Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2015 number

The object of the article is military mobilizations in Western Siberia during the Great Patriotic War; its subject is the scale of military mobilizations. The objective is to uncover poorly studied aspect of the problem, such as quantitative characteristics and social consequences of mobilizations. In order to achieve the formulated aim the author solves the following tasks: identifying the human resources in Western Siberia; discovering the number and structure of the mobilized troops; showing economic consequences of mobilization; revealing the mobilization impact upon the demographic situation in Siberia; analyzing the reaction of party and economic leaders as well as that of the mobilized people to the large-scale mobilizations. The author used such historical sources as archival materials from the military departments of the All-Russian Communist Party obkoms, kraikoms, gorkoms and raikoms (regional, municipal and district committees) that participated in the mobilization process exercising the party control over military commissariats. Unlike the well-studied labor mobilizations the military mobilizations remained neglected by historians. In fact, they are among the most understudied subjects in domestic historiography. Taking these lacunas in consideration the article explores not only the scale of mobilizations in Western Siberia but also their course; briefly analyzes social-demographic and economic consequences of large-scale mobilizations. The article shows the influence of mobilizations and conscriptions upon the dynamics of the age-sex structure of the population and changes of nuptiality. It reflects such complicated problem as the effect of mobilizations on the structure of the labour resources; analyzes the conflict between the military and civilian services. The author describes the conscription process of workers and employees assigned to enterprises; addresses a poorly studied issue of citizen’s evasion of military registration and draft into the Red Army.

The article considers the role and activities of Academician A. A. Skochinsky (1874-1960) as an organizer of the West-Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences during the Great Patriotic War. Although projects on creating academic centers in Western Siberia had existed before, none of them was ever implemented due to multiple reasons. Under war conditions the integrated brigades of the USSR Academy of Sciences Commission for the Mobilization of Resources of the Urals, West Siberia and Kazakhstan for the Country Defense Needs began their activities in Siberia. However, they relied not on the branches of the Academy of Sciences, as it was in the Urals and Kazakhstan, but mostly on the committees of scientists from Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Stalinsk. An urgent need for coordinating activities of the Commission’ scientists and local scientific manpower prompted A. A. Skochinsky and his colleagues to suggest that an academic center must be established in Western Siberia as soon as possible. Their proposal coincided with the pre-war aspirations of Siberian scientists and was implemented in a remarkably short time. In March 1943 Academicians A. Skochinsky and L. Shevyakov presented their project of the future Siberian Branch to the Novosibirsk Regional Executive Committee. In October the USSR Council of People’s Commissars issued a decree on organizing the West Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk. The concept of the West Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR envisaged not only the needs of wartime, but also prospects for further post-war development of science and the Siberian region in the form of the program of productive forces integrated study. As an organizer and head of the West Siberian Branch Academician A. A. Skochinsky used all his previous experience of scientific and organizational activities. The fact that the Branch rapidly developed during the wartime and the postwar period was undoubtedly to be credited to its first leader. West Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences during the fifteen years of its activities became the largest academic center of the country. The branch coordinated studies in a number of scientific fields not only in West Siberia, but also in the USSR Academy of Sciences. The activities of the USSR Academy of Sciences connected with developing the Siberian resource potential during the war laid the foundation for further industrial development of the region as well as creation of regional branches of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the post-war period. The WSB potential promoted the development of the Siberian Branch of the USSR/Russian Academy of Sciences; academic institutions organized on the initiative and with participation of Academician A. Skochinsky remain among the SB RAS members.

Before World War II the Novosibirsk region was the most industrialized region beyond the Urals. That is why the majority of evacuated defense enterprises producing various types of ammunition and weapons were concentrated in Novosibirsk along with Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Tomsk, Omsk, Barnaul and other cities. Based on the equipment and personnel of evacuated plants more than 60 enterprises of various defense Narkomats were re-established in West Siberia. Their directors were appointed from among the evacuated managerial staff. The latter was also used to form the pool of candidates for director posts. The mechanism of directors selection, appointment and dismissal was developed at the central and local government levels. The majority of directors were specialists with higher technical education, experienced in organization of production and personnel management. They were expected to meet the highest requirements, especially during the first year and a half of the war, when the state reserves of ammunition and weapons were exhausted. Directors were removed from their positions if their enterprises failed to complete the State Defense Committee’s task of supplying the front with ammunition and weapons. By the second half of 1942 enterprises had completed the reconstruction of technological processes, their personnel had been formed, while directors had gained experience in organization of production and guiding the work of thousands of employees. Factories began to work steadily, achieving their plan targets and better supplying the front with ammunition and armament, so the directors turnover reduced. On the whole the war period was marked by a high mobility of managerial staff, especially at the enterprises subordinated to Commissariats of ammunition, aircraft and tank industries, as well as some enterprises of the People’s Commissariat of Weapons.

