypsies in the census, because they do not live in courtyards.

The next mention in the documents takes place a few months later and shows that the gypsies came to Russia relatively shortly before the adoption of the decree on taxes and secures their right to live in Ingermanland. Before that, apparently, their status in Russia was not defined, but now they were allowed:

live and trade horses; and since they showed themselves to be local natives, it was ordered to include them in the poll census wherever they wished to live, and put the regiment on the Horse Guards.

According to the phrase “they showed themselves to be local natives”, one can understand that the generation of gypsies living in this area was at least the second.

Even earlier, for about a century, gypsies (groups of servis) appeared on the territory of modern Ukraine. As you can see, by the time the document was written, they were already paying taxes, that is, they lived legally.

In Russia, new ethnic groups of gypsies appeared with the expansion of the territory. So, when part of Poland was annexed to the Russian Empire, Polish Roma appeared in Russia; Bessarabia - various Moldovan gypsies; Crimea - Crimean gypsies.

The decree of Catherine II of December 21, 1783 ranked the gypsies as a peasant estate and ordered them to collect taxes and taxes in accordance with the estate. However, the gypsies were also allowed to voluntarily attribute themselves to other classes (except, of course, the nobility, and with an appropriate lifestyle), and by the end of the 19th century there were already quite a few Russian gypsies of the petty-bourgeois and merchant classes (for the first time, gypsies were mentioned as representatives of these classes, however , as early as 1800). During the 19th century, a steady process of integration and settling of Russian Gypsies took place, usually associated with an increase in the financial well-being of families. A layer of professional artists appeared.

At the end of the 19th century, not only settled gypsies sent their children to schools, but also nomadic ones (standing in the village in winter). In addition to the groups mentioned above, the population of the Russian Empire included Asian Lyuli, Caucasian Karachi and Bosha, and at the beginning of the 20th century also Hungarian Gypsies: Lovaris, Ungars (Romungrs), as well as Hungarian and Romanian Kalderars.

The revolution of 1917 hit the most educated part of the gypsy population (since it was also the most wealthy) - representatives of the merchant class, as well as gypsy artists, whose main source of income was performances in front of nobles and merchants. Many wealthy gypsy families abandoned their property and went to nomads, since nomadic gypsies during the Civil War were automatically attributed to the poor. The Red Army did not touch the poor, and almost no one touched the nomadic gypsies. Some gypsy families emigrated to European countries, China and the USA. Young gypsy guys could be found both in the Red Army and in the White Army, since the social stratification of Russian gypsies and servis by the beginning of the 20th century was already significant.

After the Civil War, gypsies from among the former merchants, who became nomads, tried to limit the contact of their children with non-gypsies, they did not let them go to schools, in fear that the children would accidentally betray the non-poor origin of the families. As a result, illiteracy became almost universal among the nomadic gypsies. In addition, the number of settled gypsies, the basis of which were merchants and artists before the revolution, has sharply decreased. By the end of the 1920s, the problems of illiteracy and a large number of nomads in the gypsy population were noticed by the Soviet authorities. The government, together with activists from among the gypsy artists who remained in the cities, tried to take a number of measures to solve these problems.

So, in 1927, the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine adopted a resolution on helping nomadic gypsies in the transition to a "working settled way of life."

At the end of the 1920s, gypsy pedagogical colleges were opened, literature and the press were published in gypsy, and gypsy boarding schools were operating.

During the years of World War II, latest research, about 150,000-200,000 Roma in Central and Eastern Europe were exterminated by the Nazis and their allies (see Gypsy Genocide). Of these, 30,000 were citizens of the USSR.

On the Soviet side, during the Great Patriotic War, along with the Crimean Tatars, their co-religionists, the Crimean gypsies (Kyrymitika Roma), were deported from Crimea.

Gypsies were not only passive victims. Gypsies of the USSR participated in hostilities as infantrymen, tankers, drivers, pilots, artillerymen, medical workers and partisans; Gypsies from France, Belgium, Slovakia, the Balkan countries, as well as Gypsies from Romania and Hungary who were there during the war, were in the Resistance.

