Mongol Origin Research Articles

Половозрастные названия лошади в монгольских языках (с привлечением тюркского материала

Goals. The study seeks to introduce into scientific circulation and analyze in comparative and comparative historical perspectives — horse age-sex terms in modern Khalkha Mongolian, Buryat, and Kalmyk. By way of comparison, the work employs some material from Classical Mongolian to identify common terms and establish their general Mongolian character; it also attempts to reveal and describe some Turkic lexical borrowings associated with horse breeding, since Mongolic and Turkic languages had long contacted and interacted all across Central Asia. Materials and methods. The paper examines dictionaries of the languages involved, as well as field notes recorded from informants during the summer 2022 expedition to the Oka Buryats (Republic of Buryatia, Russia). The key research methods are the descriptive, comparative, and comparative historical ones; that of lexical/semantic analysis proves most instrumental in describing horse age-sex terms proper. Results. The analysis identifies some breed names of horses and related age-sex designations in Khalkha Mongolian, Buryat, and Kalmyk. The insight into collected materials concludes the horse breed and age-sex terms in modern Khalkha Mongolian, Buryat and Kalmyk are of generally Mongolic origin, and thus attest to common roots and great antiquity of the economic culture of Mongol ethnic groups. However, despite the horse breed and age-sex terms are specifically Mongolic, a number of lexemes of Turkic origin in different phonetic variants have still been traced, namely: x-Mong. Kh. Mong. азарга(н), Bur. азарга, Kalm. аҗрh ‘stallion’; Kh. Mong. жороо, Bur. жороошо, Kalm. җора ‘pacer’; Kh. Mong. агт(ан), Bur. агта, Kalm. агт ‘courser’; Kh. Mong. хүлэг, Bur. хүлэг, Kalm. күлг ‘courser, war horse’; Kh. Mong. аргамаг, Bur. аргамаг, Kalm. аргамак ‘argamak’.

On Dagur Kinship Terms

Abstract According to conventional linguistic classifications, Dagur is one of the archaic Mongolic languages. This language is unique, allegedly connected with the Para- Mongolic language Khitan, and it has a close areal relationship with two Tungusic languages, Manchu and Solon Ewenki. This paper is a continuation of the author’s research on etymological studies of the Dagur language. Two papers have already been published, focusing respectively on names for body parts (Khabtagaeva 2021) and colours (Khabtagaeva 2022). The present paper addresses kinship terminology. The Dagur terms were collected from different published works and fieldwork materials. Most of the terms are of Mongolic origin with special Dagur phonetic features and with an internal Dagur mophological development. A few terms were borrowed from Tungusic languages and Chinese.

On Secondary Long Vowels in Mongolic Loanwords in Kirghiz

Abstract Regardless of the modern settlement of their speakers, the South Siberian Turkic languages evidence the largest number of Mongolic loanwords. At the same time, the layer of the loanwords in these languages varies greatly. Interestingly, the Kirghiz language has quite a few Mongolic borrowings, following the number of borrowings from South Siberian Turkic languages. According to my preliminary compiled materials, more than 300 words are indisputably of Mongolic origin. Most of these Mongolic loanwords were most likely borrowed in the early Yenisei period. As with the South Siberian Turkic languages (Tuvan, Khakas, Yakut, etc.) in Kirghiz, it is difficult to distribute the Mongolic loanwords into earlier and later layers. For example, Kirghiz has an early characteristic feature in the length patterns -aγu-, -aγa-, -oγa-, iγu-, -egü-, -öge-, -uγu-, -igü-, which can be attributed to the middle period of the Kirghiz language. In Kirghiz, strong labial vowel harmony is clearly and consistently implemented, especially in the Northern Kirghiz dialect. This might have influenced the long vowel patterns in Mongolic loanwords. This type of vowel harmony affected the development of the long vowels in the Mongolic loanwords due to the loss of intervocalic guttural consonant g. Long vowels in Mongolic loanwords in Kirghiz are observed only in those cases where the long vowels arose from the patterns -aγu-, -aγa, -oγa-, -iγu-, -egü, -öge-, -uγu, -igü-.