The article presents data on 1,114 fighter pilots of the Soviet Air Forces compiled and systematized in the reference book «Aces of the Great Patriotic War» by M.Yu. Bykov. The paper «The Most Successful Ace Pilots in 1941-1945” (2007) analyzes the elite group of ace pilots in terms of their age, military ranks, time of their participation in combat operations, a number of downed Nazi aircrafts, government awards. The author defines types of Soviet fighters as well as aircrafts supplied under Lend-Lease by the allies on the anti-Hitler coalition. All ace pilots mentioned in the reference book were born in the early XX century and during the war were younger than 40 years old. Their contribution to the air space conquest was 23,974 (individually) and 3,315 (collectively) shot down enemy planes, in total 27,289 combat vehicles (24.5 each), or 48% of the number of downed hostile aircrafts at the Soviet-German front. 579 of 1,114 aces were honored the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, while 58 of them (every tenth) were awarded posthumously. Irretrievable losses in the group under study totaled 243 men (29%) or about one third. At the beginning of the war the Soviet pilots flew I-15bis, I-16, I-153, MiG-3, LaGG-3 fighters. Since the summer of 1942 they had been replaced by Yak (Yak-1, -7, -9, -3) and La-5, 7 modifications. Domestic production provided the material basis for conquering air superiority by the Soviet Air Force. Only a small part (2%) of fighters used by the Soviet aces in the aircraft fleet was supplied under Lend-Lease.

The article is devoted to identifying the level of conveniences and costs of municipal housing that affected the availability of services provided for the production personnel of enterprises in the city of Novosibirsk - the largest industrial center in the Siberian home front. It characterizes the scope and practice of solving the housing problem, which determined the electric, water-supply, sewerage and heating networks coverage of urban housing stock, including the housing at disposal of the local and evacuated factories. In particular, the author marks unevenness and overall insufficient electricity, water, and heating supply, improper disposal of sewerage in houses and hutments based on statistical data of a diversified group of civil and defense enterprises in Novosibirsk. The article shows that all these conveniences were enjoyed mostly by the families of those employees and specialists who belonged to the middle and older generations. Besides, the ratio between the workers’ wages and the cost of beds in factory dormitories, which also included tariffs for public utilities, is estimated. The author considers the practice of benefit payments for these conveniences provided at some enterprises for the low-paid staff. In general, expenses for usage of water supply system, sewerage, central heating and electrical lighting accounted for a very small share of employee average wages. However, cheapness of public utilities was of great importance only for a negligible part of industrial personnel accommodated in the most comfortable, according to wartime standards, dwellings.

Each next anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War gives reason for presenting the new research findings that reveal previously unknown pages of the War and don’t let the memory of the past century’s greatest tragedy fade away. As fewer and fewer war veterans and eyewitnesses remain alive, the value of documentary sources increases, because they contain important information about the War. Among these «history keepers» the most accessible are the books published during the war, which, in turn, deserve special study. The purpose of this article is to summarize the materials reflecting regional aspects of the history of Siberian book publishing industry in 1941-1945. The research findings introduced into scientific circulation confirm that the book industry in the region worked together with the rest of the country in a joint effort to do «Everything for the front, everything for victory!». During the War specifics of publishing activities in the region were determined primarily by the changing subject matter of printed materials, as well as by evacuation of publishing agencies and houses from the country’s western regions, along with the influx of evacuated intellectuals. The paper analyzes specific features of Siberian book publishing during the war; traces the book production dynamics during that time; reviews sample editions reflecting main thematic focuses. The author identifies new statistical data on military editions issued by the Krasnoyarsk branch of the Military Publishing Office in 1941-1944. These data haven’t been previously taken into account and suggest upward revision of statistics on the regional book publishing.

