Ethnology 

Fedorov R.Yu.

Adaptation of the traditional culture of subsistence of the Ukrainian peasant-migrants in the south of Western Siberia (late 19th — early 21st century)

Presented In the paper, are the results of a field study of the adaptation of the traditional culture of subsistence of the Ukrainian peasant-migrants of the late 19th century, who lived in Odessa District of Omsk Oblast. It has been established that due to the lack of constructional timber descendants of the migrants continued building adobe houses up until the 1990s. Despite a number of innovations and borrowings, many of the original elements of the traditional dietary culture of the migrants retained. This phenomenon was caused by that, for a long time, personal allotments continued to play an important role in the subsistence of the migrants, as well as by that the food preferences usually constitute one of the sturdiest elements of family traditions. As compared to dwellings and food, clothing turned out to be the least invariant element of the traditional life-sustaining culture of the Ukrainian migrants. This was caused by the difficulty of growing flax and relative availability of purchasable fabrics. It has been concluded that the peculiarities of the local natural resources in most cases turned out to be the determining factor of preservation or transformation of certain elements of the traditional culture of subsistence of the migrants. At the same time, this model carried on until the moment when, alongside these resources for the sustenance of the local community, substitute materials and products, obtained in the result of the industrial production, were becoming available.

Key words: Ukrainian migrants, Odessa district of the Omsk region, natural resources, adaptation processes, dwelling, food, clothing.

Erokhina O.V, Shaidurov V.N.

Russia Germans in the Turkestan Governorate-General: resettlement and economic activity (the last third of the 19th — beginning of the 20th century)

The paper is concerned with the history of the resettlement of Germans to the Turkestan Governorate-General in the last third of the 19th — beginning of the 20th c. This territory was actively developing after the accession to the Russian Empire. This process was joined also by German settlers from the Ekaterinoslav, Taurida, Samara, and Saratov governorates. Some of them sought to acquire land, as they suffered from the land scarcity or even its total lack in the ‘mother colonies’. Others wanted to obtain easement in the military service for religious reasons. The aim of the research is the analysis of the economic activity of the Germans and their adaptation to the new natural-climatic and agricultural conditions. The paper is based on various sources: publications of the 19th — early 20th century, reports of the officials, and archival materials. Methodologically, the authors draw upon the theory of modernisation and consider the resettlement process through the prism of the Central Asian model of frontier modernisation at the turn of the 19th — 20th century. This enabled us to reconsider the topic, which is partially covered in Russian and foreign historiography. It has been found that there were two waves of resettlement to the Central Asian region. The first one is related to the acquisition by the German colonists of the status of resettlers-proprietors in 1871 and to the military reform conducted in 1874. The second reason is related to the famine that affected the European part of the country. The Germans could get land plots in this region in several ways: from the authorities, or by buying or taking them on lease from the local population. The Germans managed the land reserves at their own discretion, distributing them for domestic purposes amongst the members of the settlements or keeping them for the community. First years were difficult for the Germans because of the lack of funding and knowledge of farming conditions. However, following the financial assistance from the authorities and familiarisation with the area, they managed to decide on the management model. Cereal crops and potatoes were grown on the land suitable for agriculture. In other areas, they started breeding improved livestock of cows and horses. Agricultural products and animals were in high demand at the local markets. Moreover, the local population adopted many agricultural improvements from the Germans. The economic and natural-geographical surveys of this region conducted by the authorities demonstrated that the German settlers by the beginning of the 20th century managed to set up prosperous farming units. Their products won numerous awards at agricultural exhibitions.

Keywords: mennonites, Central Asian region, resettlement, adaptation, agriculture, modernization.

Antonova N.A., Dubova N.A., Navruzbekov M.N., Nickiforov M.G.

