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Livestock Dung Use in Steppe Pastoralism Sibirica Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Victoria Soyan Peemot
This article studies the use of livestock dung in the social and ecological context of pastoralism in the Tyva Republic, Inner Asia. In steppe ecologies, livestock dung, depending on its (mis)management, can be a valuable resource or a threat to animals’ health and herders’ well-being. Its use is embedded in the relationships between herder-livestock communities and landscapes, which are sentient and
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Prospects of Development for Urban Areas in the Russian Arctic Sibirica Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Igor Popov
The development of the Arctic was an important political and economic topic of the Soviet Union. This urbanization activity declined dramatically in the economic and political chaos of the 1990s, although some positive transformations have been seen in the new millennium. This article examines whether the colonization of the Russian Arctic will follow Soviet-era plans or the region will remain scarcely
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Lost and Found Children in the Arctic Wilderness Moving On, Moving Forward Sibirica Pub Date : 2021-06-01 Natalya Khokholova
AbstractThe article does not investigate the reason behind the recurring cases of missing children and young adults in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and does not offer an explanation for this phenomenon. Instead, it interprets this occurrence as a symptom of the oppressive histories and realities for indigenous groups residing on the territory of this part of the Russian Federation. Although the
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Checking in on Sakha Studies Sibirica Pub Date : 2021-06-01 Jenanne Ferguson
In going over submissions to Sibirica at the beginning of 2021, I found several articles related to culture and history in the Sakha Republic. Naturally, I thought it would be illuminating to bring them together to see how they might complement each other. Although this is not a typical special issue with a planned overarching theme, I found that these articles are not only geographically united but
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All-Male Warrior Dances and Men's Groups Coping with the Decline of Manhood and Immigration in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Sibirica Pub Date : 2021-06-01 Zoia Tarasova
AbstractIn the late 1990s and early 2000s, much of social research on contemporary Russia focused on transformations of gender relations brought about by the closure of many state enterprises. In particular, scholars posited that men were experiencing severe insecurity about their gender identity, which they termed a “post-Soviet masculinity crisis.” However, little research has since been carried
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The Evolution of Forming “Territories of Traditional Nature Use” in the Sakha Republic (Iakutiia) Sibirica Pub Date : 2021-03-01 Nicholas Parlato,Gail Fondahl,Viktoriya Filippova,Antonina Savvinova
In the struggle of Russia’s Indigenous northerners for greater control over their ancestral lands, the spatiolegal formations known as Territories of Traditional Nature Use (TTPs, using the Russian acronym) have become their most effective tool. TTPs have assumed diverse characteristics across Russian regions in response to the evolution of federal and sub-federal law and of center-periphery relations
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Spiritual Dimensions in Exploring the Human-Geosphere Relationship under a Values-Based Approach in Lake Turgoyak, Southern Urals, Russia Sibirica Pub Date : 2021-03-01 Francesc Bellaubi
Surrounded by mountains and forests, Lake Turgoyak in the Southern Urals (Russia) is a popular tourist destination. However, the many resorts and camps as well as the high number of visitors have had a negative environmental impact on the lake. Taking Lake Turgoyak as a case study, the research examines the values in the human-geosphere relationship, framed as a geoethical dilemma revisiting the concept
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Vladimir Arsen’ev and Whales in Russia’s Revolutionary Far East Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-12-01 Ryan Tucker Jones
This article examines the contributions the famous Far Eastern writer Vladimir Arsen’ev made to the development of the Russian/Soviet whaling industry in the 1920s. During that time Arsen’ev worked as a “specialist for marine mammal hunting” for Dal’rybokhota. He studied the whales of the Russian Far East and helped craft the Far Eastern Republic’s policy toward its subjects who wanted to start whaling
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An Introduction to Vladimir Arsen’ev’s Life Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-12-01 Amir Khisamutdinov
The article is devoted to the famous explorer and writer Vladimir Klavdievich Arsen’ev (1872–1930). He arrived in the Russian Far East in 1900, where he conducted numerous research expeditions and engaged in a comprehensive study of the Far East. Arsen’ev studied the lives of the region’s indigenous peoples and published several books, Dersu Uzala being the most famous one. This article is based on
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The Representation of the Evenkis and the Evenki Culture by a Local Community Museum Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Svetlana Huusko
This article focuses on the representations of Evenkis and their culture in a local museum in Nizhneangarsk, Russia. The article uses the elements of critical discourse analysis to highlight the interplay between the real, imaginary, and ideological. The article explores how museum representations of the Evenkis and the Evenki culture create the ideological construction of the nature of the Evenkis