Etymological Notes on Yakut Color Terms

Abstract The goal of the paper is to analyze Yakut color terms from an etymological perspective. In all, fifty-one color terms have been collected from different Yakut dictionaries and electronic sources. The terms show a heterogeneous picture: the basic color terms are of Common Turkic origin (e.g. küöx ‘blue’, qara ‘black’, kïhïl ‘red’) representing the archaic features, some basic color terms are absent in other Modern Turkic languages due to internal developments involving special Turkic or specifically Yakut suffixes (e.g. saharxay ‘yellow’, kïtarxay ‘red’). The largest group of Yakut color terms includes Mongolic loanwords, most of which are connected to the colors of animals (especially horses), which prove the Mongolic influence on the Yakut lifestyle. Another part of the paper considers the special suffixes in Yakut forming adjectives designating shades of colors, which have a mixed, i.e. Turkic and Mongolic origin. The paper tries to shed light on the way color terms may play in determining the place of the Yakut language among the Turkic languages.

Хонгодоры: проблемы происхождения этнонима и формирования бурятского племени

The article is devoted to the consideration of the ethnonym origins and the formation of the Buryat tribe “Khongodor”. The study of this topic is one of the current problems, the resolution of which can clarify some unknown aspects of the ethnogenesis and ethnic history of the Buryats, as well as the origin of its separate local component. This article presents a new version, according to which the emergence of the ethnonym of the Buryat tribe was associated with ethnopolitical processes that took place in the early Buryat community. And this ethnopolitical community was dominated by Bulagats. This was indicated by the etymological analysis of the ethnonym “Khongodor” and the names of the main genera. These names indicate the dependent position of the bearers of these names on the leading Association. It explains the formation of the generic kernel Khongodors presented by these two groups. Its ethnic basis is based on the Oirat component, known in the Buryat tradition as “Segenut” or “Olet”. This ethnic element is also characterized by the presence of a Turkic admixture. This proves the Mongol origin of the Khongodor core. It was part of the early inhabitants of the Western Baikal region and did not represent a tribal formation during the period of Bulagat domination. Changes in the ethnic history of the Khongodors occur in the second half of the 17th century. This aspect is connected with the external factors – the military and political influence of the Russian state and the migration of Mongolian groups to the territory of Buryatia. All this had an impact on the internal structure of the Buryat community. The study proves that due to the Russian influence, which caused a violation of established ties within the Buryat community, conditions for the formation of an ethnolocal Khongodor association arose. From the Khongodors and Mongol groups (Khotogouts, Torgouts, Zungars), the Russian authorities organized an administrative formation that gave rise to the tribal formation. In the process of living together on the same administrative territory, they become aware of unity and form a common genealogical relationship. They take a common name and form a tribe. All this happened in the 18–19th centuries.

Калмыцкая терминология родства как отражение исторических связей и этнокультурных контактов Ойратского мира и тувинцев

Статья представляет собой обобщающую работу, посвященную выявлению специфики системы терминов родства калмыков как лексической микросистемы в отношении распределения составляющих ее отдельных номинационных единиц, а также тех семантических признаков, которые формируют лексические оппозиции внутри этой системы и определяют ее историко-типологическую динамику, в сравнении с системой терминов родства тувинцев. Объясняются причины сходств и различий между терминологиями родства монголоязычных (в частности, ойратских) и тюркоязычных народов на примере номенклатур родства калмыков и тувинцев, а также рассматривается взаимодействие терминов родства и свойства тюркского и монгольского происхождения у тувинцев.Отмечается, что объяснение наблюдаемых лексических сходств тюркских и монгольских языков исключительно как контактных явлений в свете фактов истории самих тюркских языков имеет на несколько порядков меньшую вероятность, чем объяснение тех же сходств как следствие генетического родства алтайских языков при наличии в них некоторого количества перекрестных заимствований. Терминология родства тувинцев-эрзинцев носит отчетливые следы языковых контактов с монголами-ойратами. Для системы терминов родства калмыков характерны строгая соотнесенность терминов родства по признаку пола как по восходящей, так и по нисходящей линиям, наличие особой лексической единицы для номинации родственников по материнской стороне, счет родства до 9-го поколения как по восходящей, так и по нисходящей линиям, тогда как у других монголоязычных народов учитывается счет родства только до 5-го поколения по восходящей и 4-го поколения по нисходящей линиям.

