Šiuolaikinė miestiečio ir kaimiečio samprata

ENThe article invokes research which was carried out by the author in 2011–2013. Taking into consideration the location of permanent residence, several questionnaires, prepared by the author, were used. They were intended for people from cities and the countryside. In total, 329 questionnaires were completed - 211 by people from towns and 118 by people from the countryside; 228 of the respondents were women, 101 - men. The interviewees ranged from 13 to 76 years old. While analysing the collected data, two main types of town and countryside residents were established, divided in two groups: town/countryside residents by territory and town/countryside residents by mentality. Images of both townspeople and those from the countryside are revealed through positive and negative features of their physical appearance, character, temper, behaviour. Although there is actual historical evidence of Lithuanian town culture, it is still often questioned. However, it is thought that only townspeople can be genuine representatives of intelligentsia, concerned with culture, modern technologies, higher education, etc. The negative features of townspeople are emphasised by calling them "philistines", usually criticising their inability to resist the lifestyle of the consumer society. The conception of "countryman" is just as ambivalent. The image of the romanticised countryside dweller, following the rhythm of nature and protecting ancient cultural and linguistic traditions, is still rather vital. The idealistic conception of people from the countryside collapses when it is confronted with social reality: unemployment, poverty, alcoholism and other related problems. Mainly it is this type of stereotypical attitude that plays an important role in forming the image of typical people from towns and the countryside. [From the publication]