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Lines in the Sacred Landscape Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Anna Varfolomeeva
This article discusses how transportation routes affect local relations with place and resources while being simultaneously shaped by the landscape. It focuses on Okinskii district (Oka) of Buriatiia in southcentral Siberia. The Mondy-Orlik road, which connected the district with the rest of Buriatiia, offered extended opportunities for the development of extractive businesses and tourism in the district
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Sensory Perception of Rock Art in East Siberia and the Far East Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Donatas Brandišauskas
This article shows how the sensory perception of rock art guided both archeologists’ interpretations as well as indigenous worldviews in Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. The research is based on the author’s ethnographic fieldwork research among indigenous communities of the Olekma, Chara, Aldan, and Amur, and Vitim river basins in the Sakha Republic, the Amur and Zabaikalskii regions, and
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A Visitor's Guide to Shamans and Shamanism Sibirica Pub Date : 2020-03-01 Marisa Karyl Franz
In the late imperial era, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) in St. Petersburg produced a series of guidebooks for visitors that provided an account of the changes in the gallery spaces and collections within the museum. Among the changes was a reorganization of the collection that brought about the removal of a gallery dedicated to Russian ethnography, which had housed Siberian
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"We Are Not Dead Souls" Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Dominique Samson Normand de Chambourg
Through the example of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, which has become one of the country’s main energy hubs (accounting for 62 percent of Russian oil production) and a pioneer in matters of native rights, this article sheds light on what is at stake in the Siberian taiga of the early twenty-first century between two worlds that, over the years, have variously clashed, assisted each other
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Educational Institutions as a Resource for the Urbanization of Indigenous People Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Vera Kuklina,Sargylana Ignatieva,Uliana Vinokurova
This article explores the role of higher education institutions in the development of indigenous cultures in the Arctic city of Yakutsk. Although indigenous cultures have historically been related to traditional subsistence activities and a rural lifestyle, the growing urbanization of indigenous people brings new challenges and opportunities. The article draws on statistical data, as well as qualitative
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A Booming City in the Far North Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Svetlana Sukneva,Marlene Laruelle
Many cities of Russia’s Far North face a massive population decline, with the exception of those based on oil and gas extraction in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Yet, there is one more exception to that trend: the city of Yakutsk, capital of the Sakha (Yakutia)Republic, whose population is booming, having grown from 186,000 in 1989 to 338,000 in 2018, This unique demographic dynamism is founded
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Protecting Indigenous Rights from Mining Companies Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Violetta Gassiy
The Arctic is one of Russia’s treasures. However, Arctic economic development means that business is invading lands that are sacred to indigenous peoples. As a rule, regional authorities are interested in tax revenues from subsoil users, prompting them to decide the culture-or-mining dilemma in favor of the latter. But this does not mean that the price of this encroachment on indigenous lands remains
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Indigenous Peoples, Urbanization Processes, and Interactions with Extraction Firms in Russia's Arctic Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Marlene Laruelle
Russia is unique on the circumpolar landscape in that indigenous communities constitute only a small percentage of its Arctic population. Whereas they represent 80 percent of Greenland’s population, 50 percent of Canada’s, 20 percent of Alaska’s, and 15 percent of Norway’s Arctic regions, they make up less than 5 percent of the population of Arctic Russia. Although indigenous peoples have a more solid
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Indigenous Urbanization in Russia's Arctic Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Marya Rozanova
This article presents the social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the ongoing urbanization of the Nenets indigenous communities (“communities-in-transition”) in the Nenets Autonomous Region. Focusing on the preconditions for “indigenous flight” from traditional rural settlements to urban areas, the article analyzes key indicators—demographics, language proficiency, education level
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A Sociolinguistic Study of Language Attitudes among Buriat and Russian Youth in the Republic of Buriatiia Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-07-01 Erzhen Khilkhanova
This article explores the language attitudes of young residents of the Republic of Buriatiia toward two official languages in the region, Buriat and Russian. The article also contributes to the research methodology on language attitudes and use, notably by employing a verbal guise technique in a psychosociolinguistic experiment. In the experiment, both phonetically authentic (native, accent-free) and
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Chukchi-Speaking Communities in Three Russian Regions Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-07-01 Maria Pupynina,Yuri Koryakov
