Возвращенная из небытия: борьба за историческую память о 110-й Калмыцкой кавалерийской дивизии. Часть 1

Introduction. The article analyzes historiography and history of the 110th Kalmyk Cavalry Division, the only ethnic Kalmyk (largely) military unit that was engaged in active combat operations during the Great Patriotic War. However, despite its huge contribution to the heroic struggle against invading troops the unit — worthy of decent memory and respect — got surrounded with defamatory myths that bear no relation to actual events. Since most of the Division’s documents submitted to archives had disappeared, it took several decades to objectively examine its history. Materials and methods. The historical genetic method being a principal one for the present research, the latter also employs historical systemic and comparative methods. The sources analyzed are books and articles, official documents and correspondence from various archival repositories, personal messages and memoirs by veterans of the 110th Kalmyk Cavalry Division and researchers of its history. Results. The article is a consistent review of the unit’s historiography that may be divided into five stages to be designated as follows: 1) period of silence and lies (1943–1957), 2) period of ‘sporadic’ studies (1957–1967), 3) period of active scientific work (1967–1977), 4) period of indifference (1977–2011), and 5) period of new scholarly interest (2011 to the present). The Kalmyk Cavalry Division has long been an object of defamatory insinuations and calumny when it was accused of ‘unreliability’, denounced as a ‘gang’ or even as German collaborators — these had clearly political implications. Meanwhile, the historical research was seriously complicated by the loss of most of its documents although after the disbandment those were duly handed over according to inventory lists along with the banners. This severely obstructed the process of preserving historical memory of the only ethnic Kalmyk unit that fought against the enemy during the Great Patriotic War. Hence, the difficulties that scholars in the field have had to overcome were immense. Part One of the article covers stages one to three. Conclusions. Historiography of the 110th Kalmyk Cavalry Division may be described as a difficult and winding path, with periods of both oblivion and activation experienced.

В. Н. Татищев и вопросы улучшения экономического положения калмыцкого народа

Introduction. This article is devoted to the activities of Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev, when Astrakhan governor (1741–1745) responsible for the affairs of the Kalmyk steppes. It is aimed to examine his projects designed to amend the impoverishment of the broad masses of Kalmyks often left without their livestock, even without horses. The question was raised by Tatishchev himself; the governor was worried about its political implications because Kalmyks without horses were of no use for the Russian Empire. Materials and methods. The article is based on archival materials, as well as the historiography that sheds light on Tatishchev as the statesman and politician. Results. The governor repeatedly discussed the issues of the worsened social-economic situation of the people with the Kalmyk namestnik (leader) Donduk Dashi, both on official occasions and in private communication. He had various explanations for their economical degradation, pointing out the difference in the nomads’ situation of the 1840s as compared with that in Khan Ayuka’s time. His involvement in the issues concerning fishing and seasonal work of the impoverished Kalmyks shows that the governor seemed to be interested in helping them, but his projects to improve the Kalmyks’ socio-economic situation were largely unsuccessful. The reasons for the failure may be found both in the resistance of the Kalmyk rulers and zaisangs and the general weaknesses of the administration when dealing with the steppe affairs.

Динамика хозяйственного освоения Посурья в I тысячелетии н.э. Часть 1: данные стратиграфического анализа пойменных и балочных отложений

