Nation as a Unity of Cultural and Political Characteristics

Based on the works of leading experts in ethnic issues (F. Bart, R. Brubaker, E. Balibar, etc.), it is shown that establishing the roots and genesis of such a phenomenon as a nation is not always an easy task. The thesis about the linear fate of nations and the historically consistent transformation of ethnic forms into nations seems to be not entirely substantiated. The terminological unambiguity of the very concept of a nation seems illusory. Without denying the cultural diversity and coherence of the concept of a nation with the socio-cultural features of the historical experience of peoples, it is shown that this category is largely a product of state ideology. It is shown that culture is not a primary marker, but rather a consequence or result of ethnic group organization.