The Chukchi-speaking population is distributed within three regions of the Russian Federation—Chukotka, Kamchatka, and Yakutia. Because of the lack of regular transportation between these regions and different attitudes toward the Chukchi from the local authorities, Chukchi-speaking communities in these regions have become isolated from one another and have been developing independently. This article
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A Complex Approach to Identity Construction among Children of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East of the Russian Federation Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-07-01 Alena V. Ivanova
This article covers the process of identity construction in children; this process defines the focus of Russian educational policy, which also provides a venue for alternative ways to implement it. The article presents research on designing a system to form national, regional, and ethnocultural identity in children of the indigenous people of the North via the curriculum and teaching aids. The article
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Persistence and Disappearance of Traditional Patrilocality Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Vincent Zvénigorosky,Dariya Nikolaeva,Georgii Romanov,Aisen Solovev,Nikolai Barashkov,Éric Crubézy,Sardana Fedorova,Christine Keyser
This article describes current matrimonial strategies andresidence patterns in two communities in the Sakha Republic. InTolon, a rural settlement in central Sakha, community exogamy ispredominant and patrilocality is detectable in postnuptial residencepatterns. In the sub-Arctic town of Khonuu no gendered residencepatterns are observed. Khonuu has an airport and serves as a regionalcapital. In Khonuu
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The Far Eastern Railway in the 1930s Sibirica Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Elena Gnatovskaya,Alexander Kim
This article evaluates the relationship among the railroadstaff of the Far East during the most dramatic events in the politicallife of the country at that time—repressions. As a rule, Russian academicliterature indicates that few workers perceived the Sovietstate’s mechanisms of pressure negatively. This article demonstratesthat the railroad staff’s position was far more diverse than traditionallyargued
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Individualization and Ethnopedagogy at Small Elementary Schools Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Nikolai Neustroev,Anna Neustroeva,Tuyaara Shergina
The article discusses professional teaching training for tutoringand primary education at a small-scale rural school, wherethere are prolific opportunities for individualizing the educationalprocess and creating conditions that foster personal developmentof primary schoolchildren. Educational quality is indicated by theformation of ethnocultural identity and ethnic self-knowledge; thisis the basis
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Civilian Initiatives of Indigenous Peoples in the Sphere of Language Policy Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Akulina Mestnikova
The article provides an overview of recent initiatives spearheadedby indigenous peoples in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) thatseek to improve the existing language policy put forth by the stategovernment. Although there has been some research conducted onthe activities of public organizations and associations of indigenouspeoples in the region, more must be done to better understand activitiesspecifically
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Indigenous Methodology and Research of Tuvan Culture Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Chimiza Lamazhaa
This article discusses indigenous methodology in the contextof Tuvan studies. Tuvan studies have a rich history, with significantcontributions by local Tuvan researchers as well as Russian andforeign scholars. This article presents an overview of this researchbefore, during, and after the Soviet period. The paper examines possiblestrengths and weaknesses of both “insider” (indigenous) and“outsider”
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The Pedagogy of the Sakha Heroic Epic Olonkho within the Educational Process Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Ekaterina Chekhorduna,Nina Filippova,Diana Efimova
This article discusses the normative and legal foundations,laws, principles, approaches, means and methods of organizing theeducational process and analyzing the content of the authors’ ethnopedagogicalprogram—Olonkho pedagogy. The article relies on theaspiration of ethnic groups to preserve their own distinctiveness andmaintain their ethnic and cultural identity despite the current circumstancesof
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The Buddhist Book Culture of the Average Person and Buryat Identity Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Andrei Bazarov
This article examines the book culture of the BuryatBuddhists of the Southern Siberia. Based on social archaeographicstudies, the article posits a link between local book culture and thestable identity of Buryat Buddhist. Defining Buryat Buddhist identitybased on an analysis of different aspects of their worldview, culturallife, and historical past, this article reveals how Buddhist book cultureand
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Indigenous Peoples of Siberia and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Uliana Vinokurova
The article provides a review of various strategies the peoplesof Siberia undertake to reestablish their identity, their culturalidentity, and rights to their land. The article aims to analyze themodern challenges that the indigenous peoples of Siberia face andtheir responses to such challenges. The article presents five modelsof survival strategies used by the peoples of Siberia.
