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The purpose of the article is to identify major problems connected with studying the historical experience of development of the Russian Arctic and Northern Sea Route. According to the authors, the research objectives should be set taking into account the primary goal of showing within a wide chronological framework the processes associated with the Russian state’s presence in the Arctic territories and water areas. For this purpose it is necessary to determine to what extent the Russian state policy in the Arctic along with the practice of development of Northern territories were affected by the objective and subjective factors, natural constants, changing social and political, technical and economic opportunities. Studying the continuity of the Russian state policy in the Arctic as a territory of major importance for the efficient national development can be viewed as one of the major aspects of research. The authors suggest that the study should focus on the events of the Soviet period when the Arctic strategy was provided with clear prospects for significant capital investments necessary for modernization of the socioeconomic and socio-cultural spheres of the Russian North. In the opinion of the authors, for the benefit of the Russian Arctic Zone the studies should be carried out with interdisciplinary methods and approaches aiming at fundamental analysis of problems connected with historical substantiation of the Russian state’s presence in the Arctic region from ancient times up to the present. The key challenge is to prove the fact that for centuries the Arctic region has been viewed in the Russian state policy as a strategically important territory with great resource and economic potential, while the history of development of the high latitude regions of Russia has been an integral part of tremendous process of Russian advance into Eurasia, formation of the largest state in the world.

The article is devoted to one of the key challenges facing the Russian government from the very beginning of the development of Siberia - the food supply of hard-to-reach Northern territories of the region. It is shown how the state tried to solve this problem drawing on administrative resources and mobilizing private capital. While in the first half of the XVII century the bulk of the grain was delivered to Siberia from behind the Urals, later, with the increasing number of population, Siberia experienced progressively the shortage of bread. For its elimination the local agricultural areas were established whose products were supplied to the local population including the inhabitants of the North with its non-arable marginal lands. At the same time, the authorities made numerous but unsuccessful attempts to spread agriculture in such harsh places as Kamchatka, Yakutia, Turukhansk region and Berezov uyezd. Along with the state some private traders also took part in supplying bread to the Northern areas. However, their activities sometimes provoked dissatisfaction of the local authorities. At the end of the XVIII - first quarter of the XIX century a number of resolutions introduced the principle of freedom of grain trade in the North, but the state continued to control the supply of the Northern regions. Special attention is paid to such an important though understudied institution as reserve state-owned grain stores. Their widespread network was intended under any circumstances to prevent famine among the northerners. By the example of Turukhansk region the author considers the activities of the reserve state-owned grain stores that helped the local people over lean periods due to the declining fishery yields and hunting. It has been revealed that the reserve stores did not bring income, so the local authorities tried to decrease the maintenance costs, transferring part of its responsibilities to merchants and traders from other social strata on a free-of-charge basis.

The 18^th century Russia witnessed massive exile of political opponents and members of political elites to the empire’s remote areas following their power struggle and defeat in the court intrigues. In regard to the northern areas of Siberia until the early nineteenth century such exile was selective and preventative; for the majority of the repressed persons it ended in the exiles’ deaths (A.D. Menshikov, A.G. Dolgorukiy, M.G. Golovkin, K.A. Mengden et al.). The area under study had virtually never been used as a place of exile for the Decembrists and participants of the Polish uprising in 1830-1831. Since 1860s the exile to the North became relatively massive, although it had its limitations in terms of the number of exiles who were to serve the sentence. Exile was used for the Narodniks, participants of the 1863 Polish uprising, Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, members of the radical ethnic organizations. In the Yakutsk Oblast deportation of “politicals” was punitive in character. The most radical means of the political exiles’ struggle against the political regime and custodial conditions were escapes and armed protests the last of which (Turukhansk revolt in late 1908 - early 1909) turned into a robbery and armed conflict. Exile to the Arctic zone was aimed at isolation of revolutionaries without burdening them with manual labor.