The article summarizes the results of a comprehensive landscape-archaeological study of the dynamics of human-environmental interaction in the Middle Sura region during the first millennium AD. The data resulted from the study of the River Sura floodplain at the former confluence of the Sura and the Malaya Sarka. The analysis of the sediments and buried soils indicates that the period between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD saw a series of climatic cycles changing each other, with the floodplain periodically being available for various types of economic development. The Early Iron Age (first millennium BC – 2nd–3rd centuries AD) saw the formation of grey forest soils in the part of the floodplain under study. During this period, the area remained uninhabited, while the population was involved in the development of the elevated terraces and riverbanks. In contrast, in the second quarter of the first millennium AD the floodplain covered at the time by broadleaf forest had the most favorable conditions for settlement; the area was developed by the population that belonged to the Middle Volga variant of the Kiev culture. Their economic activity resulted in the gradual deforestation of the floodplain, with meadow landscapes arising instead of the forest. The second half of the 5th century saw drastic intensification of the floods and an increased runoff. The sites assigned to this period represent the developed stage of the Imen´kovo culture; these were located on the elevated terraces. The new stage of low flooding dates to the medieval period (8th–13th centuries), the soils bearing traces of steppe formation and subsequent development of the floodplain. Later, in the late Middle Age and the early Modern period, tillage shifted to watersheds and intensified, while the accumulation of layered alluvial deposits on the floodplain started again, with frequent and intense floods taking place. The study of the dynamics of the moistening of the Sura floodplain is asynchronous with the data of other studied regions of the Russian Plain, which raises the question of a relationship between the availability of floodplains for economic development and migration processes.

Функции и семантика свадебных головных уборов женщин как часть материальной и духовной культуры тувинцев

Introduction. The article aims to study key types of Tuvan women’s wedding headdresses as signs associated with certain stages of the wedding ritual. Materials and methods. The research is mostly based on pre-revolutionary historical and ethnographic materials from the Aldan-Maadyr National Museum of Tuva and the authors’ field data. The method of historicism employed for the analysis proves helpful in capturing the elements of culture in dynamics. The work also uses the comparative typological and field research methods that are traditional enough for ethnography studies. Results. The paper analyzes historical, ethnographic, and folklore materials to reveal the semantics of the Tuvan traditional wedding ritual and identify symbolism of wedding headdresses and their semiotics, materials used for their manufacture and decoration, local variants in terms of pragmatism and specific characteristics. Conclusions. The research indicates that despite some differences in several parameters (presence or absence of a particular rite or its functional significance), the traditional wedding ritual across different territories of Tuva is characterized by commonality of their basic structural and typological components, including matchmaking (Tuv. kudalaashkin and kudalai koor), bride show (dugdeeshkin), and wedding proper (kuda-doi). Accordingly, wedding clothes from different districts of Tuva have common ritual elements along with some specific local peculiarities. So, the paper focuses on key types of headdresses once used in wedding rites.

Этикетные формулы как этнолингвистические компоненты оригинальных и переводных калмыцких деловых текстов XVIII в. (на материале писем хана Аюки и их русских переводов 1714–1715 гг.)

Introduction. Kalmyk official texts of the 18th century and their parallel translations into Russian are, in the author’s opinion, ethnolinguistic sources, rich in culturally marked linguistic means. So far, initial formulas in Kalmyk official letters of the period and their Russian translations have not been studied in a comparative mode. The article aims to analyze etiquette formulas of Khan Ayuka’s letters as ethnolinguistic components, comparing them with their Russian translations. Materials and methods. The sources for the research were Kalmyk Khan’s letters of 1714–1715, kept in the Russian State Archives of Ancient Acts and in the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia. To identify translation strategies, both simultaneous and diachronic Russian translations of the material are used. The research involves descriptive, comparative-contrastive methods, as well as the method of contextual analysis. Conclusions. Comparative analysis of the original and translated texts indicated some differences in the traditions of greeting in the cultures in question, which are reflected in official writing. The translated texts are characterized by greater variability of linguistic means influencing the modality of etiquette statements: e. g. the addressee’s and addresser’s names may be added or deleted, ethnolinguistically marked language may be introduced, when components associated with the traditions of Buddhism were excluded or replaced with those associated with the Christian worldview. Depending on the addressee, his status, and the nature of official relationship of correspondents, the character of the etiquette formulas and greetings changes, too: the higher is the addressee’s status, the more complex is the syntactic aspect of etiquette formulas and the greater is the portion of lexical items of an elevated, loftier style used in translations. Of relevance is also the sequence of etiquette formulas in official correspondence, changes in the sequence marking the status of the addressee as well.

Комсомольская организация Калмыкии и ее антирелигиозная деятельность (1921–1941 гг.)