The Tu-Yu-Hun Tribe From Northern Tibetan Trıbes and on the Words 'Tuyugun - Tuyugut' in the Kul Tigin Inscription

Gokturk Inscriptions have a crucial importance not only for the Turkish language and literature, but also for Turkish culture. There have been so many studies on Gokturk Inscriptions since its being read by Vilhelm Thomsen. The studies on reading and meaning that started with Thomsen and Radloff have been continuing to these days, self-contained text publications on the inscriptions have been done by domestic and foreign Turcologists, various reading and meaning trials have been done. With these studies so many issues in the inscriptions have been solved and continue. Especially, the meaning studies have a crucial importance from the point of revealing the richness of language’s meaning. Because, the diversity of notions that a word defines proves the language’s -the word belonging to- being ancient and deep rooted. The Tu-yu-hun tribe from Northern Tibetan Tribes are one tribe of the Mongol origin. It is believed that Turkish-Tu-yu-hun relations go far back in the history. Northern Tibetan history and culture is one of the important reference that could lead the deeper research about the Turkish history. However, there is no source available to prove the relation before the 7th Century. In this article especially, argue on the words ‘tuyugut’ in south-west side and ‘tuyugun’ in the north-east side of Kul Tigin inscription. Thus, this words written on the ‘tuyugut’ in south-west ide and ‘tuyugun’ in the north-east side of the Kul Tigin inscription is two of the words that is read and interpreted s differently by scholars who are experts in the field. This article; it is indicated that a connection between the words in Kul Tigin inscription with the name of Tu-yu-hun tribe from Northern Tibetan tribes will be established. In the evaluation and conclusion section; the determinations revealed through the study will be presented as articled.

Общемонгольская лексика в названиях орудий труда в «Сокровенном сказании монголов» (параллели в халха-монгольском, бурятском, калмыцком языках)

Introduction. The words denoting tools of trade are of particular interest since those are integral to the lexical layer which can be defined as ‘household vocabulary’, while, it would be no exaggeration to say, this lexical layer forms the basis of any language and reflects the processes occurring in the language, particularly the facts of contacts with other cultures that would have resulted in linguistic borrowings. Goals. The article deals with the vocabulary denoting tools of trade in The Secret History of the Mongols. The study primarily aims to track the etymology of the words in question and discover their parallels in the modern Khalkha, Buryat and Kalmyk languages, since, in some cases, when the etymology is unclear, the fact of presence of phonetically and semantically identical lexical units in the mentioned major Mongolic languages to have acquired official state and republican status may be regarded as an additional evidence of the common Mongolic origin of the vocabulary under study. Materials. The language of The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest physically existing (written) and, thus, analyzable form of the literary Mongolian language. Results. It has been chosen as a source of linguistic material because the conclusions regarding the forming processes of household vocabulary would have thus a solid basis. The paper describes the following lexical items: büleü/büleür ‘churning staff, a wooden stick with two cross-pieces or a disk on one end for beating kumiss’, aur ‘mortar; vessel in which substances are pounded or rubbed’, kituqay ‘knife’, süke ‘axe’, šiüci ‘chisel’, šibüge ‘awl’, tebene ‘a large needle used for sewing leather and other stiff material’, čalir ‘iron bar for demolishing rocks, breaking ice, etc.; crowbar, wrecking bar’, gölmi qubčiur ‘large fishing net’, gü:rege ‘bellows’, uqali ‘adze’, kirüe ‘saw’. It has been revealed that most of the words listed belong to the common Mongolic household vocabulary, and the words tebene ‘a large needle used for sewing leather and other stiff material’ and gü:rege ‘bellows’ are related to their common Turkic equivalents.