Modern Pamir house and calendar and astronomical views of the Pamiris

This paper presents the evolution of the Pamir house over the past 100 years since the explorations of the Russian ethnographer Mikhail S. Andreev took place. Despite the availability of the studies of the 1920s–1950s on the Tajik traditional dwelling (Pisarchik, 1958a; Voronina, 1951, 1975; review studies: Mamadnazarov, 1978; Muradov, 2021), the classical Andreev’s work (1958), conducted in the valley of the Khuf River (Pamir), remains topical. The Gorno-Badakhshan variant of the house construction (Pamir and Pamir region), distinguished on the basis of its ingenuity, stands apart amongst the other four geographical types. The paper concerns the comparison of the main elements of the contemporary dwelling of the population of the Western Pamir with the traditional ones. A special attention is given to the calendar and astronomical matters that relate the design of the Pamiri house to timekeeping. Our research is based upon the results of the study of 26 residential houses in the village of Midensharv (located 20 km southeast of Khorog in Roshtkala District of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Okrug) and several buildings in the villages of Parzudzh, Barodzh, and Tusen. Most of the houses were built in the 1960s–1980s. Modern Pamiris know the places in the house where the sunbeam falls on one or another special day, but in modern buildings there are no marks for the days of Nowruz, and summer and winter chillas, which were reported by Andreev. The methods of mathematical modeling show that in some cases the informants are accurate with the dates, but sometimes they confuse the holidays. Over the last hundred years, the Pamir house has undergone certain changes associated with the natural development. The changes of the traditional society, the beginning of which was noted by M. Andreev, have led to the widespread use of the Gregorian calendar, whilst the functions of individual timekeeping have lost their value. Nowadays, amongst local residents few people would remember the timekeeping by the human body ‘mard’, whilst the modern Pamir house has not preserved the marks of certain days of the year that were present earlier. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the Pamir inhabitants have retained quite a lot of knowledge and traditions. Although there are already no signs in the modern Pamir house, people continue to navigate in time using sunlight marks, which give an accuracy of about 20 minutes, which is enough for a rural lifestyle. All new houses are built according to the Pamir canon, and not by the projects of modern designers.

Keywords: Pamir house, ethnoastronomy, timekeeping, calendars, Shugnan, Tajikistan.

Istomin K.V.

When the connectivity is lost: infrastructural uncertainty and reaction to it amongst the tundra nomads of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

The present paper contributes to the study of ‘infrastructural failures’ as one of the rapidly developing in recent times areas of the anthropology of infrastructure. In the focus of the research is a ‘failure’ of the satellite telephone communications in Russian Arctic, which occurred as a result of the decision of one of the providers, Globalstar inc., to withdraw from the Russian market in March 2022. This provider was particularly popular amongst the groups of the native population of Russian Arctic due to low prices for the service and equipment. In the paper, the ethnographic data collected during a fieldwork amongst reindeer herding nomads of Nadym District of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, are used, on the basis of which the study is carried out on how the tundra nomads were adapting to the failure and overcoming its consequences. The paper starts with a short historical review of the development of long-range communications in tundra and the social norms, strategies, and behavioural patterns formed at different times amongst the reindeer herders in respect to these communications. This review, the materials for which comprised published literature and fieldwork records of the author collected in the late 1990s — early 2000s, demonstrates that up until the arrival of mobile and satellite telephones in tundra during the second decade of the 21st century, radiocommunications of the reindeer herders were, firstly, public and, secondly, relied in messaging on the social networks and mutual obligations of the nomadic groups with regard to transferring information. The review is followed by the description and analysis of the field data collected by the author during the fieldwork in August 2022. It is shown that the loss of the satellite connectivity in the spring of that year disturbed the reindeer herders very much and even caused a change in the movement routes of some of their groups. However, the herders soon managed to adapt to the new conditions. For that, the mobile phones, which were working on a part of the migration territory of the herders, were employed, as well as, importantly, there were restored the social networks and obligations with respect to the information transfer that allowed reliable and relatively fast communications with the locations where the mobile connectivity was lacking. As the result, the communications once again became public, but the serious problems, which might have been caused by the interruption of the satellite connectivity, were able to be avoided. Meanwhile, the acute feeling of uncertainty that the herders were experiencing after the failure of the satellite connectivity, shows that the role of the long-range radiocommunications in their lives has increased significantly over the last two decades. The results of the study are also discussed in the context of the recent hypothesis on the “societies of the failure normality”.

Keywords: satellite phones, infrastructural failure, uncertainty, reindeer herding, Nenets.

Klyuchareva V.V., Korusenko S.N.

