V. R. FILIPPOV Doctor of Historical Sciences Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences Key words: Niger, coup, Tuareg, conflict, military regime The motley conglomerate of peoples, languages, cultures, confessions, and ways of life support in the territory of modern Niger has never been harmonious and conflict-free. In the post-colonial period, Nigerians failed to establish an effective system of public administration. Socioculturally, the population of Niger is heterogeneous. The spatial localization of various population groups and the specifics of their economic activities do not contribute to the formation of national cohesion. Farmers, native speakers of the Hausa language (their share is more than 55%), inhabit the south of the country. Songhai and Djerma (about 21%) occupy the western part, while Tuareg pastoralists (about 9%) roam in the north. The Fulbe and Gourma pastoral tribes (8.5%) are dispersed throughout the territory, while the Kanuri (about 5%) live in the south-east, on the shores of Lake Chad 1. Niger is home to 5-6 thousand Europeans, mostly French. The religious composition of the population is more homogeneous: 98% of the population profess Sunni Islam (some researchers believe that about 80% of the population profess Islam2); about 1.5% are adherents of traditional African beliefs, 0.5% are Catholics 3. AT THE ORIGINS OF NIGER'S POLITICAL HISTORY The colonies of France were declared its "overseas territories"in 1946. The French Constitution provided for the representation of Africans in local government, they were given the right to be elected to the National Assembly of France. At the same time, the first political party emerged - the Niger Progressive Party (NPP), which became one of the sections of the African Democratic Association (ADO). In 1951, there was a split in the ranks of the NPP, due to the desire of the left wing of the party to cooperate with the French Communists. The left was led by Bakari Djibo, who in 1957 created a ... Read more