Material from Wikipedia

Total population: 8~10 million

Settlement: Albania:
from 1300 to 120 000
Argentina:
300 000
Belarus:
17 000
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
60,000
Brazil:
678 000
Canada:
80 000
Russia:
183,000 (2002 census)
Romania:
535,140 (see population of Romania)
Slovakia:
65,000 (official)
USA:
1 million Handbook of Texas
Ukraine:
48,000 (2001 census)
Croatia:
9,463 to 14,000 (Census 2001)

Language: Romani, Domari, Lomavren

Religion: Christianity, Islam

Gypsies - the collective name of about 80 ethnic groups, united by a common origin and recognition of the "gypsy law". There is no single self-name, although recent times as such, the term Romanies is proposed, that is, “rum-like”.

The British traditionally called them Gypsies (from Egyptians - "Egyptians"), the Spaniards - Gitanos (also from Egiptanos - "Egyptians"), the French - Bohémiens ("Bohemians", "Czechs"), Gitans (distorted Spanish Gitanos) or Tsiganes (borrowing from Greek - τσιγγάνοι, tsinganos), Germans - Zigeuner, Italians - Zingari, Dutch - Zigeuners, Armenians - Գնչուներ (gnchuner), Hungarians - Cigany or Pharao nerek ("Pharaoh's tribe"), Georgians - ბოშები ("black"), Turks - Çingeneler; Azerbaijanis - Qaraçı (garachi, i.e. "black"); Jews - צוענים (tso'anim), from the name of the biblical province of Tsoan in Ancient Egypt; Bulgarians - Tsigani. At present, ethnonyms from the self-name of a part of the Gypsies, “Roma” (English Roma, Czech Romové, Finnish romanit, etc.) are becoming more common in various languages.

In the traditional names of gypsies, three types predominate:

The literal translation of one of the self-names of the gypsies is kale (gypsies black);
reflecting the ancient idea of them as immigrants from Egypt;
distorted versions of the Byzantine nickname "atsinganos" (meaning "fortunetellers, magicians").

Now the gypsies live in many countries of Europe, Western and South Asia, as well as in North Africa, North and South America and Australia. According to various estimates, the number is determined from 2.5 to 8 million and even 10-12 million people. In the USSR, there were 175.3 thousand people (1970 census). According to the 2002 census, about 183,000 Roma lived in Russia.

National symbols

gypsy flag

On April 8, 1971, the first World Gypsy Congress took place in London. The result of the congress was the recognition of themselves as the gypsies of the world as a single non-territorial nation and the adoption of national symbols: a flag and an anthem based on the folk song "Dzhelem, Dzhelem". Lyricist - Jarko Jovanovic.

A feature of the anthem is the absence of a clearly defined melody, each performer arranges the folk motive in his own way. There are also several versions of the text, in which only the first verse and chorus exactly match. All options are recognized by gypsies.

Instead of a coat of arms, the gypsies use a number of recognizable symbols: a wagon wheel, a horseshoe, a deck of cards.

Romani books, newspapers, magazines and websites are usually decorated with such symbols, one of these symbols is usually included in the logos of events dedicated to Romani culture.

In honor of the first World Roma Congress, April 8 is considered Gypsy Day. Some gypsies have a custom associated with it: in the evening, at a certain time, to carry a lit candle down the street.