The development of northern territories of Siberia included the study of nature and local population, settlement, economic growth, integration of aboriginals into the Russian society. Russian Orthodox priests greatly contributed to the study and development of the northern territories of Siberia. The present article characterizes motives, objectives, content and significance of research activities as well as memoirs of the Orthodox priests who lived in the northern territories of Siberia or visited them in order to study or mentally develop these areas, and to incorporate aboriginals into the Russian political and cultural space. Basic historical sources include more then 50 memoirs, diaries, travel notes of the clergymen. The author also used some other ego-documents - letters and some official reports vividly conveying the author’s personality. The primary goal and content of the clergy’s activity was to preach Christ, to strengthen the faith of the baptized and to convert the unbaptized, although there were many people who along with performing their primary duty greatly contributed to the education of the peoples of the North, establishment of schools, translation work, training of priests of aboriginal descent, acquainting them both with the Christian and European cultures. Notes of the missionary journeys for the most part contain information about the geography, numbers and settlement of local population (including indigenous peoples), its material culture, way of life - morals, customs, traditions, trades, dwellings, clothes, norms of common law, religious beliefs etc. The study led to the comprehension of “the other”, its inclusion into their own world and mental acquisition. Notes of the priests contain key geographical, ethnographic, statistical, linguistic, and historical data. These data are even more important for understanding the sociocultural image of the authors - clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the significance of their research, educational and general civilizing activities in the North of Siberia. The author suggests that the undoubtful success of aboriginals’ incorporation into the Russian civilizational space was to a large extent due to the accomplishments of missionaries in the course of their scientific, cultural and religious activities.

Arctic continental shelves where the largest reserves of oil, gas and other strategic resources are concentrated determine the future of the world economy. According to the experts, the intellectual priority of any country in the world community is demonstrated by this country’s presence in the Arctic region. New patterns of the Arctic research cooperation emerged. It has been realized that it is necessary to carry our integrated research, take into account any possible outcomes and consequences of interdisciplinary projects. Such approach prevails in all countries that work in the Arctic. In this regard, of particular relevance is a retrospective analysis of the the Russian scientists’ achievements made in the course of integrated research of the problems of the Arctic. The paper considers the contribution of the academic institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to studying the complex problems of the Arctic region. The author analyzes activities of scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics who provided the basic approaches to the integrated research of Siberia and its Arctic territories. These approaches are currently developed by the Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics named after A.A.Trofimuk, Institute of Geology and Mineralogy named after V.S. Sobolev in Novosibirsk. Scientists of SB RAS following the traditions of the Russian Academy of Sciences for several decades have been determining the strategy of research and development of Siberia and its Northern territories, participating in mineral resources exploration and linking their development with social and ecological issues. In the field of Arctic studies the institutes of SB RAS have a unique research capacity which should be used for implementation of the state strategy of development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. It is noted that the article highlights only major, most significant accomplishments of Siberian scientists in Arctic studies. The problem requires further, more detailed research.

The paper deals with analysis of texts reflecting the contemporaries’ attitudes towards the correction of the books during the church reform initiated by Patriarch Nikon. It is established that the contemporaries focused their attention on the book editing, i.e. the problem of the original texts that were used to provide a rationale for any changes made by the reformers in the prayer-books and other works. In the prefaces to these editions they presented these changes as the necessary corrections of the accumulated discrepancies between the Old Greek and Slavonic books. Reformers argued that all novelties were introduced to the Rite and liturgical practice of the Church based on the “Old Greek and Slavonic books”. Their opponents, naturally, began to prove that it was precisely this postulate - following the tradition - that was violated by the reformers. The same allegations were brought forth both by the Latin party and the defenders of the Old Rite. The former did it in order to catch the Church in a deception of the flock, without focusing on the betrayal of tradition, while the opponents of the reform, just like the reformers themselves, believed that following the tradition was a prerequisite for the existence and development of the Russian church. Therefore, both the supporters and opponents of the reform argued thay their defended the tradition of the Russian church. Analysis of the works written by the first generation of defenders of the Old Rite led to conclusion that they charted the course for the next generations defending their right to remain in opposition to the novelties. This implied comparison of the new liturgical texts with the new ones, and, above all, gaining a better knowledge of the authoritative manuscripts and old-printed books where the tradition of the Russian Church was fixated. As a result, the highest level of book culture, inherited from the Old Russia and developed during the Modern Age has become a characteristic feature of the defenders of the Old Rite.