The aim of the article is to examine mortality in the Novosibirsk region during the Great Patriotic War. The Novosibirsk region in the pre-war borders included Kemerovo and Tomsk regions, so the situation in there was determinative for the entire West Siberian population. This problem has been understudied by the historians, as the subject was tabooed by the Soviet regime. Publications haven’t been numerous covering the demographic issues only partially without presenting a coherent picture. These works were censored and could not present a detailed solution of this problem. In the post-Soviet period researchers focused mostly on studying population in Siberia as a whole or in its Western part. Works on the Novosibirsk region population and its development during the war were rare. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Victory it is necessary to take a closer look at the region’s population. The article is based on the materials previously used “for official usage only”. It analyzes mortality trends in the Novosibirsk region during the Great Patriotic War. In the first war period there was a sharp deterioration in morbidity and mortality rates. It was a naturally determined phenomenon. The year of 1942 was marked by the first signs of the situation improvement. In 1943-1945 this positive trend stabilized. The biggest drop was seen in infant mortality rate. Mortality tendencies and evolution reasons were examined. The author notes the role played by the local and health authorities during the Great Patriotic War in reduction of mortality. Analysis of archival materials allowed reevaluating the time series of mortality including the infant mortality rates in 1941-1945. The author concludes that the new medicines greatly contributed to the reduction of mortality during the war.

After the end of World War II, the USSR, along with many other important objectives faced the task of providing social support to for the veterans returning from combat duty. Main guidelines of social policy in this sphere were defined in the Law “On Demobilization of the Older Military Personnel of the Acting Army”; Decrees of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On Demobilization of the Second Term Personnel of the Red Army” of September 25, 1945, “On Demobilization of the Third Term Personnel of the Army and Air Force” of March 20, 1946, “On Regular Demobilization of Army Personnel” of October 22, 1946 and “On Regular Demobilization of Armed Forces Personnel” of February 4, 1947; Resolution “On Measures to Be Undertaken to Provide Ex-Servicemen, Families of Fallen Soldiers, Disabled War Veterans and Families of Servicemen with Help and Assistance”. It was not an easy task to provide former frontline soldiers with necessary assistance in the regions of South Siberia - Altai, Tuva, Khakasia - due to a difficult social-economic situation in these regions. The responsibilities of republican, territorial, regional, municipal and district military commissariats and social security agencies were to help the discharged servicemen with registration, documents preparation so that they could obtain passports and ration cards, employment, housing, professional training, pecuniary aid, tax remissions, social benefits, pensions and many others. The government supported the families of war veterans, including families and children of the perished soldiers. Though the executive authorities and social security agencies tried to do their best, implementation of the state policy towards the ex-servicemen encountered certain difficulties, particularly with respect to their employment, which, unfortunately, were typical of the whole country.

The article reviews the existing historiographic approaches to definition and identification of archaeological cultures in the Stone Age. For a bout a century researchers have been using the concept of “archaeological culture” - a major concepts in archaeology. However, until now no unambiguous definition of this concept has been given The role of a particular archaeological culture in the archeological research practice has not been well defined either. Currently the relevant objective is systematization of the available concepts. The author of the present review applied the comparative-historical and historical-genetic methods, as well as the method of sources criticism. This approach makes it possible to compare various viewpoints on the development of archaeological ideas; to identify common and specific features in the lithic industries evolution, and to consider formation of theoretical ideas and approaches to the term “archaeological culture” in dynamics. The paper characterizes the most topical aspects of this problem. The definition of “archaeological culture” is examined based on the viewpoints of V.A. Gorodtsov, L.S. Klein, M.V. Anikovich and others. Considering the nature of archaeological culture the authors deal with two main approaches: odontological (V.M. Masson, V.P. Lubin, Y.F. Buryakov et al.) and epistemological (N.N. Kradin, A.L. Mongait et al.). The historiographic analysis shows a huge variety of scientists’ views on determining the place of an “archaeological culture” in practical archaeological studies and relationships between the archaeological cultures and ethnoses. An overview of the most debatable concepts defining a notion of “archaeological culture” and identifying archaeological cultures of the Stone Age shows that these problems should be addressed both from general scientific and specific archaeological perspectives.