History of the people

The most common self-name of the gypsies, which they brought from India, is "rum" or "roma" for the European gypsies, "home" for the gypsies of the Middle East and Asia Minor, and "scrap" for the gypsies of Armenia. All these names go back to the Indo-Aryan "d" om "with the first cerebral sound. The cerebral sound, relatively speaking, is a cross between the sounds "r", "d" and "l". According to linguistic studies, the Roma of Europe and the houses and crowbars Asia and the Caucasus were the three main "streams" of migrants from India. Low-caste groups appear today under the name d "om in various areas of modern India. Although modern houses India is difficult to directly correlate with the gypsies, their name has the most direct relation to them. The difficulty is to understand what was the connection in the past between the ancestors of the Gypsies and the Indian houses. The results of linguistic research conducted back in the 20s. XX century by a major Indologist-linguist R.L. Turner, and which are shared by modern scientists, in particular, romologists J. Matras and J. Hancock, show that the ancestors of the Gypsies lived in the central regions of India and several centuries before the exodus (approximately in the III century BC) migrated to the Northern Punjab.
A number of data indicate the settlement in the central and northwestern regions of India of a population with the self-name d "om / d" omba starting from the 5th-4th century. BC. This population was originally a tribal group of common origin, possibly related to the Austroasiatics (one of the largest autochthonous strata of India). Later, with the gradual development of the caste system, d "om / d" omba occupied the lower levels in the social hierarchy and began to be recognized as caste groups. At the same time, the integration of houses into the caste system took place primarily in the central parts of India, while the northwestern regions remained a "tribal" zone for a very long time. This tribal character of the regions of exodus was supported by the constant penetration of Iranian nomadic tribes, whose resettlement in the period before the migration of the ancestors of the Gypsies from India assumed a massive character. These circumstances determined the nature of the culture of the peoples of the Indus Valley zone (including the ancestors of the Gypsies), a culture that for centuries retained its nomadic and semi-nomadic type. Also, the very ecology of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, arid and infertile soils near the Indus River contributed to the development of a semi-pastoral, semi-commercial mobile business model for a number of groups of the local population. Russian authors believe that during the period of the Exodus the ancestors of the Gypsies were a socially structured ethnic population of common origin (rather than a number of separate castes), engaged in trade transportation and trade in transport animals, and also, if necessary, as auxiliary occupations - a number of crafts and other services, which were part of everyday skills. The authors explain the cultural and anthropological difference between the Gypsies and the modern houses of India (having more pronounced non-Aryan features than the Gypsies) by the indicated strong Aryan influence (in particular, in its Iranian modification), characteristic of the northwestern regions of India, where the ancestors of the Gypsies lived before the exodus. . This interpretation of the ethno-social origin of the Indian ancestors of the Gypsies is supported by a number of foreign and Russian researchers.

Early history (VI-XV centuries)

According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Gypsies came out of India in a group of about 1000 people. The timing of the migration of the ancestors of the Gypsies from India has not been precisely established, as well as the number of migratory waves. Various researchers roughly determine the outcome of the so-called "proto-Gypsy" groups by the 6th-10th centuries AD. According to the most popular version, based on the analysis of loanwords in the languages of the Gypsies, the ancestors of the modern Gypsies spent about 400 years in Persia before the Roma branch moved west into Byzantium.

They concentrated for some time in the eastern region of Byzantium called Armeniak, where the Armenians were settled. One branch of the ancestors of modern Gypsies advanced from there to the region of modern Armenia (the Lom branch, or Bosch Gypsies). The rest moved west. They were the ancestors of European gypsies: Romov, Kale, Sinti, Manush. Part of the migrants remained in the Middle East (the ancestors of the houses). There is an opinion that another branch went to Palestine and through it to Egypt.

As for the so-called Central Asian gypsies, or Lyuli, they are sometimes figuratively said to be cousins or even second cousins of European gypsies.

Thus, the Central Asian gypsy population, for centuries absorbing various flows of migrants from the Punjab (including the Baloch groups), has historically been heterogeneous.

The Gypsies of Europe are the descendants of the Gypsies who lived in Byzantium.

Documents testify that the gypsies lived both in the center of the empire and on its outskirts, and there most of these gypsies converted to Christianity. In Byzantium, the gypsies quickly integrated into society. In a number of places their leaders were given certain privileges. Written references to the Roma of that period are scarce, but they do not seem to suggest that the Roma were of any particular interest or perceived as a marginal or criminal group. Gypsies are mentioned as metalworkers, horse harness makers, saddlers, fortune-tellers (in Byzantium it was a common profession), trainers (moreover, in the earliest sources - snake charmers, and only in later sources - bear trainers). At the same time, the most common craft, apparently, was still artistic and blacksmithing, entire villages of gypsy blacksmiths are mentioned.