In the works of ecclesiastical writers of the second half of the XVII century (Patriarchs Joachim and Adrian, Athanasius of Kholmogory, Euthymius of Chudov Monastery, Ignatius Rimsky-Korsakov and others), the edifying theme occupied an important place. Religious and didactic issue is present in most texts of this group of authors. The article discusses these texts which include the teachings, encyclical letters of Patriarch Adrian and Archbishop Athanasius of Kholmogory, the spiritual testaments of Patriarch Joachim and Bishop Mitrofan of Voronezh and other works. In terms of their content and subject matter, the texts under study are closely related to tradition: they are focused on the edifying literature of Ancient Rus’ (texts of a protreptic nature from Holy Scripture, words and teachings of the Fathers of Church and Russian writers). Moral and ethical themes of Christian didactic literature were reflected in each work. Following its traditions, the authors condemn human vices and give protreptic recommendations on standards of life and behavior of a pious Christian. One of the important themes that were reflected in the studied works is the theme of “reverence for books”. As the analysis shows, similes and metaphors used by the authors and related to the theme of worship of books and reading, go back to the texts, which were known in ancient Russian book-lore from the first centuries of its existence. In addition to considering traditional themes of the edifying literature, each author of the analyzed texts expressed his attitude towards topical issues of the second half of the XVII century. Creative efforts of writers were focused on addressing such issues as spiritual enlightenment; recovery of the Church authority weakened as a result of church reform and strengthening of secularization process; struggle against the schism; counteraction to the influence of western religions. Studying the works of writers of the patriarch circle of the second half of the XVII century in the context of church and edifying tradition leads to the conclusion that these authors maintained a strong continuity with tradition. Moreover, in their didactic texts they touched upon topical issues of the day.

Academic publication of the Siberian chronicles, based on codicological and textological analysis of manuscripts, offers extensive material for further research. The revealed redactions and types of texts show that the Chronicle of Savva Yesipov had been actively used in the book culture of the XVII century. The Tale of Yermak’s seizure of Siberia became a metatext for the Siberian chronicles. While studying the chronicles it is important to determine the degree of the text’s variation and basic trends in the development of historical prose from the viewpoint of an editor as a reader and as an author. Analysis of the manuscript tradition that was created mostly by the scribes of the XVII-XVIII centuries shows the significance of the text’s functions and its elements such as titles, word order, introductions, conclusions etc. In the Siberian chronicles the unlimitedness of events typical of the All-Russian chronicles was replaced with delineated boundaries and limits of the course of historical action which is expressed in titles, forewords and special endings of the narrative. The paper presents some key results of analysis of these elements based on the study of types, redactions and versions of the Yesipov Chronicle. The objective of textological analysis is to determine the evolution of the authorial intention in the history of the text of this monument that was used in dozens of copies in the XVII-XVIII centuries. The titles are the most inconsistent elements in the Old Ancient writings. It is stated that within the Siberian chronicles the titles performed representational function from the reader’s point of view and nominative function - from the writer’s (editor’s) point of view. A variety of titles determined the goals of chronicals’ narrative in its historical and cultural development. Introductions appeared in the later redactions of the Siberian chronicles. They were designed for establishing contact with the reader and explaining the conception of the historical narrative. The ending, marked by the chronicle’s editor, focuses the reader’s attention on the chronicle’s compiler. The chronicle has an open structure due to the absence of such endings in some of its versions.

The aim of this article is to introduce into scientific circulation one of the unknown polemic writings dated from the turn of the 1890s. The work is written as an epistle, a style common among the Old Believers, and belongs to the Tomsk peasant writer G.A. Strakhov. Today, the only known copy of “ Appeal” is stored in the Scientific Library of the Tomsk State University. The author of the article used methods of historicism, hermeneutics and causal analysis. It seems logical that the polemic writings constitute a significant portion not only of the general Old Believers’ literary legacy, but of the Belokrinitskie Old Believers (“Austrians”) as well, because ideologists of the new community had to uphold their position from the first steps towards institutionalization taken in 1846-1847. In the case at hand, the aggravation of polemics between the Old Believers Chasovennyye and “Austrians” was caused by several factors connected particularly with the common past of Beglopopovtsy agreements whose routes of migrations had often overlapped within the Ural and Siberian Region. Inner contradictions took place both in the Chasovennyye and Belokrinitskie communities. In “The Appeal to the Old Believers Chasovennyye” these contradictions can be traced in regard to such issues as the rites of reception, adoption of common position towards the official Orthodox (“Nikonianskaya”) church and to always such a politically acute issue as the time of Antichrist’s advent. At the same time, re-establishment of its own Belokrinitskiy episcopate and the refusal to accept Orthodox clerics converting to Old Believers faith, according to a previous decision of the Tyumen convocation in 1840, resulted in the final organizational and ideological divergence between the two Old Believer communities. Analysis of sources used by G.A. Strakhov in his “Appeal” shows that the Belokrinitskiy apologist quite extensively used not only the literature that was authoritative for all Old Believers, but the synodal and civil publications as well. At the same time, ideological conceptions of the opponents, in G.A.Strakhov’s opinion, are directly affected by the radical Old Believers groups.