Forensic DNA analyses suggest illegal trade of canid skins

Accurate identification of species and populations is essential for biodiversity conservation and for monitoring of international trade in wild species. Morphological and behavioural traits are not always reliable for species identification of samples of unknown origin, and suspected hybridization augments this challenge. We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers to identify 24 canid skins illegally imported from Mongolia to Denmark in 1997. Our results indicated that the skins included both wolf (Canis lupus) and dog (Canis lupus familiaris) haplotypes. One of the wolf haplotypes was new. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the skins shared haplotypes with wolves in Europe and Mongolia, which appears to support the assumption of a Mongolic origin though a different provenance cannot be excluded. We observed an apparent discrepancy between the skins’ morphological traits and the mtDNA identification for 10 out of 24 individuals. This might suggest the presence of hybrids, but poor quality DNA precluded reliable microsatellite typing to investigate hybridization. At present, the scarcity of published records for wolf mtDNA sequences from central Asia limits more detailed investigation and we recommend increased efforts to document genetic variation in this region.

Some remarks on Turkic elements of Mongolic origin in Yeniseian

The paper presents some phonetic, morphological and semantic considerations, which characterize the Turkic elements of Mongolic origin in the Yeniseian languages. There are some criteria, which help to distinguish direct and indirect Mongolic loanwords.

Suomi saksalaisin silmin. Lehdistön ja diplomatian näkökulmia by Risto s> Peltovuori (review)

360 SEER, 84, 2, 2oo6 Veesenmayer's persecution of theJews was always cloaked in contingencies, Matic'nevertheless does not leave the impression that it was less lethal or racist than that of dyed-in-the-woolideologues. When Regent Horthy asked Veesenmayer to exempt Christian Jews, professionals, or workers in the armament industry,Veesenmayer insisted on a consequent execution of the deportations.Furthermore,Maticd conclusivelyproves that Veesenmayerknew fromJuly I944 what awaited theseJews in Auschwitz. Still, he continued the deportations. The development of Veesenmayer'santi-Semitismover time is strikingand is not fully explained by the presence of a regime that rewardsanti-Semitic initiative and Matic"sreference to the career ambitions of the 'generation of objectivity'.One cannot help but wonder where this objectivityhad gone when all SerbianJews were declared Communist insurgents.And where was 'rationality'in the conviction that the deportation and murder of Slovakia's and Hungary'sJews could secure German victory as late as I944?Matic has shown that contingenciesneed not be divorcedfrom ideology, but in orderto make more sense of Veesenmayer's development, the course of the war and the natureof his anti-Semitismneed to be takeninto account. Germanvictory and the fate of Europe'sJews had become irretrievablylinked, and it seems that the brutalityof the war in the East and more so the looming apocalypse of military defeat unhooked any form of rationality from the decision to eliminate theJewish population. Yet, Matic does not write a historyof the Holocaust, but tells the story of Veesenmayer'slife. And he does it very well. Veesenmayer'svita is embedded in a concise political historythat introducesthe reader not only to the objectives of German foreignpolicy, but also to the personalitiesand local politics thatVeesenmayerencounteredat each turnof his career.Matic is thusable to consider the specific in the general, individualresponsibilitywithin structural determinants,and manages at the same time to recount an engaging storyin the very traditional(and modestly exciting)field of diplomatichistory. Histoy Department ULRIKE EHRET IKing's College London Peltovuori, Risto. Suomisaksalaisin silmin.Lehdistdn ja diplomatian ndkdkulmia. Historiallisia tutkimuksia, 223. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, 2005. 300 pp. Notes. Illustrations.Bibliographicalreferences. Index. ?29.00 (paperback). THISbook is a study of German views on Finland whether from the press or diplomatic representativesin the vital six years before the outbreak of the Winter War. Having once written a thesis about British views on Finland before the First World War, the reviewer is all too aware of the difficulties arisingfrom the art of combining the official and unofficialin studies of this kind. It might be thought that the monolithic Nazi Germany would not present so great a problem of interweaving the two dimensions. But it is preciselyhere that Risto Peltovuori'swork shows its worth, for with regardto REVIEWS 36I Northern Europe, Nazi Germany was less monolithic than might at first be thought. Peltovuori thus distinguishes between traditional German conservative opinion and the Nazi ideological standpoint. In drawing this distinction, a factor of undeniableimportanceis that the Nordic stateswere not an integral part in Hitler's pre-war plans of conquest and hence the Nazi system could grant itself a degree of latitude when looking northwards.Anyway, most of Scandinavia was Nordically Aryan. But most of Finland was not. It was the same sort of problem that the Volksdeutscher Alfred Rosenberg, the Nazi theoretician of race, was acquainted with vis-'a-vishis native Estonia. As far as the Finnswere concerned, Rosenberg pinched a way out from his contemporary Hans Gunther (not mentioned by Peltovuori, but discussed in Britta Hiedanniemi's parallel work),who had spoken of a nordischer Gedanke, which Rosenberg used to describe a politico-culturalidentity covering all the Finns. This glossed over a lot, including alleged Mongol origins, which Gunther himself had not ignored. In practice,too, traditionalGerman conservatismproved a usefullinkwith a section of the Finnishelite. 'Old man' P. E. Svinhufvud,presidentof Finland till I937, could be nicely compared with Hindenburg, whom he resembled. And the fact was that the Nazi regime itself employed a lot of conservatives. From 1935 onwards,the German ministerin Finlandwas Wipertvon Blucher, no Nazi. He and Rosenberg could neverthelessbe in full agreementabout the sterlingworth of the Finnsas enemies of Bolshevism.That had been proved in I9I8 when the German and Finns were Waffenbnider...

