As a rule, we call a certain territory a country. But the country is a term that is used not only in the political sphere. It also refers to culture, history, and physical geography. What is a country? How is it different from the state?
Geographic concept
A country is a territory, an area that has certain historical, cultural, political and physical-geographical features. Its boundaries can be blurred or strictly fixed.
In geography, there is the concept of "natural country". This is a section of the Earth, the mainland, which is characterized by a general geological structure and macrorelief. Such a division does not take into account geographical belts and zones, as well as the political borders of states. It divides the entire land into areas with a homogeneous structure and landscape.
There are a lot of physical and geographical countries. Only in Russia there are thirteen of them. Within each of them, smaller territories are distinguished - regions (in Russia - 71). The natural country is the Urals, Fennoscandia, Insular Arctic, Central Siberia, etc.
Historical and cultural concept
A historical and cultural country is an area within which a population lives with similar cultural and everyday characteristics. They are formed under the influence of general social, historical and economic factors and are not always realized by the population itself.
The term “region” is often used as a synonym for a cultural and historical country. The inhabitants of such a territory have similar traditions, clothing, religious beliefs, folk art, material culture.
Peoples living within the same IC region, at a certain point in history, went through a common path of development, which was reflected in their culture. Among the large areas are Western Europe, South Asia, Latin America, etc.
Of course, the local population has a lot of differences and their own individual characteristics. Therefore, within the regions there is a division into narrower units. For example, in Northern Europe there are Scandinavia, the B altics; in the West - Benelux, Gaul, etc.
Country and state
In a political sense, a country can mean a state. Very often, concepts are used as synonyms and mean a specific territory. However, their meanings are broadly different.
The state is usually understood as a power structure, a system of government that is fixed in a fixed area. The term is used in the meaning of a certain organization of society, which has its own mechanisms and principles for exercising control over the territory.
Country isa more capacious concept that includes not only the apparatus of power, but also socio-economic and cultural-historical features. The term "country" is used more in relation to the people who live in it and have similar features of mentality, language, etc.