The aim of the article is to draw attention to the nascent period of the early writings of the Yakuts, which played an important role in the history of the Yakuts and characterizes ethnic and confessional policy of Russia. In order to achieve the set goal the author describes the revealed texts and actors in the process. Although historians have admitted the existence of the written tradition before the Revolution of 1917, they questioned the extent of its spread. On the basis of the revealed texts the article attempts to show the historic features of origin and the nature of existence of the written tradition at the end of the XVIII - first half of the XIX century. Furthermore, it pays attention to the authors of these texts, some of them have been mentioned for the first time. The beginning of the period under study was marked by the spread of literacy among the Yakut population. This was possible thanks to the initiative of the state to create the Yakut writing, which was an important element of Russia’s policy. The author adheres to the concept of multiculturalism in relation to the national policy of the Russian Empire, that went through three stages of development. This policy was clearly manifested in the creation of writing for various peoples that were annexed into Russia at different times, including those ethnic groups that previously had not had written languages. Among the methods used in the article the leading position is taken by the retrospective, historical and comparative methods. Among the key research findings one should mention the setting of a problem of the early Yakut writing’s origin. Aside from the famous monuments of this writing the author identifies a number of new texts demonstrating the variety of genres - from literary to epistolary; identifies and characterizes the first actors of the process of formation of the early Yakut writing. These actors included representatives of the yakutized Russians and educated Yakuts.

The article deals with the activity of a famous researcher of Siberia Grigory Ivanovich Spassky, which is connected with collecting of materials for the magazines «Sibirsky Vestnik» («Siberian Herald») and «Asiatsky Vestnik» («Asian Herald»), published by him. This was the first periodical on this topic in the Russian Empire. This publication is distinguished by the wealth of published materials (more than 430 printed sheets), the major part of which has never been published before. The source of «Sibirsky Vestnik»’s materials wasn’t analyzed in the complex by the previous researchers, but such research would help to reveal the mechanism of «Sibirsky (Asiatsky) Vestnik»’s transformation. «Sibirsky (Asiatsky) Vestnik» made the evolution from the leasure time magazine to a scientific publication, which became the instrument of scientific knowledge not only in Siberia and Eastern Asia, but in the East in general. Among the people who supplied Grigory I. Spassky with «Siberian» and «Eastern» materials, the names of Siberian governor general Mikhail M. Speransky, Tomsk governors Vasily S. Khvostov and Peter K. Frolov, Orientalists Egor F. Timkovsky, Stepan V. Lipovtsov, Mikhail D. Sipakov and others were revealed. The analysis of archive materials from Spassky Fond (№ 805), which are stored in the State Archive of Krasnoyarsk region, in comparison with the materials from “Sibirsky Vestnik” and “Asiatsky Vestnik” demonstrates these people’s contribution into the spread of knowledge about Siberia. The article also presents reference data concerning the publications in “Sibirsky (Asiatsky) Vestnik”. It also emphasizes the role of Grigory I. Spassky not only as the collector of “Siberian antiquities”, but more as the organizer of the publication, which played the role of the attraction centre for original, trustworthy and live information about the Asian part of the Russian Empire.

The article examines the features of hagiography development in Siberia in the XIX - early XX centuries. For the first time it raises the problem whether there was a single Siberian hagiographic tradition, or it was composed of separate territorial loci. According to modern concepts, the place where a Saint performed his ascetic labors provided the basis for the development of regional hagiographic traditions. The analysis of “Siberian Paterik” project by Omsk hagiographers (1916) allowed to hypothesize on forming regional hagiographic traditions in Siberia - territorial loci. Unlike the XVII century, when there was the only Tobolsk metropolis in Siberia, so the individual loci were not the subject to dispute, the XIX century witnessed a different situation: there were grounds to talk of the Tobolsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk, and other hagiographies. Their further development was provided by the penetration and spread of printing technology in Siberia as is evident from the “Joint Catalogue of the Siberian and Far Eastern book. 1780-1917” (Vol. 1-3. Novosibirsk, 2004-2005). Formation of the regional loci is indicated by the growing activities on collecting the information about the saints and piety ascetics in individual dioceses. The “Nests of Holiness” were formed; along with writing the texts of individual biographies and hagiography, the hagiographic collections and “Lives of the Fathers” associated with several territories, monasteries, and Orthodox missions were prepared. The project of “Siberian Paterik” can be viewed as a possible result of this process. The author raises an issue of the need to study the creative legacy of Siberian historians, such as A. I. Sulotsky, N. A. Abramov, A. I. Yurievsky and others, in the context of regional hagiographic tradition development.