The article aims to examine episodes of anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization of Kalmykia in 1921–1941. The research is based on archival and published materials. The analysis of archival documents shows that despite the anti-religious policy actively pursued by Soviet authorities, the local party and Komsomol organizations failed to establish a system of effective anti-religious propaganda in Kalmykia. Notably, in their anti-religious activity, the Komsomol members had to deal with the multi-confessional population in Kalmykia. Granted the lack of guidelines for organizing the campaign against Buddhism, they often had to rely on practices used in the anti-religious work against Christianity: e.g., to follow the successful example of ‘Komsomol’ Christmas, the Tsagan Sar and other Kalmyk holidays were also introduced as ‘Komsomol’ events. Also, it was recommended that in their anti-religious work, the Komsomol activists were to take advantage of the split of the Buddhist clergy. After repressions against the clergy of all confessions that took place in the late 1930s, the anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization in Kalmykia was reduced to formal work.

Модели осложненных предложений с сопоставительными оборотами в хакасском языке

Introduction. This article, based on the material of the Khakass language, describes models of complicated sentences with comparative constructions. Notably, many issues related to the description of complicated sentences in Khakass have not received proper coverage yet, which determines the relevance of this study. The article aims to identify and analyze the structural-semantic types, as well as ways of expressing complicated sentences with comparative constructions in the Khakass language. The research is based on a solid sample of examples from the texts of fiction of various genres, folklore, and journalistic texts, as well as recordings of oral speech. Results. The research shows that there are three types of complicated sentences in Khakass, including a comparative model based on the equality of compared features, a comparative-gradation model, and a substitution model. Each model is described in terms of its basic semantics and ways of formalizing the relationship between dependent and main parts, with specific examples illustrating their use. Each model varies in semantic and structural terms. The comparative model of equal features and the comparative-gradation model have two variants, the substitution model has five. In a comparative model based on equality of features, equal relations between two given events are expressed, while the comparison-gradation model compares the degree of significance of given events, with the action in the main part becoming significant. The substitution model may be of two types: substitutive per se and substitutive-preferential. In substitutive models proper, the actions of the main part do not meet the speaker’s expectation, while in the other model, preference is given to the main event.

Между фактом и фантазией: ранние источники по ойратской исторической диалектологии

The article presents the results of a linguistic analysis of three early sources on Oirat historical dialectology, Rashīd al-Dīn’s Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles, completed between 1306 and 1311) and the Mongol chronicles Sir-a tuγuǰi (Yellow History, between 1651 and 1662) and Erdeni tunumal neretü sudur (The Jewel Translucent Sūtra, c. 1607). The author concludes that these sources substantially differ in terms of their linguistic value and reliability. The early historical accounts of Oirat lexical differences, provided by Rashīd al-Dīn and the unknown author of the Sir-a tuγuǰi, are most likely to have been obtained from unreliable external sources and based on hearsay evidence, orally transmitted by non-Oirats, at best, only passingly familiar with the Oirat language and its actual features. Both authors probably heard something about distinctive lexical features of the Oirat dialects of their time, but they hardly had a clear idea of what these features were and how to explain them in an adequate manner. On the contrary, the ‘Oirat fragment’ contained in the Erdeni tunumal neretü sudur seems to be much closer to fact than to fantasy. It presents a deliberate and quite reliable attempt to introduce some features of the Oirat dialects spoken at the turn of the seventeenth century. In the absence of earlier internal evidence of the linguistic differences between the Mongolic languages, this may be the oldest known representation of dialectal data in the Mongolian literary tradition. The evidence is of special importance because it includes morphophonological (an innovative colloquial shape of the clitics ni ~ n̠i < *inu and la ~ =la < *ele) and morphosyntactic (the progressive/durative in ‑nA(y)i), rather than lexical, features, which seem to have been considered Oirat by the early seventeenth-century author(s) of the chronicle. These features look more genuinely Oirat, at least for the early 17th century, although their modern distribution is certainly rather wide and non-specific. It may be assumed that the information on Oirat dialects that the Erdeni tunumal neretü sudur contains may have been obtained from an Oirat, or, at least, from an individual well-versed in the language of the time. Thus, one cannot overestimate the importance of the chronicle as a highly valuable source on historical dialectology of Mongolic languages.