With the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the gypsies began to migrate to Europe. Judging by the written European sources, the first to arrive in Europe were marginal, adventurous representatives of the people engaged in begging, fortune-telling and petty theft, which marked the beginning of a negative perception of the Gypsies as a people among Europeans. And only after some time artists, trainers, artisans, horse traders began to arrive.

Gypsies in Western Europe (XV - early XX century)

The first gypsy camps that came to Western Europe told the rulers of European countries that the Pope of Rome imposed a special punishment on them for a temporary apostasy from the Christian faith: seven years of wandering. At first, the authorities provided them with patronage: they gave food, money and letters of protection. Over time, when the period of wandering clearly expired, such indulgences ceased, the gypsies began to be ignored.

Meanwhile, an economic and social crisis was brewing in Europe. It resulted in the adoption of a series of cruel laws in the countries of Western Europe, aimed, among other things, against representatives of itinerant professions, as well as just vagrants, whose number has increased greatly due to the crisis, which, apparently, created a criminogenic situation. Nomadic, semi-nomadic or attempted to settle down, but ruined gypsies also fell victim to these laws. They were singled out in a special group of vagabonds, writing out separate decrees, the first of which was issued in Spain in 1482.

In the book "History of the Gypsies. A new look” (N. Bessonov, N. Demeter) gives examples of antigypsy laws:

Sweden. A 1637 law mandates the hanging of male Gypsies.

Mainz. 1714. Death to all gypsies captured within the state. Flogging and branding with a red-hot iron of women and children.

England. According to the law of 1554, the death penalty for men. According to an additional decree of Elizabeth I, the law was tightened. From now on, execution awaited "those who lead or will lead friendship or acquaintance with the Egyptians." Already in 1577, seven Englishmen and one Englishwoman fell under this decree. All of them were hanged in Aylesbury.
Historian Scott McPhee lists 148 laws adopted in the German states from the 15th to the 18th centuries. All of them were approximately the same, the diversity is manifested only in the details. So, in Moravia, the gypsies cut off the left ear, in Bohemia, the right. In the Archduchy of Austria they preferred branding, and so on.

Stigma used in Germany during the antigypsy laws

Perhaps the most cruel was Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. In 1725, he ordered that all male and female gypsies over eighteen years of age be put to death.

As a result of the persecution, the gypsies of Western Europe, firstly, were heavily criminalized, since they did not have the opportunity to legally earn their living, and secondly, they were practically culturally conserved (until now, the gypsies of Western Europe are considered the most distrustful and committed to literally following the old traditions). They also had to lead a special way of life: moving around at night, hiding in forests and caves, which increased the suspicion of the population, and also gave rise to rumors about cannibalism, satanism, vampirism and werewolf gypsies, the result of these rumors was the emergence of myths associated with them about kidnapping and especially children (for eating or for satanic rites) and about the ability to evil spells.

Picture from a French entertainment magazine depicting gypsies cooking human meat

Some of the Gypsies managed to avoid repression by enlisting in the army as soldiers or servants (blacksmiths, saddlers, grooms, etc.) in those countries where soldiers were actively recruited (Sweden, Germany). Their families were thus also taken out from under the blow. The ancestors of Russian Gypsies came to Russia through Poland from Germany, where they mainly served in the army or with the army, so at first they had a nickname among other Gypsies, translated roughly as “army Gypsies”.

The abolition of anti-gypsy laws coincides in time with the beginning of the industrial revolution and Europe's exit from the economic crisis. After the abolition of these laws, the process of integrating the Roma into European society began. Thus, during the 19th century, the gypsies in France, according to Jean-Pierre Lejoie, author of the article "Bohemiens et pouvoirs publics en France du XV-e au XIX-e siecle", mastered professions due to which they were recognized and even began to be appreciated: they they sheared sheep, weaved baskets, traded, were hired as day laborers in seasonal agricultural work, were dancers and musicians.