The article’s objective is to review the existing cultural-chronological concepts explaining the diversity of lithic industries in Western Central Asia. Currently, there are several main contradictory hypotheses on the development of lithic industries in western Central Asia in the early Holocene. For instance, A.P. Okladnikov, V.A. Ranov and T.G. Filimonova argued that two technological complexes had existed in this region during the early Holocene. These two Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic complexes originated from different traditions with diverse features of stone tools. G.F. Korobkova, U.I. Islamov and F. Brunet suggested to attribute the whole early Holocene archaeological industries to the Mesolith. The situation requires a thorough analysis of proposed interpretations of the early Holocene industries development and chronological assessments in the region. The research is based on the following approaches: comparative-historical, historical-genetic and sources criticism. These approaches make it possible to compare various viewpoints on the archaeological developments and identify common and specific features in the evolution of the lithic industries; to examine the process of development of theoretical concepts and approaches concerning the Central Asian archaeology. The paper presents a detailed review of proposed hypotheses main points. The author highlights the problem topics in western Central Asian Mesolithic studies: 1. Elaborating a common and uniform terminology; 2. Detecting possible interrelations between the local synchronous lithic industries and different technical-typological features attributed to different development trends (Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic) of the early Holocene; 3. Clarifying the local early Holocene industries genesis and their subsequent development; 4. Developing a more representative base for absolute dating of the early Holocene complexes in the region.

The article is devoted to one of the most interesting and complicated problems in archaeology, which is reconstruction of dwellings and dwelling constructions. It is focused on the ancient cultures of the Pacific basin (tropical and subtropical zones) dated to the period from the late Pleistocene to Holocene optimum (12000-10000 BP to 6000-5000 BP). The work is based both on the author’s personal travels to Japan and South America and a wide range of scientific publications. The earliest postulated sedentary villages in Japan have been found in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu Island. Such early pottery sites as Sojiyama, Kakoinohara, Shikazegashira, Higashi Kurotsuchida, Maebaru, Okunonita and Uenohara are dated from the incipient to the early Jomon period (12600-7400 BP). The sedentism development is associated with climatic warming, when coniferous forests were replaced by deciduous forests with dominant nut producing plants. Archaeologists also have postulated that at that time the ancient population experienced certain stress caused by transition from hunting for large Pleistocene animals to small mammals and gathering. The Uenohara site is one of the best known and recently discovered Jomon sites from Kagoshima Prefecture. Fifty-two pit dwellings, thirty-nine stone clusters (hearths), and 260 storage pits were discovered in Section 4. The reconstructed dwellings exposed at the Uenohara Museum are represented by light constructions with dome-shaped wooden carcasses and thatched covering. This model is very close to some dwellings known known from various ethnographical data, for example, Modoc Indians in Northern California. In order to find more archaeological analogies the authors put attention to materials of the ancient cultures of the Pacific coast of South America (7800-5300 BP). Such pre-pottery and early pottery settlements as Paloma (Central Peruvian coast), El Porvenir (Northern Peruvian coast), and Real Alto (Ecuadorian coast) demonstrate the remains of small-size (not more than 18 m ²) dwelling constructions with dome-shaped roofs, without central poles and inner hearths. This set of elements is recognized by the authors as the common pattern for the early Pacific cultures.

The Kofun period in Japan dates from the III to the VII centuries. Construction of the so called “keyhole-shaped” burial mounds is considered a characteristic feature of this historic period. The article’s objective is to trace the stages in history of archeological research of the Kofun mounds; to characterize the current state of research in this field; to identify main areas of investigations at different stages; and to demonstrate the peculiarities of archaeological studies in Japan. The article is based on the analysis of archaeological and historiographic research conducted by the Japanese and Russian scholars. Specifics of these studies varied depending on the historical period. At the initial stage the research was based mostly on the written sources. Of particular interest were the antiquities found in the castles. Later on archeological methods were used to study burial mounds. The first excavations were carried out by foreign researchers. However since the late XIX century the archaeological work had been conducted by Japanese archaeologists who paid special attention to classification, systematization, and comparative analysis of the burial items. Another topic of special interest to Japanese archaeology was determining the chronology of the first keyhole-shaped burial mounds. Along with studying the burial items, external and internal structure of mounds researchers paid special attention to the problem of Haniwa - the time and causes of its origin, shape and location on mounds. Thus far, studies of this historical period have resulted in accumulation of a great amount of factual materials; burial items have been classified. Recently active archaeological excavations have been supplemented by studies on the interpretation of the materials; methods of other scientific disciplines have been applied. As for Japanese studies in Russia, the Kofun period remains understudies, especially in the field of archaeology.