The article is devoted to the problems of publishing activities of the Chita Subbranch of the Amur River Branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (CS PBIRGS) during the pre-revolutionary period. For the first time in historiography the article considers the formation and development of book publishing of the CS PBIRGS based on the archival records and clerical documents, taking into account the data contained in scientific works, reflecting past scientific views. The author also analyzed sources that are bibliographic in nature - the book production of the CS PBIRGS. The fundamental principles of historicism and scientific reliability, logical and statistical methods allowed to recreate an overall picture of book publishing of the CS PBIRGS. The article is quite detailed in outlining the process of publishing the periodicals of CS PBIRGS. A comprehensive approach to studying the book publishing of the CS PBIRGS made it possible to analyze the distribution of printed editions of the Subbranch. It is noted that the editions of the CS PBIRGS were distributed not only on a free-of-charge basis (by means of book-exchange with other scientific organizations), but also trough sale in book-selling establishments. On the basis of the conducted research, the valid conclusion is drawn that the CS PBIRGS paid special attention to its publishing activity, promoting distribution of results of its scientific research among the general public both in Russia, and abroad. The state of CS PBIRGS publishing practice was determined by trends of development of the regional science and culture, the level of local printing base. The output of book production depended on financial opportunities of the Subbranch, qualification of local scientific experts. It is obvious that the publishing activity of the CS PBIRGS represents an important stage of the book culture of the Transbaikalia.

The paper considers the origin and evolution of literary-art journals in Siberia and the Far East. It also attempts to identify common features of the journals’ development specific to these regions. Much attention in this work is paid to the origin of the journals since much of them were established under similar spontaneous conditions. The mode of their further development also followed a similar pattern. Periods of repressions were followed by “thaws”. Pressure on the journals in one region entailed the revision of editorial policies in the neighboring regions. Many authors and critics, and with them the journals, at one time or another, fell from grace. Often these were writers who brought fame to the national literature. Finally, by the end of the Soviet period the journals had reached their peak when they published a number of works of the “returned literature”, i.e. works that had been previously censored or forbidden. But in the 1990s much of the formerly unavailable materials were published, so the journals lost their popularity and were on the verge of being closed. However, forces accumulated by the literary journals during the Soviet age helped them to survive later. Special emphasis is placed on changing circulation and periodicity of journals, as well as changing status of periodicals from the literary miscellanies to the literary journals. Chronicle of events that took place at the same time in different places allows to make generalizations not only about the history of Siberian and Far Eastern literature but also, with certain assumptions, about the history of these regions. In conclusion the author pays attention to the literary interests of Siberians which can be identified by analysis of publishing and socio-political activities of the journals. They portray a specific image of Siberians, that is a unique combination of the strive for independence and commitment to social order. This paradoxical combination is explained by their love for homeland every inch of which was reclaimed from nature with great difficulty.

The article considers mechanism of accumulation of novelties in interpretation of signs of the Day of Judgment made by the Old-Believers fr om the lower reaches of the Yenisey River; it also attempts at determining when a high threshold of such novelties was reached letting individual polemicists or authoritative communities make a decision about their canonicity or heterodoxy. The article presents results fr om an analysis of original writings of Fr. Symeon, hegumen of a skete, who died in 1954 in one of the concentration camps and was regarded as a saint by the Chasovennye (Chapeliers) Old-Believers; works of an outstanding popular writer A.G. Murachev, scribe K. Pleshakov and monk Fr. Timothy. It is proven that the starting points of all theological interpretations were the innovative works of Fr. Symeon who considered proletarians as servants of Antichrist surrendering to his will under the slogan “Proletarians of all countries, unite”. Establishment of the block of socialist countries in Europe in the wake of the World War II convinced his disciples in the truth of his words. Self-identification of the Chasovennye theologists as “true Christians” further included referring to loyalty to the teaching of Fr. Symeon. However, the skete ideologists believed that A.G. Murachev’s new scenario of Judgment Day moved so much away from the original concept that it came close to the line wh ere “ours” turns into “alien”. This was probably due to the fact that eschatological ideas were dominant in the system of Old-Believers’ teaching (as a rule, occasional deviations from the eschatological system that was acclaimed as canonical did not result in accusations of heresy). On the other hand, the fact that in the 1990s sketes identified bar-codes as marks of Antichrist made A.G. Murachev think that the inhabitants of the sketes fell into heresy. However, the line wh ere “ours” irrevocably turns into “alien” has never been crossed by both polemizing parties, apparently, because of their high authority along with fears of a major schism in the church.

