Ethnographic research in Russia in the 19th century

Abstract

Systematic and structured ethnographic data collection started in Russia with the formation of the Emperor’s Academy of Science and in 1765 the Emperor’s Economic Society. In the beginning of the 18th century, the Academy had supported numerous expeditions and scientific research in Siberia. A handbook was introduced, with questions regarding peoples in the region, their customs, borders, languages and rituals. Later on, at the time of foundation of the Emperor’s Russian geographic society, in 1845, several special ethnographic programs were formulated, with the idea to facilitate data collection about many aspects of everyday life, customs and various questions related to the exclusively Russian population of the Russian Empire. In this process, a significant role was played by the Department of Ethnography and its head, the anthropologist K.M. Ber and later on, a famous publicist, art historian and ethnographer, N.I. Nadeždin. The program suggested in 1852 by N.I. Nadeždin was incorporated in “the handbook collection for Kamtchatka expedition”, undertaken by the Russian geographic society. Afterwards, many other departments and individuals had successfully continued to improve ethnographic program and design of the various data collection. For example, in the 19th century, a private ethnographic practice by prince Vjačeslav N. Tenjišev was very active, by collecting data on all life aspects among the rural population. The practice had 348 employees of various status and background. Today, the collected data and sources are being kept in the archive of the Russian Ethnographic Museum in St. Petersburg.