The task of reconstructing some Scythian epic storylines is difficult but not hopeless. As an object for reconstruction the author has sel ected a famous story by Herodotus about Scythian Ares honored as an ancient iron sword put on the top of the pile of brushwood (Herodotus, IV, 62). According to the author, using such unusual material in construction of sanctuaries could be justified only by an exceptionally important functional requirement that during the ceremony the altar was to be burnt down. The Ossetian Tales of the Nart Batradz, who was considered inseparable fr om his sword, demonstrate the utmost similarity with the Herodotus story. The researchers convincingly trace the origin of the name of Batradz to the name of the Iranian God of Storms Verethragna-Bahram and then to the Vedic Indra. Assuming that the worship of the patron deity of warriors dates back to the steppe Bronze Age, it is concluded that there is 99 percent probability that the sword was made of bronze. As bronze has lower melting point (930-1140ЪC) than iron (1539ЪC), the bronze sword would disappear in the flaming fire, what was perceived as its ascension to heaven with a column of smoke and flame. In this case, the thunder-bearer of Late Bronze Age, honored by the Scythians ancestors, appears as a dying (disappearing) and resurrecting (returning) God. The seasonal ritual of his dying-ascension should have been necessarily paralleled by a symmetric seasonal holiday of revival-returning. An attempt to use iron weapons in the ancient ritual, undertaken by the Scythians approximately in the VIII-VII centuries B.C. led to a catastrophe - the God sharply changed his behavior. Obviously, the image of a red-hot blade was perceived as a manifestation of the deity’s violent rage. The author suggests that Herodotus retold in a generalized form an etiological myth explaining the established cult practice of honoring iron sword with bloody propitiations in the early Iron Age.

In 2012 a big dwelling (№ 3) belonging to the early Medieval period (the Troitsk group of Mohe culture) was excavated in the Amur Province, Russian Far East. The remains of its construction comply with the building concepts of the VIII-IX centuries and have a number of interesting features. The article’s objective is to introduce to scientific use the new original data on its construction. The dwelling’s specific features include its dimensions exceeding 7 m in length in comparison with 5-6 m typically observed by archaeologists. Another specific feature is the carcass composed of 7-meter logs based only on 4 angle posts. The central supporting posts for sloping beams were absent. Such types of big Mohe dwellings have never been found before. Angle poles used to be dug into the ground right after preparing the surface area or after removing the humus layer. Afterward the foundation pit would be dug out bypassing angles with poles, which resulted in forming triangle bases around poles. In the Amur Region such building method also has never been discovered before. Another specific feature previously unobserved in Medieval dwellings is lining the foundation pit walls with vertical rows of wooden slabs. So, the dwelling № 3 at Osinovoe Ozero (Lake) Site was of a frame-pillar type placed down to the foundation pit at 1.5-1.8 m. The base of the construction was composed of four logs, each over 7 m in length and 22-30 cm in diameter. Four rafters were put into the base corners, joined at the top making a rectangular chimney. The pitched roof was covered with wooden planks, filled with ground, or trimmed by divot. The entrance was located at the southern roof slope on a comfortable level for inhabitants from the surface with stairs. Such dwelling looked like a pyramid covered with grass. Its key elements are similar to the dwelling № 2 at Osinovoe Ozero (Lake) Site dated (14C) to the late IX century.