This article is focused on the reception of the utopian legends, particularly the legend of Kitezh, in the Ural-Siberian Paterik (historical and hagiographical work of Old Believers, created in the 1940-1990s in some taiga sketes of the Urals and Siberia). The legends about the vanished holy places are based on the stories of eye-witnesses capturing historical realities. In particular, these narratives reflect the theme of repressions of the authorities against the Old Belief. Several story lines in the Ural-Siberian Paterik allow to trace the links between the Early Byzantine, Old Russian and Early Old Belief traditions of utopias. These legends are interpreted by local scribes from the perspective of medieval literature. The stories from the Old Russian manuscripts are the nearest context for the legends in the Ural-Siberian Paterik. It is shown that the legend of Kitezh, its archic prototypes, as well as its secondary Old Belief versions preserving the “trace” of this legend represent the successive elements of the same lineage. This most recent monument of the traditional book culture reflects all basic motives of the Kitezh legend. Story lines from the Ural-Siberian Paterik are typologically close to the legend of Kitezh and represent a particular case of the Old Believers Utopia. The author considers this Utopia as a manifestation of mythopoetic thought; shows that the Old Believers Utopia represents the popular perception of the Christian Ideal. This perception is inseparably linked with eschatological beliefs (particularly with the doctrine of salvation in «the end times») and with a complex of traditional mythologemes and archetypal concepts which are inherent to the national popular and religious culture. It is also necessary to take into account the links between the Old Belief and the main directions of Russian history, with utopian ideas being in the core of the public mind in Russia. The author identifies thе function of social utopian legends in the contemporary Old Believer’s spiritual culture. It relates to the idea that holy places hidden by the God from the outside world and exposed only to the righteous men ensure the genuineness of the confession. The author shows that Utopia based on a mythopoetic consciousness serves as a breeding ground providing unity and continuity of the traditional culture of Old Belief. The unique monument of the popular book culture recently discovered by the Siberian archaeographers has been analyzed as a main source of information. Some works of Old Believers have been analyzed for the first time.

The article is devoted to understanding the institutional changes in the children’s segment of the Russian book publishing, basic trends of its development in the 1990s - the first decade of the XXI century. The use of formal logic and comparative-historical methods helped identify cause-and-effect chains in the study of the specificity of the development of children’s book publishing in Siberia and the Far East in connection with the logic and trends of development of Russia’s publishing business at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. The transformation of the domestic publishing system changed the traditional leaders of children’s book publishing, both in the center of the country and on the periphery; the emergence of many small and medium-sized private and hybrid publishing companies, dependent on market conditions. Over the past two decades in the children’s segment of the country’s book space the specialized book business giants were firmly established. They took up the challenge of supplying children’s books to the regions of Russia. The tradition of monocentrism in the Russian book publishing was only strengthened and hypertrophied during the post-Soviet period. Functions of the specialized children’s publishers in Siberia and the Far East were assumed by the editorial staffs of the children’s journals which published the unique series and single issues of children’s literature. Specific features of the publication of children’s literature at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries included the small number of published children’s books of the regional authors, small editions of adolescent literature, lack of support for the young authors who write for children and youth, lack of committed support for the regional publishers of the children’s literature. All of this identifies challenges impeding the full development of children’s book publishing, which directly affects the development of a regional book space and the availability of children’s literature to the public.

