Introduction of 19th century manuscripts from local historians of the Tobolsk Province into scholarly research

Abstract

This article evaluates a monograph written by linguist O. V. Trofimova and historians N. I. Zagorodniuk and E. N. Konovalova. The monograph is the first in a series of scientific publications that analyze manuscripts from the Scientific Archive of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) regarding Tobolsk Province in the second half of the 19th century. The focus of the first book in the series is on the language used by the Russian population of Tobolsk Province. The linguistic materials were collected by Siberian local historians N. A. Abramov, V. V. Adrianov, I. V. Bednyakov, F. K. Zobnin, M. I. Kostya, I. F. Lisitsyn, V. F. Tveritin, and A. G. Khudyakov at the request of the Ethnographic Program of the RGS. The publication begins with a historical overview of the Russian Geographical Society and its programs, as well as biographies of the local historians who collected the linguistic materials. The main focus of the monograph is on “Materials for the dictionary of Russian folk speech of Tobolsk province of the 19th century (1848-1891)”. These materials, derived from eight author’s dictionaries, provide insight into the unique characteristics of Russian speech in various locations in Western Siberia. The significance of this research lies in the need to incorporate new linguistic materials into scientific discourse, as they are valuable for understanding the history of language. The novelty of this work lies in its contribution to historical and lexicographic studies, which are relatively scarce in Russian historical research, as well as its exploration of the local peculiarities of the Russian language in Western Siberia during the 19th century. The information presented in this monograph makes a substantial contribution to preserving and describing Siberian written texts. It also aids in the study of dialectal differentiation of the Russian language, particularly in the realm of secondary colloquialisms and in specific territories of Western Siberia. Additionally, it helps reconstruct a comprehensive understanding of the vocabulary used during the latter half of the 19th century.