Modernisation of the historical memory and national identity in the Republic of Kazakhstan: a means of the formation and translation

In this paper, the problems of the construction of civic identity in the Republic of Kazakhstan are addressed. As the area for the research, Akmola Oblast was chosen. The purpose of the study is to identify the key means of the formation and translation of the historical memory and to determine the role of their influence on the change of the national identity of the population of Northern Kazakhstan in the 1990s–2020s. The sources for the research include state strategies and programs, statutory legal documents, and materials of ethnographic expeditions. The methodological basis of the study was formed by the theoretical developments of P. Nora, estimates of the theory of ethnicity and identity by V.A. Tishkov, and the research insights of L.P. Repina. The authors identify the main means of the formation of historical knowledge: state strategies and programs; names of the localities and streets; textbooks on the history of Kazakhstan; national and state holidays; and monuments to national heroes/events. The result of the study is the periodisation of the modernization of the historical knowledge in Kazakhstan. In the first period (1991–2001), the creation of a historical narrative was taking place. Renaming the administrative units was the most efficient means of the formation of the historical knowledge. During this period, new holidays symbolising the sovereignty of Kazakhstan emerged. In the second period (2001–2012), there was observed the consolidation of the foundations of the national policy of independent Kazakhstan. The state holidays are approved at the legislative level; the textbooks on the history of Kazakhstan are continuously developed, the state programs are aimed at studying the historical and cultural heritage. New memorial complexes appear in the republic, the process of the street renaming continues. The third period (2012 — present time) is associated with the dramatic modernisation of the historical consciousness of the Kazakhstanis. The state programs “Strategy-2050” and “Rukhani Zhangyru” form the basis for the modernisation. The renaming of the streets and localities continues, which is aimed at “reviving the indigenous Kazakh names”. History textbooks hold a prominent place in the modernisation of the historical memory of the younger generation. With the help of the public holidays, the foundations for national identity and patriotism are being laid.

Keywords: historical memory, places of memory, national politics, Northern Kazakhstan, Akmola region, post-Soviet period.

Rashevsky V.V.

Leisure practices of geological explorers of Western Siberia based on the narratives of pioneers (1950s–1960s)

In this paper, the main leisure activities of the geologists, identified by the author on the basis of collected interviews with those involved at the initial stage of geological explorations in Tyumen Oblast during the 1950s–1960s, are presented. The organisation of the leisure activities, as well as the complex development of the social and domestic sphere amongst the geological prospectors, in one of the perspective regions in terms of the availability of hydrocarbons, was not amongst the priorities of the state at the dawn of the oil exploration and was a prerogative of the geological community. The trade unions of geologists, who were overseeing social matters, including leisure activities, due to low funding and a lack of adequate personnel and material-and-technical potential did not always successfully cope with the tasks set. The leveling of the shortcomings in this development was imposed on the initiative of the oil prospectors themselves, who were interested in improving conditions of their stay at the work sites. It is noted that the initiatives of the geologists expanded the possibilities of organized forms of leisure activities both at stationary places of residence and ’in the field’. The variability of leisure activities at the locations of geological parties, including residential places, was significantly higher than in the places of work ― ‘in the field’. However, even in conditions of remoteness from the centres of ‘culture’, oil prospectors carried out improvement of the quality and diversity of their leisure time on their own. The demand for and variability of the leisure practices were taking place in line with the ‘concept of culture’, depended on the degree of qualification and level of education of the specialists, personal development and attitude of the employees, and their environment. The implementation of leisure practices was necessitated by the need for compensating limited opportunities of the socio-cultural environment against the background of the dominance of the strenuous daily work, as well as the confrontation in the archaisation of the daily routine due to the prevalence of the deviant forms of behaviour. Many changes emanating from the oil prospectors and taking place in the socio-cultural sphere later took root and became an asset of the local population. The initiative of the geologists made it possible to expand and diversify leisure practices under the lack of opportunities and financial support of the social sphere, which facilitated positive changes in the daily life of the geologists themselves and population of the places where the oil prospectors were staying.

Keywords: geologists, oil explorers, leisure, social practices, anthropology of professions, field work, biographical narratives.