Moscovia tsarist government began to develop a huge trans-Ural territory populated by various Siberian ethnoses who were pagans from the Orthodox Russian viewpoint in the XVI century. Indigenous population of Siberia was at different stages of social development and had a mixed reaction to the advent of Russian Cossack detachments. The tsarist government faced some challenging tasks: to make the peoples of Siberia subjects of the Russian tsar, to make them pay taxes; to stop internecine clashes among different tribes, and to begin missionary work. Only efficient solution to these problems could lead to a successful colonization of the region. However, that vast area was in need of human resources, which were clearly inadequate and not sufficient. Therefore, the central government would give favorable consideration to employing those aboriginals who had been baptized into Orthodoxy. Baptized aborigines were automatically placed on the same level with the Russians regardless of their ethnic origin. In the contemporary texts such people were called “newly-baptized” (“novokreshcheny”). Newly-baptized aboriginals often achieved high positions in the military and administrative services. Most of them served as ordinary Cossacks or were engaged in economic activities while being employed in the public service. Many baptized aboriginals due to the capture or sale of their children fell into servile dependence on the Russian military or commercial population. Children constituted a majority of those who were placed in a dependent position due to the fact that they were easier to adapt and to adopt new cultural traditions in the future. The Siberian authorities did not hinder these processes. Incorporation of aboriginal Christians in the state structures had a positive effect on the relationship with indigenous people, and contributed to stabilization and interpenetration of different cultures. An active penetration of the newly-baptized aboriginals into the social structures of Siberia continued up to the first third of the XVIII century, and then began to decline primarily due to the natural growth of the Russian Siberian population and migrations from different regions of Russia. The absence of serfdom and relative legal freedom made Siberia an attractive place. In general the Imperial policy towards the indigenous peoples of Siberia was that of maneuvering and searching for compromises.

The revival of church architecture made the researchers to readdress the task of searching for features and patterns of shaping, proportioning, and symbolics of church buildings. In such studies much attention is paid to the ethnic-cultural context, as it allows moving away from a descriptive approach to analyzing the stylistic characteristics of the building. The article deals with the results of reconstructing the appearance of the Church of Our Lady of Vladimir, which existed in the XVII-XVIII centuries in Bratsk, one of the first Russian cities in the Middle Angara region. In order to make such reconstruction scientifically valid the authors used special techniques and methods based on the sources analysis, searching for analogues, as well as on the assumption that the specific type and style of church architecture stood in close interdependence with the ethnic-cultural context of Siberia in the XVII-XVIII centuries. The church reconstruction faced serious difficulties, including the lack of historical sources that could shed light on the architectural image of the church. S. Remezov’s drawing is the only evidence, which allows reconstructing the architectural forms of the church in 1701. Its analysis shows the relative sizes and architectural appearance of the church. Search for analogues led to the conclusion that the most common church type in the Russian North in the XVII-XVIII centuries was a cellular church whose central part had a bochka-like cover. In the same region there were churches of a similar type - the Church of the Presentation in the Temple (1673) and that of the Kazan Icon of Our Lady (1679). The church is defined as a warm cellular one with a bochka-like cover of a catholicon and altar part. A refectory and a porch were covered with a two-sided roof. The church had a ternary structure. The church was designed with the ‘Trinity scheme’ in mind, which was typical of the wooden churches in the early and late Middle Ages, including the XVII century, so it determined the size of the church, forms of its parts, location and size of a porch, domes, windows, and doorways.

The article considers the Kudarin Buryat food system of South-Eastern Pribaikalia in the late XIX - early XX centuries. It defines the dependence of their food system on the economy structure: the diversified nature of the economy allowed Buryats to provide themselves with food. The author specifies the role of a natural-geographical factor in the food system and agriculture development of this Buryat group. The negative effects of the earthquake of 1862 and epidemic of 1870 caused a lengthy decline of Kudarin Buryat herding economy and modification of the diet structure. All this resulted in the domestic herd structure changed: before the earthquake it was of classical type shared by most of semi-settled pastoralists. However, by the 1890s it had transformed into a herd structure typical of a settled population. As a result the cattle as a source of livestock products began playing an increasingly greater role in the Kudarin Buryat diet, and other livestock types became less significant for food ensuring. Wild game meat was not included in the diet of the majority of the Kudarin Buryats. The share of agricultural products (crops, potatoes) in the diet was subject to annual adjustments, so bread was bought and bartered for fish. Their needs for vegetables were satisfied by gathering wild plants, however their yields were negligible. Fishing played a special role in Kudarin Buryats food system, providing the population with Arctic cisco, the main food fish of Baikal. It is noteworthy that the amount of consumed fish remained unchanged compared to the first half of the XIX century. Thus, the Kudarin Buryat food system of the second half of the XIX century belonged to a “livestock and grain” class: the share of livestock products prevailed over all other food groups. While preserving traditional ethnic features it also included certain borrowings from Russian cuisine and home ware.