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The Burial Rituals of the Khakass People Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Larisa Anzhiganova,Margarita Archimacheva
Ethnic cultures experience great transformations that affecttheir sustainability and holistic nature. However, the traditionsrelated to life and death are, remarkably, persisting. This articlesfocuses on funerary customs and burial rituals that are significant forthe Khakass people. In this research of the Khakass burial rituals webring together archaeological, ethnographic, and folklore materialthat
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Sacred Places in the Nenets Traditional Culture Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Galina Kharyuchi
The Nenets people have various forms of worshippingspirits in their sacred landscapes. The article examines the history,definitions, and classifications of forms of worship of the Nenetssacred places (khebidia ia). Cult structures (khekhe) include objects ofnature as well as effigies of various deities installed at sacred sites orresidential areas. Images of a master spirit carved in stone or wood(siadei)
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Osuokhai, The Yakut Circle Dance Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-12-01 Angelina Lukina
A circle dance, a fundamental element of many traditionalcultures, exists in many parts of the world. Scholars have been fascinatedby historical and contemporary, mythical and cultural, ritualand semantic aspects of circle dances. The article discusses the Yakutcircle dance, osuokhai, influenced by ancient practices and religiousideas of Eurasian nomads. The article reflects on the historical transformationsand
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Finnish Ships in Russian America Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Andrei Val’terovich Grinëv
The annexation of the Grand Duchy of Finland by theRussian Empire after the war with Sweden in 1808–1809 sharplystrengthened the Russian trading fleet. It is not surprising that Finnishships, despite their small number, visited the Russian coloniesin America over a rather long period—from 1816 to 1856—though attimes with substantial temporal intervals. Some of them belonged tothe Russian-American Company
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Native Marriage “Soviet” and “Russian” Style Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Vera Skvirskaja
Based on fieldwork in Nenets tundra encampments andmultiethnic villages on the northern Yamal Peninsula, this articlediscusses people’s experiences and expectations of married life.Two types of marriage—”arranged” and “love marriage”—are usedto illustrate how marriage brings to the fore the political economyof desire and local reflections on the good society. The article suggeststhat while Soviet ideology
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Dialogical Relationships and the Bear in Indigenous Poetry Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Stephan Dudeck
The essay provides a review of a small but remarkable book on the work of two important Native American and Siberian poets, Meditations after the Bear Feast by Navarre Scott Momaday and Yuri Vella, published in 2016 by Shanti Arts in Brunswick, Maine. Their poetic dialogue revolves around the well-known role of the bear as a sociocultural keystone species in the boreal forest zone of Eurasia and North
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Making Sense of the Remote Areas Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Petia Mankova
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedited version of an article published in Sibirica: Interdisciplinary Journal of Siberian Studies. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Mankova, P. (2018). Making sense of the remote areas: films and stories from a tundra village. Sibirica: Interdisciplinary Journal of Siberian Studies is available online at: https://doi.org/10.3167/sib.2018.170205 .