О сочинении дорампа Игнен-Чоймпела «Почитание величественного Хан-Бархана: „Драгоценность-чинтамани, быстро исполняющая желания“»

Introduction. The article deals with the xylograph Tegüs čoγtu qan gbar-mkan-u takilγ-a küsel türgen qangγaγči čindamani erdeni kemegdekü orusiba (Worship of the majestic Khan-Barkhan: „Chintamani-treasure, quickly fulfilling desires“) by dorampa Ignen-Choimpel; the treatise is part of the collection kept in the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the RAS (Ulan-Ude). It aims to analyze the source along the following lines: i) to identify the author of the manuscript, ii) to transliterate the text and check the accuracy of its reading with a focus on its specific lexical features, iii) to identify the time and place of its compilation and publication, iv) to research similar works related to the cult of Mount Khan-Barkhan, and v) to examine the structure of the text and give a short description of its content. Methods and materials. The methodology of source studies, as well as the textological analysis used by the present researchers helped establish dorampa Ignen-Choimpel’s exceptional knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and of the Mongolian language. Comparative-historical, typological, and descriptive methods were instrumental in examining the transformation of the mountain worship ritual in the process of its historical development. Granted the role of mountains as an essential element in the worldview of many cultures, as well as the significance of the text for practices of Buryats of Barguzin region today, the present research is of much relevance. The article may be used as a source for studies of the factors influencing the current revival of the mountain cult and the present religious practices of the population in the region. Results. The text under study contains new data concerning the veneration of ezhins — host-spirits of local features such as mountains, the Barkhan mountain of Kurumkan region in Buryatia, in particular. Also, this is a piece of important historical evidence shedding light on the cultural and religious processes that took place among the Buryats in the 19th century. Conclusions. The research indicated the presence of syncretic elements in the text of the treatise, including borrowings of some shamanic traditional rituals associated with the mountain worship, as well as the presence of specific lexical elements such as archaic words and expressions. Importantly, Buddhist borrowings of shamanic deities and rituals familiar to the local Buryat people contributed to the promotion of Buddhism among the local population.

Россия — Монголия: век дружбы и сотрудничества (к 100-летнему юбилею установления дипломатических отношений)

Introduction. In 2021, Russia and Mongolia are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. In fact, this year is remarkable for a number of anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Mongolian People’s Party, the first political party in Mongolia; the 100th anniversary of the national democratic revolution; the 100th anniversary of the organization of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Army; the 100th anniversary of the Scientific Committee, which served as the prototype of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences; the 60th anniversary of the UN membership of Mongolian People’s Republic; and the 40th anniversary of the joint space flight of the Russian-Mongolian space crew. These anniversaries are closely related to a significant event in the history of the two countries — the Agreement between the Government of the RSFSR and the People’s Government of Mongolia on the establishment of friendly relations signed on 5 November 1921, which laid the legal basis for bilateral relations. It is certainly beyond the scope of this article to cover every significant and remarkable event and date in Soviet / Russian-Mongolian relations, but it intends to highlight the most important events in Russian-Mongolian relations in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The article aims to focus on the principal stages and most important dates and events, as well as to underline the role and relevance of the documents of key importance in the history of these relations. Materials. The study is based on archival records, published materials, and scientific literature. Conclusions. Over the past century, the relations between the countries, whose histories are full of dramatic events (revolutionary upheavals, World War II, the collapse of the Soviet Union), have seen both high and low points: friendship and special relations of allies, which changed to a certain degree of distancing from each other; then, rejection of the previous ideologized attitudes and renewal of traditional cooperation, leading to a current comprehensive strategic partnership. However, there has always been an understanding that there is a special closeness of the countries for historical, geopolitical, and cultural factors in play. A hundred years is a sufficiently long period to conclude that the key principles of Russian-Mongolian relations established by the 1921 Agreement have stood the test of time. Presently, there is a new stage to these relations based on both parties’ interests in promoting their comprehensive strategic partnership.