However, by that time, anti-Gypsy myths were already firmly rooted in the European consciousness. Their traces can now be seen in fiction, linking Gypsies with a passion for kidnapping (whose goals are becoming less and less clear over time), werewolves, and serving vampires.

The abolition of antigypsy laws by that time did not occur in all European countries. So, in Poland on November 3, 1849, a decision was made to arrest nomadic gypsies. For each detained gypsy, the policemen were paid bonus amounts. As a result, the police seized not only nomadic, but also settled gypsies, recording the detainees as vagrants, and children as adults (in order to get more money). After the Polish uprising of 1863, this law lost its force.

It can also be noted that, starting with the abolition of anti-gypsy laws, among the gypsies, individuals who were gifted in certain areas began to appear, stand out and receive recognition in non-gypsy society, which is another evidence of the situation that has developed more or less favorable for gypsies. So, in Great Britain in the 19th and early 20th centuries, these were preacher Rodney Smith, football player Rayby Howell, radio journalist and writer George Bramwell Evens; in Spain - the Franciscan Ceferino Jimenez Mallya, the tokaor Ramon Montoya Salazar Sr.; in France - jazz brothers Ferre and Django Reinhardt; in Germany - boxer Johann Trollmann.

Gypsies in Eastern Europe (XV - early XX century)

Gypsy migration to Europe

At the beginning of the 15th century, a significant part of the Byzantine gypsies led a semi-sedentary lifestyle. Gypsies were known not only in the Greek regions of Byzantium, but also in Serbia, Albania, the lands of modern Romania and Hungary. They settled in villages or urban settlements, gathering compactly according to the signs of kinship and profession. The main crafts were working with iron and precious metals, carving household items from wood, weaving baskets. Nomadic gypsies also lived in these areas, who were also engaged in crafts or circus performances using trained bears.

In 1432, King Zsigmond of Hungary granted the Gypsies exemption from taxes, as they began to play an important role in the defense of the region. Gypsies made cannonballs, edged weapons, horse harness and armor for warriors.

After the conquest of the Balkans by Muslims, most of the artisans remained in their places, since their work remained in demand. In Muslim sources, the gypsies are described as craftsmen who can do any fine work on metal, including the manufacture of guns. Christian Gypsies often secured security for themselves and their families by serving the Turkish army. A significant number of Gypsies came to Bulgaria with Turkish troops (which was the reason for their rather cool relations with the local population).

Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror imposed a tax on the Gypsies, but exempted the gunsmiths, as well as those Gypsies who lived in the fortresses. Even then, some gypsies began to convert to Islam. This process accelerated as a result of the further policy of Islamization of the conquered lands by the Turks, which included increased taxes for the Christian population. As a result of this policy, the gypsies of Eastern Europe were actually divided into Muslims and Christians. Under the Turks, gypsies were also sold into slavery for the first time (for tax debts), but this was not widespread.

In the 16th century, the Turks made considerable efforts to census the gypsies. Ottoman documents detail age, occupation, and other data necessary for taxation. Even nomadic groups were entered into the register. The list of professions was very extensive: documents from the Balkan archives list blacksmiths, tinkers, butchers, painters, shoemakers, watchmen, wool beaters, runners, tailors, shepherds, etc.

In general, the Ottoman policy towards the Roma can be called soft. This had both positive and negative consequences. on the one hand, the gypsies did not become a criminalized group, as in Western Europe. On the other hand, the local population recorded them as “favorites” of the Turkish authorities, as a result of which the attitude towards them was cold or even hostile. So, in the Moldavian and Volosha principalities, the gypsies were declared slaves "from birth"; each gypsy belonged to the owner of the land on which he was caught by the decree. In the same place, for several centuries, the gypsies were subjected to the most severe punishments, torture for the sake of entertainment and mass executions. Trade in gypsy serfs and torture of them were practiced until the middle of the 19th century. Here is an example of ads for sale: 1845

The sons and heirs of the deceased serdar Nikolai Niko, in Bucharest, are selling 200 families of gypsies. The men are mostly locksmiths, goldsmiths, shoemakers, musicians and farmers.

