Russian Non-Academic Ethnography of the Second Half of the 19th Century as a Source for the Study of the Cultural Heritage of the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia

Abstract

The last decades of the 19th century were marked by an unprecedented growth of the so-called “non-academic ethnography” in Russia. This period of time witnessed a rise in the number of ethnographic descriptions of the peoples of Russia created by non-academic researchers, such as teachers, doctors, government officials, clergymen, political exiles, rather than professional scholars. The texts created by them, both nonfiction and literary, are extremely valuable for the study of the spiritual heritage of the peoples of Russia. The article provides a definition for the term “non- academic ethnography” and substantiates the legitimacy of its use; it outlines the methodological aspects and the prospects of using non-academic ethnography for the study of traditional cultures of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The two identified extensive groups of sources are missionary diaries and ethnographic works written by political exiles. The article proves the need for a discursive approach to their study and the importance of considering extra-textual phenomena, such as: the collective identity of the authors of these works, their behavioral practice, the ideological semantic field which defines the position and the goals of the non-profession- al ethnographers, etc. Although the research potential of the indicated sources is evident, its actualization requires the implementation of modern scientific methods.

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