The article characterizes Tulinskoye volost court’s records deposited in the archives. The article provides a detailed description of each variety of this type of sources; outlines the range of causes for legal action as well as the reasons for which the peasants preferred to decide issues that were previously subject to jurisdiction of the village assembly. It is noted that such records do not allow for characterization of all spheres of the peasant community’s life. It is virtually impossible to evaluate the degree of the involvement of various categories of the rural population based on the materials of rural courts. Also, it is difficult to trace, whether the proximity to the city affected the legal views of the peasants. However, the author notes that different aspects of the peasant consciousness were reflected in the materials of Tulinskoye rural court. It is concluded that there was a crisis of confidence among the peasants themselves. Information about the time for execution of the rural courts’ decisions also characterizes the consciousness of the peasants. It varied depending on the time of year. The peasant’s life was closely associated with agricultural activities, in the midst of which all the rest was postponed for later. The delay in execution of court decisions was often due to these factors. Based on the inventories of property and further reports on the bid results the author identifies causes of failure to comply with the court decisions. The information derived from various kinds of receipts makes it possible to estimate the literacy rates in different villages. Appeals to higher authorities are an indicative of the rural courts’ efficiency and the peasants’ satisfaction with verdicts issued by the courts. It is noted that records of the Tulinskoye rural court are one of the important sources on the history of the Siberian peasantry. It is clear that they provide information not only about the organization and functioning of the rural courts, but also about the peasant consciousness.

The article presents the results of research on the ethnic composition of population of Western Siberia. The article aims at showing peculiarities of its transformation under conditions when qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the population of ethnoses had not been influenced by the extreme factors (deportations, starvation, wars, etc.). An important task of historical demography is to study ethnic characteristics of population, including at the macro regional level. The successful handling of this task will greatly determine the assessment of the country’s reproductive and migration potential as well as demographic processes in the near and distant future. Methodology of the work is based on the theory of demographic modernization by A.G.Vishnevsky. The author used a set of statistical mathematical methods along with specific methods of historical research, such as historical genetic and historical comparative. It is revealed that in 1959-1989 ethnoses living primarily in the European Russia were not the only ones affected by demographic modernization. Transformation of traditional life style, industrialization, and urbanization stimulated similar developments among ethnic groups in the Asian part of the RSFSR, Caucasus, and Central Asia. These and other ethnic groups started to play a more significant role in the development of economic potential of Western Siberia due to the increase in migration mobility. At the same time the contribution of other ethnoses, e.g. Baltic peoples, to the demographic development of the economic area under study had been gradually decreasing. The author points to the intensification of assimilative processes that became increasingly visible not only among the Ukrainians and Byelorussians but also among other nationalities. Thus, while the early stage of transition from agrarian to industrial society is marked by a high share of ethnic groups who entered the early phases of demographic transition, the share of other ethnical groups also increases with the modernization of demographic subsystem.

The project «Modern tendencies in actualization of the historical experience of identity formation in the Siberian region» is an innovative trend of social and humanitarian studies. One of the important directions in the study of identity issues is the formation of identities of local scientific communities. Analysis of the formation and transmission of identity as exemplified by the Novosibirsk scientific center contributes to the solution of this problem. The Novosibirsk scientific center is viewed in the context of activities of SB RAS as a phenomenon of the XX century. This is due to the innovative principles of its organization which include the priority development of fundamental research, introduction of research results into practice, the integrated training of scientific personnel, a network of scientific institutions in the Urals. The formation of regional-local identity in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok was a result of creation of the appropriate socio-cultural infrastructure. Important components of academic identity was the freedom of debate, democracy in communication, the pride of the intelligentsia at the uniqueness of the Siberian scientific town. This is reflected in the series «Science in Siberia in faces». It includes dozens of books about famous scientists that determined the scientific image of Siberia. The Museum of SB RAS exhibited such projects as «The History of the Siberian Science in Persons»; «Five decades in the history of SB RAS», «Novosibirsk scientific center: live, work, rest». Approbation of new ways of museum communication in the «Museum of science and technology» has shown their effectiveness in the development of scientific heritage. Collecting and museum activities of the Akademgorodok residents have become one of the forms of manifestation of the regional-local identity. Digital photo archives and personal archives of the scientists provide a promising area of identity research. The analysis of experience of formation and transmission of identity in NSC allows to interpret it as a regional-local phenomenon. It is characterized by the integration into the regional socio-economic space and the global scientific community, a high level of culture of life, intelligence and tolerance of scientists of Akademgorodok.

