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The article is devoted to the study of the semantic content of Russian ethnonyms in the written discourse of the French from the XVII century to the period of active cultural contacts. The object of the research is the ethnonymic lexeme Tartare(s), which is a constant of francophone testimonies, so its content can be considered as a part of the cultural representations of the French about the ethnic structure of Russia at this historical period. The semantic content is analyzed by taking into account the concept of the Russian linguist V.A. Nikonov, according to which the name of ethnic communities can be divided into several levels of meaning: pre-ethnonymic or etymological meaning; post-etnonymic, which may not develop; and ethnonymic itself, correlated with the designated object. The problematic aspect of determining the semantic content of ethnonyms is the ambiguity of the correlation between the name and the object designated by it. As a result the main components of the semantic content of the ethnonym Tartare(s) were identified as: appearance of the Mongoloid race; Muslim religion; sub-ethnic division into Kazan, Nogai, and Crimean Tatars; disunited territorial location; features of interaction with Russia. The analysis of dynamics revealed trends in changes in the semantic content of the ethnonym Tartare(s), whose connotations shift over the specified period towards positive values. The image of the enemy in the view of the French is changing to the image of an ally and a Russian national. The increase in the territorial and cultural disunity of the Tatars and the partial assimilation of the Tatar people in Russian culture contributed to this fact. The experience of direct or indirect cultural interaction allowed the French to identify the objects of the nomination of the ethnonym Tartare(s) and expand the scope of its additional meanings.

A linguistic representation of ethnic ideas of the French about the peoples of the Russian territories which were formed in the initial period of Russian-French cultural contacts are considered in the article. The material of the study is written French-language documentary records about the representatives of Russia of the XVI–XVII centuries. The research is carried out taking into account the main approaches to understanding the phenomenon of ethnicity, developed by Russian and foreign scholars of the XX–XXI centuries. The presence of shared ideas of the members of the ethnic community about the common origin, language, material and spiritual culture, the recognition of the important role of ethnic identity for the self- expression of the community and its recognition by others are taken into consideration. As a result of the analysis of the material, the following ethnic characteristics of the peoples of Russia were noted: language, territories of settlement, behavior patterns, religion, clothing, appearance. The main features of the formation of ethnic ideas of the French about the ethnic communities inhabiting Russia were also identified, such as: background knowledge of large ethnic groups whose names were reflected on the European maps; differentiation of known ethnic communities into sub-ethnic groups; special attention to peoples who successfully master military techniques; uncertainty in determining the ethnicity of a group; substitution of ethnic identity for regional; interest in areas of interaction between ethnic groups. The specificities of the formation of ethnic representations are reflected in the language in the following processes: adaptation of the French orthography of the ethnonym to the acoustic form of the Russian word; expansion of the list of ethnonymic lexemes, taking into account the differentiation into sub-ethnic groups; creation of ethnonyms-occasionalisms; use of ethnically unmarked substitutes instead of ethnonyms.