Institutional evolution of ethnographic research within the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (1946–1969)

Abstract

Ethnographic research in the Moldovan SSR took place within the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Moldovan Base of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , in the History and Archeology sector. Following several reorganizations of the internal subdivisions but also of the research institutions, the Department of Archeology and Ethnography was established within the Institute of History. In 1969, the Department of Ethnography and the Study of Arts, with institute status, was created within the Academy of Sciences of the Moldovan SSR . The officially declared goal of ethnographic science in the post-war years in the Moldovan SSR was to investigate the “origin of the Moldovan people” and to assert the stabilization of socialist transformations in the Moldovan society. The research of the material and spiritual culture of the native population and of the cohabiting ethnic groups was considered only by researchers. Following the analysis of the archive documents and also of the published works regarding the institutional evolution of ethnographic research in the Moldovan SSR , we find that in parallel with the achievement of the objectives and tasks of an ideological nature drawn by the political and ideological leaders, the ethnographic researchers carried out, with some exceptions, genuine and valuable investigations. In the social and political realities of the post-war era, when the political and ideological dictates were particularly harsh, the ethnographic researchers could continue their work, resisting the pressures only by conforming to the drawn historiographical and ideological lines. In the series of published works, we will remark those that praised the socialist transformations, those that considered the loss of traditions obsolete, but also novel scientific works that are still valuable today. Thanks to the efforts undertaken by the researcher V. Zelenciuc, it was possible to expand ethnographic research, to conduct large-scale field research, and publish numerous scientific works.