THE STORY OF ZHU AND THE MONGOLS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The post-Qing Mongol histories of the seventeenth century all contain two stories about the Ming dynasty: a legend ascribing Mongol origins to the Yongle emperor, Zhu Di, and a lengthy and detailed history of Zhu Yuanzhang's rise to power and ultimate conquest of the Yuan.’ The Yongle legend is well known. 2 The story of Zhu has languished in obscurity, perhaps because its total historical inaccuracy has led scholars to doubt that the main character, Lord Juge, is in fact Zhu Yuanzhang. Scholars who have raised this question certainly did so for valid reasons, because if indeed there is anything certain about this story, it is that it probably does not contain a single historically accurate fact. But in the eyes of seventeenth- century Mongol historians, the identification was clear, and by studying the story we can learn what they thought of Zhu and how they used him to contemplate their own history.

Epidemiology of alveolar echinococcosis in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China: a preliminary analysis

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region (XUAR) in north-western China is known to be endemic for Echinococcosis multilocularis, the causative agent of human alveolar echinococcosis (HAE). Despite regular reports of HAE cases in their region, very little is known about the local epidemiology of the disease or the transmission of E. multilocularis. The epidemiology of HAE in Xinjiang has now been investigated by the analysis of data collected from the medical records of 157 clinical cases who had attended the four main hospitals in the region. These data indicate that the disease is relatively common in the Altai, western Junggar, and Tianshan mountain ranges, whereas the Tarim and Junggar basins are likely to be of low endemicity. The prevalence of the disease in the Kunlun mountains is not clear. Semi-nomadic groups, especially those of Kazakh or Mongol origin, have a higher risk of infection than other ethnic groups. Prevalence of the disease in humans appears to be correlated with aspects of the local climate, such as annual precipitation and temperature. Red foxes, Microtinae, Ochotona spp. and Marmota spp. may be important hosts of E. multilocularis in the XUAR, sustaining the transmission cycles of the parasite.