The paper aims at studying a phenomenon of fetishism - so-called “tös” in Khakass. In order to achieve the stated goal the author traced the etymological origins of the term ‘tös’; defined the role played by fetishes in these people’s world-view and ritual practices, clarified to what extent these religious subjects were perceived by the Russian population; identified the results of Russian and Khakass cross-cultural interaction in the religious and mythological spheres. Chronological framework encompasses the late XIX - middle XX centuries. The choice of these time limits is determined, first of all, by the state of historical sources relevant to the subject being explored. Archival historical, linguistic and ethnographic materials have been used as the main sources. The work is based on an integrated systemic-historical approach to studying the past. The research technique is underlain by the following historical and ethnographic methods: scientific description, specific-historical method and method of relics. The linguistic method of etymology was used to study the word origins. Fetishism has a special place in the Khakass culture. The sacred religious subjects were called tös. This term possesses a wide semantic field in these people’s world-view and language. Among its meanings one can find such concepts as “basis”, “essence”, “root”, “beginning”, and others. The semantic content of this word is closely connected with a cult of ancestors. The term “tös” has an ancient Turkic origin and can be found in many languages. “Töses” were used as family and patrimonial guardians in the traditional ceremonial practices of Khakass people. In Russian culture these products, sacral for aboriginals, were designated by the word ‘shaitans’ and associated with ‘evil spirits’. During the Russian and Khakass ethnic-cultural interaction the term ‘shaitan’ entered the Khakass vocabulary. Thus, the way aboriginal people used this term was very selective and peculiar.

Forest spirits ( Leshy and others) belong to the set of ancient beliefs of Russian people. Folklore and ethnographic sources, including modern materials, characterize Leshy as a master of Forest, who protects his lands making people ramble in the woods, loves jokes and can change his appearance. Images of Leshy are almost identical in Siberia and European part of Russia. According to present knowledge it is more correct to speak about transformation of Leshy’s image due to changing cultural environment and mentality. However, a recent survey (317 questionnaires) conducted among urban citizens of different age and professional groups revealed that modern citizens not only easily answered the question “Who is Leshy?”, but were able to list many of its “traditional features”. The authors note that although modern dictionaries of Linguoculture should explain semantics of such lexical unit as “ Leshy ” (as it plays a significant role in the Russian culture) such entries are lacking in them. The authors propose their lexicographical interpretation as a new method of linguo-cultural fixation of ethnographical information. The same method is used in the dictionary of linguo-cultural literacy dictionary that is being constructed. The dictionary entry reflects everyday values, most relevant to native speakers, as well as a set of ideas associated with these linguistic units. The integrated use of ethnographic, folklore and linguistic materials helps to determine the degree of variation of mythological images typical of traditional culture and to identify their role in the Russian people’s worldview. Based on the survey results and field ethnographic materials, the authors have formed the dictionary entry “ Leshy ” reflecting the modern vision of this mythological creature shared by the native Russian speakers in the context of contemporary linguoculture.

The paper analyzes various approaches to the problem of typology of ethnographical (cultural), local and religious groups of Slavic settlers in Siberia taking into account studies of historians, ethnographers and anthropologists of the XX - early XXI centuries. The author offers her own approach to identifying and providing justification for the Old-Believer and immigrant groups in Western Siberia in terms of their origin, mechanism of development, cultural specifics. The results of research on small ethnic units of Russian (Belarusian, Ukrainian) ethnographical (cultural) groups conducted by historians, anthropologists, and philosophers, were compared with the data obtained by the physical anthropologists who greatly contributed to justification of the ethnic groups typology. According to the author’s view the ethno-cultural situation in Western Siberia is best suited for studying the nature and properties of low taxonomic units, while the future research may reveal changes in surviving ethnographical groups, as well as discover new local and confessional communities of Old-Believers and settlers. The typology of ethnographic groups in Western Siberia must be of “essential” character based on their origins, patterns of formation, resettlement, taking into account the existing mythologem of community consciousness. Each specific ethnographic, confessional or local group has its historical context, as well as a cultural “core”, which it was formed around, such as traditional cultural features for ethnographic groups, religions for religious groups (Old Believers), territorial solidarity (places of origin) for local groups (settlers of European Russia). Ethnographic groups may also differ geographically depending on cultural traits variation (Suzun chaldony, Kolyvan chaldony, Altai Kerzhaks and so on). Studies have shown that the majority of ethnographical groups in Western Siberia more or less possesses elements of self-consciousness. As a rule, original external and internal names of these groups are related with their origin, historical homeland, or reflect historical events (real or imagined) in the past.