The presented paper is devoted to the technology of making traditional Buryat bows and the archery competitions of Buryats. The author used the comparative-historical method to study in detail the bow manufacturing techniques in the past and today, to track changes in the use of different production techniques and materials. Thus, the author describes natural materials and requirements imposed by the Buryat masters which define technical characteristics of future bows and arrows. Process of preparation of materials for future bows, production of tendinous and fish glue is considered, the manufacturing techniques of traditional Buryat bows in old times thereby are in detail described. The article investigates the record of innovations in production of the Buryat bows, use of plastic slips, synthetic glue, i.e. those materials that appeared nowadays. Therefore, it delineates changes in manufacturing techniques of modern Buryat bows. In addition, the author compares characteristics of bows and methods of stretching bows made of natural and synthetic materials. The paper describes three types of competitions on archery which were carried out in the past. Today during summer holidays only one type of competition - leather target archery is carried out. This kind of competition is the most spectacular one and, most likely, this is the reason why it remained up to now. The author describes in detail the rules of competition and composition of participants. An interesting aspect of this research also lies in the fact that it has a practical character: the descriptions given in it can quite be put into practice. The article is written on the materials of the author’s field research conducted in 2014 among the Buryats living in the Aginsk Buryat District of Zabaykalsky Krai. Along with these data the archival materials concerning archery and rules of competitions were used.

On the basis of archival documents and periodicals of that time the artile analyzes the process of implementation of the Soviet food policy during 1920-1921 in Northern Kazakhstan which was administratively subordinate to the Siberian revolutionary committee. The author describes activities of food bodies designated to implement the prodrazvyorstka as the main method of the procurement of agricultural products. Under the policy of prodrazvyorstka bread, meat, oil, milk, eggs, vegetables, tobacco were requisitioned fr om the Russian-Ukrainian migrant peasant settlers engaged in agriculture. The Kazakh population with their nomadic cattle breeding filled quotas on meat, the local population was obliged to supply live cattle (cattle, sheep). Besides, they had to fill quotas on animal skins, horsehair, horns and hoofs. The prodrazvyorstka was an impossible task for the local population. Moreover, food bodies were supposed to exchange bread and other food products for manufactured products. However due to the industrial and transportation breakdown the Bolsheviks were unable to exchange commodities properly. In their turn peasants tried to resist the grain requisitioning, concealed bread, refused to accept the money which had no payment capability. The Kazakh population showed resistance by moving to the south wh ere the Soviet power had not been fully established. The prodotryads were the main force in implementing the food policy. Their main methods of work were the violent food seizure and suppression of resistance of people. The author reveals the data on the number of prodotryads sent to various uyezds; characterizes methods of prodotryad members aimed at violent withdrawal of the population’s “surplus” bread, meat and other foods; their moral character and misconduct. The high level of requisition quotas along with methods used by prodotryads provoked the peasantry and Kazakh population to the active resistance which turned into bloody revolt at the beginning of 1921. Besides, the prodrazvyorstka became one of the main causes of famine in 1921-1923.

The article deals with the inflow of migrants to the Kizbass industiral areas in 1921-1923 for the replenishments of labour resources. The study of this aspect of labor migration also implies addressing the issue of voluntary recruitment of workers in the provinces of the European part of the RSFSR, Siberia, the Far Eastern Republic and their organized displacement to Kuzbass for employment purposes. The author used a problem-based and chronological methods which allowed tracing the replenishment process of the workforce in Kuzbass in the early years of national economy reconstruction in Siberia under the conditions of NEP (New Economic Policy). On the basis of archival sources the author examined the progress and results of recruitment campaigns which bolstered the workforce of the Kuzbass coal industry; identified the areas of recruitment of manpower for the Kuzbass industry, the number of migrants and their distribution among the coal areas of the Basin. In 1921, 4396 people migrated from starving districts of the Tatar Republic into the Kuznetsk Basin as part of internal labor migration. The total rate of migrant workers from Kazan was about 31 %, which was due to the fact that during the recruitment of migrants the proportion was set - 1 worker to 3 mouths (to feed) including a worker himself. Recruitment campaigns of 1922 and early 1923 were conducted upon terms of economic accountability and showed a decrease in the number of migrant workers. As a result of recruitment campaigns, more than 5,000 people came to Kuzbass from outside of Siberia. At the end of the recruiting period, migrant workers returned to their places of permanent residence. The author emphasizes that the recruitment of workers allowed temporary filling the vacancies of workers in coal mines, but did not help to transform migrants in Kuzbass into core miners.