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Chronotopes of Conversion and the Production of Christian Fundamentalism in the Post-Soviet Arctic Sibirica Pub Date : 2018-01-01 Tatiana Vagramenko
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Early Field Photography and Visual Documentation of Northern Indigenous Cultures: Ivan Poliakov’s Collection, 1876 Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Ekaterina B. Tolmacheva
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Migration Destination Choice as a Criterion of Self-Identification Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Nadezhda Zamyatina
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Reindeer Herding Lexicon as System-Structure Organization in the Language of the Alutor Koryaks Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Anatoly Sorokin
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Movement and the Transformation of Siberia in the Eighteenth Century Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Alison K. Smith
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Autonomous Siberia in Russia’s Reorganization Projects at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Olga Kharus,Vyacheslav Shevtsov
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“Tobacco! Tobacco!”: Exporting New Habits to Siberia and Russian America Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Matthew Romaniello
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Reflecting the “Field”: Two Vepsian Villages and Three Researchers Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Laura Siragusa,Madis Arukask
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Training of Specialist Personnel in Iakutiia in the 1950s-1980s Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Egor Antonov,Venera Antonova
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Temporal Dimension of Attitudes toward Infrastructure and Opportunities for Relocation from the Northern Town Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Ksenia Gavrilova
In this article I will explore the correlation between the discourse of youths’ out-migration and their attitudes toward the infrastructure of Tilichiki, a small town in Kamchatka. I attempt to contest the perspective that out-migration (resulting in town depopulation) is caused by the perception of social infrastructure as insufficient. The analysis of local discourse shows that negative or positive
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The Concept of the “Field” in Early Soviet Ethnography: A Northern Perspective Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Dmitry V. Arzyutov, Sergei A. Kan
The conceptualization of the “field” in early Soviet ethnography had its own dynamics and elaborations within the discursive arenas of the Leningrad ethnographic school. Beginning with the prehistory of the idea of the field among the Enlightenment naturalists and travelers, we turn toward a description of long-term expeditions of the first generation of Soviet ethnographers of the North. Comparing
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Writing the History of the Northern “Field”: An Introductory Note Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Dmitry V. Arzyutov
This issue became possible thanks to two research projects “Etnos: A Life History of the Etnos Concept among the Peoples of the North” (ESRC, UK) and “Etnos and Minzu: Histories and Politics of Identity Governance in Eurasia” (The Leverhulme Trust, UK), led by Professor David G. Anderson (University of Aberdeen). We thank Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Saint Petersburg
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Mobility and Sense of Place among Youth in the Russian Arctic Sibirica Pub Date : 2017-01-01 Alla Bolotova, Anastassia Karaseva, Valeria Vasilyeva
This article explores how the mobility of young people influences their sense of place in different parts of the Russian Arctic. In globalization studies increasing mobility has often been set in oppo sition to belonging to place, and interpreted as diminishing local connections and ties. Recent studies show that the role of mobility in shaping a sense of place is more complex. The Russian Arctic is
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The Representation of Childhood in Ethnographic Films of Siberian Indigenous Peoples: The Case of the Documentary Film Malen’kaia Katerina (Tiny Katerina) Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Ivan Golovnev,Elena Golovneva
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Social Pressure in the Choice of Individual Religious Practice Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Tatiana Bulgakova
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Trickster Lessons in Early Canadian Indigenous Communities Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Carolyn Podruchny
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Pomors, Pomor’e, and the Russian North: A Symbolic Space in Cultural and Political Context Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Yuri P. Shabaev,Igor Zherebtsov,Kim Hye Jin,Kim Hyun Taek
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Regenerating Life in the Face of Predation: A Study of Mortuary Ritual as Sacrifice among the Siberian Chukchi Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Jeanette Lykkegård,Rane Willerslev
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Siberian Newspapers of the Russian Empire and USSR Periods: Issues of Conservation, Digitization, and Scientific Use Sibirica Pub Date : 2016-01-01 Viacheslav Shevtsov
This report reflects the work that leading academic libraries in Siberia (in Tomsk, Irkutsk, and Krasnoyarsk) have been conducting over the past ten years on digitization of Siberian newspapers published between 1857 and 1991. These newspapers are valuable and often unique sources for the history, ethnography, economy, and everyday life of the Siberian people. Creating a comprehensive and common free-access