And 1852:

Monastery of St. Elijah put up for sale the first lot of gypsy slaves, May 8, 1852, consisting of 18 men, 10 boys, 7 women and 3 girls: in excellent condition

In 1829 the Russian Empire won the war against the Turks; Moldavia and Wallachia fell under her control. Adjutant General Kiselev was temporarily appointed ruler of the principalities. He insisted on amending the civil code of Moldova. Among other things, in 1833 the status of a person was recognized for the gypsies, which meant a ban on killing them. A paragraph was introduced, according to which a gypsy, forced to become the concubine of her master, was released after his death.

Under the influence of the progressive minds of Russia, the ideas of the abolition of serfdom began to spread in the Moldavian and Romanian society. They were also promoted by students studying abroad. In September 1848, a youth demonstration took place on the streets of Bucharest demanding the abolition of serfdom. Some of the landowners voluntarily freed their slaves. However, for the most part, slave owners opposed new ideas. In order not to cause their discontent, the governments of Moldavia and Wallachia acted in a roundabout way: they bought slaves from their owners and freed them. Finally, in 1864, slavery was banned by law.

After the abolition of slavery, an active emigration of the Kalderar gypsies from Wallachia to Russia, Hungary and other countries began. By the beginning of World War II, Kalderars could be found in almost all European countries.

Gypsies in Russia, Ukraine and the USSR (late 17th - early 20th centuries)

The earliest Russian official document mentioning gypsies dates back to 1733 - Anna Ioanovna's decree on new taxes on the upkeep of the army.

The next mention in the documents comes a few months later shows that the gypsies came to Russia relatively shortly before the adoption of the decree on taxes and secures their right to live in Ingermanland. Before that, apparently, their status in Russia was not defined, but now they were allowed:

Live and trade horses; and since they showed themselves to be local natives, it was ordered to include them in the poll census wherever they wished to live, and put the regiment on the Horse Guards.

According to the phrase “they showed themselves to be local natives”, one can understand that the generation of gypsies living in this area was at least the second.

Even earlier, for about a century, gypsies (groups of servis) appeared on the territory of modern Ukraine.

2004 Modern Gypsies-Serves in Ukraine.

As you can see, by the time the document was written, they were already paying taxes, that is, they lived legally.

Gypsies from the city of Novy Oskol. Photo from the beginning of the 20th century.

The revolution of 1917 hit the most educated part of the gypsy population (since it was also the most wealthy) - representatives of the merchant class, as well as gypsy artists, whose main source of income was performances in front of nobles and merchants. Many wealthy gypsy families abandoned their property and went to the nomads, since nomadic gypsies during the Civil War were automatically assigned to the poor. The Red Army did not touch the poor, and almost no one touched the nomadic gypsies. Some gypsy families emigrated to European countries, China and the USA. Young gypsy guys could be found both in the Red Army and in the White Army, since the social stratification of Russian gypsies and servis by the beginning of the 20th century was already significant.

After the Civil War, gypsies from among the former merchants who became nomads tried to limit the contact of their children with non-gypsies, they did not let them go to schools, in fear that the children would accidentally betray the non-poor origin of the families. As a result, illiteracy became almost universal among the nomadic gypsies. In addition, the number of settled gypsies, the basis of which were merchants and artists before the revolution, has sharply decreased. By the end of the 1920s, the problems of illiteracy and a large number of nomads in the gypsy population were noticed by the Soviet authorities. The government, together with activists from among the gypsy artists who remained in the cities, tried to take a number of measures to solve these problems.

So, in 1927, the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine adopted a resolution on helping nomadic gypsies in the transition to a "working settled way of life."

At the end of the 1920s, gypsy pedagogical colleges were opened, literature and the press were published in gypsy, and gypsy boarding schools were operating.

Gypsies and World War II

During the Second World War, according to recent studies, about 150,000-200,000 Roma in Central and Eastern Europe were exterminated by the Nazis and their allies (see Gypsy Genocide). Of these, 30,000 were citizens of the USSR.