This objective of the article is to reconstruct the early period of development of ethnographic knowledge in Russia in order to demonstrate the origin of interdisciplinary approach to studying the ancient and traditional Eurasian cultures. The article’s problem field is shaped by the history of the Russian academic ethnography discourse in the late XIX - early XX centuries. Based on methodology and methods of historical scientific studies the authors analyze the scientific heritage of V.N. Haruzina, a leading figure in the Russian ethnography at the turn of the XX century. This research focuses on V.N. Haruzina’s articles on veneration of fire among various ethnic groups in Russia. The authors emphasize fundamental characteristics of V.N. Haruzina’s program, titled “For data collection about fire veneration among Russian peasants and outlanders” (1906), by analyzing its methodology and content. The research results lead to a conclusion that the structure and content of the Program provide in-depth description of different cultural elements related to fire. Methodology of such descriptions is determined by a complex approach based on ethnography, anthropology and archaeology as well as anthropogeography, which studies peoples and cultures in an inextricable relation to their environment. Such academic approach extended beyond the evolutional paradigm, which dominated the world ethnology at the turn of the XX century. In general V.N. Haruzina’s statements formed the concept close to a modern interpretation of the fire phenomenon in culture. These statements predetermined the establishment of an interdisciplinary approach, which remains of vital importance for modern research of Eurasian archaic and traditional cultures. Studying the fire phenomenon in culture is one of the most important problems of modern humanitarian sciences. The further investigations in this field should include the experience of interdisciplinary approach brilliantly implemented by V.N. Haruzina.

The article considers global and national tendencies in understanding the “cultural heritage” concept and phenomenon. It is revealed that “cultural heritage” is a multi-component and constantly evolving category. The authors define basic directions of the cultural heritage preservation such as museumification and the concept of cultural landscapes. Museumification is transformation of heritage objects into the objects of museum exhibition. The second direction is based on methodology of cultural landscape viewed as a holistic cultural and natural complex. This methodology synthesizes various categories of heritage. According to the most common interpretation, the “cultural landscape” is both a specific heritage category and landscape conservative practice of cultural and natural heritage. In practice, objects created within these directions may have similar features. These theoretical and practical approaches have been applied to analyze activities of 12 Siberian museum-preserves specializing in archaeology, architecture, ethnography, ethno-ecology as well as memorial museums. The authors conclude that, as a rule, such profilisation of museums existed only at the initial stages of their formation. They underline that the heritage in Siberia, a multi-ethnic social macro-region of Asian Russia, contains a distinct ethno-cultural component and is developed in almost all Siberian museum-preserves; prove that their essential role in the heritage development of the Siberian region is determined by positioning these regional objects as prestigious brands included in the tourism industry; by active integration of science, culture, education; by representing subsistence culture of the Siberian population; and by using an intangible heritage for social and cultural adaptation of population; allocation and museumification of specially protected historical and cultural sites.

The objective of this article is to show how post-secularist social and cultural realities differ from the previously known perception of religious service as a mechanism for cultural values and meanings preservation, and as a possible way for a society to acquire its identity. This phenomenon has intensified research interest in the new trends observed in the sphere of religion. The problem field, generated by studies in desacralization of the classical Islamic socio-cultural model in a post-secular era, embraces a huge shift in understanding and interpreting the basic components of human development, such as “society”, “modernity”, “identity”, “religion”, “sacred/profane”. These changes are typical of the worldwide reality during the transition period from modern to postmodern at an escalating globalization pace. A particular attention is paid to the problem of forming the virtual reality, which is defined as a sphere of social construction of both individual and group forms of religiosity (cyber-community), which, in turn, has a special ontological status and is used for acquisition of new forms of identity. The article’s conclusions are based on studying the evolution of social construction in the sphere of the sacred Muslim texts interpretation. It is shown that the old notion of interpretation as sanctioned by a group of experts of the Holy Tradition (ulama) has been replaced by the idea that this type of activity should be viewed as an individual intellectual task performed by each Muslim. Theoretical conceptualization of this evolution has allowed the author to support the concept of emerging “new Islam” as a “modern societal phenomenon, a product and an integral part of globalization trends, in which theological component is not a producer, but a reason and means”.