On the Soviet side, during the Second World War, from the Crimea, along with the Crimean Tatars, their co-religionists, the Crimean gypsies (Roma Kyrymitika), were deported.

Gypsies were not only passive victims. Gypsies of the USSR participated in hostilities as privates, tankers, drivers, pilots, gunners, medical workers and partisans; Gypsies from France, Belgium, Slovakia, the Balkan countries, as well as Gypsies from Romania and Hungary who were there during the war, were in the Resistance.

Gypsies in Europe and the USSR / Russia (the second half of the 20th - the beginning of the 21st century)

Ukrainian gypsies, Lviv

Ukrainian gypsies.

After World War II, the Gypsies of Europe and the USSR were conditionally divided into several cultural groups: the Gypsies of the USSR, socialist countries, Spain and Portugal, Scandinavia, Great Britain and Western Europe. Within these cultural groups, the cultures of different Roma ethnic groups converged, while the cultural groups themselves moved away from each other. The cultural rapprochement of the Gypsies of the USSR took place on the basis of the culture of Russian Gypsies, as the most numerous Gypsy ethnic group.

In the republics of the USSR there was an intensive assimilation and integration of gypsies into society. On the one hand, the persecution of Roma by the authorities, which took place shortly before the war, did not resume. On the other hand, original culture, except for music, was suppressed, propaganda was carried out on the theme of the liberation of the gypsies from total poverty by the revolution, a stereotype was formed of the poverty of the gypsy culture itself before the influence of the Soviet regime (see Culture of the gypsies, Inga Andronikova), the cultural achievements of the gypsies were declared achievements in the first turn of the Soviet authorities (for example, the Romen Theater was universally called the first and only gypsy theater, the appearance of which was attributed to the merit of the Soviet authorities), the gypsies of the USSR were cut off from the information space of European gypsies (with which some contact was maintained before the revolution), which cut off Soviet gypsies also from the cultural achievements of European compatriots. However, the help from the Soviet authorities in the development of artistic culture, in raising the level of education of the gypsy population of the USSR was high.

On October 5, 1956, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the inclusion of gypsies engaged in vagrancy in labor” was issued, equating nomadic gypsies with parasites and prohibiting a nomadic lifestyle. The reaction to the decree was twofold, both from the local authorities and from the Roma. The local authorities carried out this decree, either by giving the Roma housing and encouraging or forcing them to officially find employment instead of handicraft and fortune-telling, or simply by driving the Roma from the camps and subjecting the nomadic Roma to discrimination at the household level. The gypsies, on the other hand, either rejoiced at the new housing and quite easily moved into new living conditions (often they were gypsies who had gypsy friends or settled relatives at their new place of residence who helped them with advice in establishing a new life), or they considered the decree the beginning of an attempt to assimilate, to dissolve the gypsies as an ethnic group and in every way evaded its implementation. Those gypsies who at first accepted the decree neutrally, but did not have informational and moral support, soon perceived the transition to settled life as a misfortune. As a result of the decree, more than 90% of the Roma of the USSR settled down.

In modern Eastern Europe, less often in Western Europe, Roma often become the object of discrimination in society.

At the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century, Europe and Russia were swept by a wave of gypsy migrations. Impoverished or marginalized Roma from Romania, western Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia - the former social. countries in which, after the collapse of the USSR, economic and social difficulties arose, they went to work in the European Union and Russia. Nowadays, they can be seen literally at any crossroads of the world, the women of these gypsies have returned en masse to the old traditional occupation - begging.

In Russia, there is also a slower but noticeable impoverishment, marginalization and criminalization of the Roma population. The average educational level has decreased. The problem of drug use by teenagers has become acute. Quite often, gypsies began to be mentioned in the criminal chronicle in connection with drug trafficking and fraud. The popularity of gypsy musical art has noticeably decreased. At the same time, the gypsy press and gypsy literature were revived.

In Europe and Russia, there is an active cultural borrowing between gypsies of different nationalities, a common gypsy music and dance culture is emerging, which is strongly influenced by the culture of Russian gypsies.