Muscovite Political Institutions in the 14th Century

Muscovite Political Institutions in the 14th Century Charles J. Halperin 303 East 8th Street, Apt. 16 Bloomington, IN 47408-3572 USA chalperi@indiana.edu The role of the Mongols in the rise of Moscow to a position of political preeminence in 14th-century Russia remains a sensitive and controversial topic in Russian historiography. Those scholars who have concluded that the Mongols did contribute to Moscow's ascension point to two primary areas of Mongol influence: first, the intervention of the Golden Horde (the anachronistic name for the Tatar state centered on the lower Volga river, now commonly described as the Qipchaq Khanate) in the political affairs of the East Slavic principalities;1 and, second, Muscovite borrowing of Mongol institutions to enforce and expand its rule. Both considerations of Great Russian patriotism and a Europocentric aversion to "Asiatic barbarians" have greatly inhibited scholarly consideration of the merits of the case that the Mongols either altered the course of medieval Russian history or provided models for Muscovy's political order. Recently, Donald Ostrowski has advanced new and ambitious conclusions about the extent of Muscovite borrowing of Mongol institutions.2 Although admitting that there is no direct evidence to corroborate his theory,3 nevertheless he argues forcefully that the 14th century represents a major institutional rift in Muscovy's development, a rift in which Muscovy turned overwhelmingly to Mongol rather than Kievan or Byzantine models on which to construct a new political structure. Muscovite institutional borrowing from the Mongols was so pervasive, Ostrowski implies, that the secular Muscovite court saw itself as a continuation of the Qipchaq Khanate. Furthermore, the secular court was so [End Page 237] perceived by the Byzantine-influenced Muscovite Orthodox Church, which sought to replace Muscovy's Tatar ancestry with an invented virtual past of Byzantine Orthodox provenance, and even to eliminate Muscovite institutions of Tatar derivation.4 It is impossible within the confines of a single article to address the numerous issues raised by Ostrowski's research. This essay will analyze critically the evidence for a series of Ostrowski's assertions about the origin of Muscovite political and administrative institutions in the 14th century. If these theories are found unpersuasive, then Ostrowski's larger contentions about the relationship of the secular court to the Mongols and the perception of that relationship by the Church should lose some of their persuasive power. There are serious methodological problems in evaluating the possible Mongol origin of Muscovite institutions beyond the meagerness of the sources on both sides of the steppe-sown frontier. Both Muscovite and Horde institutions may derive from multiple sources, the former from Kievan Rus', Byzantium and the pre-Mongol steppe, the latter from the eclectic common heritage of the world Mongol Empire or its successor states, especially the Mongol Ilkhanate with its Iranian and Islamic forms. Moreover, both Muscovite and Horde institutions might have evolved in response to changing circumstances. Finally, Muscovy might have adapted those Mongol practices it did assimilate, complicating identification of their steppe origin. It was endemic on the medieval religious frontier not to admit consciously that one had borrowed institutions from conquered or conquering peoples of a different religion. This was true of Crusader Valencia in 13th-century Spain about Islamic Moorish institutions, of the Arab Umayyad dynasty from the 7th century or the Ottoman Empire from the 14th century about Byzantine institutions, and of the French Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from the 12th century about Islamic institutions.5 In general the most reliable evidence of the foreign origin of an institution was its name: calques or loan-words betray borrowed institutions even in the absence of admissions of borrowing, even, it must be added, when there is confusion or disagreement about the nature of the borrowed institution itself. In other cases sufficient credible and contemporary evidence about the institution substantiates the reality of borrowing. Despite the objections of hypersensitive Russian historians, there is a compelling case that Muscovy did indeed borrow a...

The Question of Socialism: A Development Failure or an Ethical Defeat?

By now it would be nearly trivial to say that the recent events in the USSR and Eastern Europe have been so surprising, so far-reaching and so complex as to make all efforts at their explanation look disturbingly inadequate and pale. The same applies if we consider those events as arising from the initial experiment with socialist statehood within a Russian core and its political peripheries. Too much has happened too fast for us to grasp it all. But the most substantive roots of this felt inadequacy lie in the failure of all available predictions to indicate what was actually in store. In so far as tools of the scholars' trade failed entirely to prepare us for the things to come things we see now directly how can they give us true illumination after the event? In making sense of this fundamental message of experience and doubt one can opt for the known and taken for granted, or choose to 'throw in the towel', at least temporarily, as far as analysis is concerned, or else start again and look for a new way of approaching the issue. To stay with the known points of departure, basic questions, and tools of intellectual trade within a Kuhn's 'paradigm'* (or in justice 'paradigms') is not, of course, to stay put, irresponsive to events. New evidence would be absorbed, old queries and conclusions would shift, to conform better with events. An alternative assumption that the social content of such transformation naturally overflows all explanatory concepts, that one can watch revolutionary upheavals but that their rationales and determinations must escape their immediate observers, would also carry its own useful agenda. To focus on recording and categorizing what happens, whatever its explications, is particularly useful during the 'days of the flood', in politics and perceptions alike. A third approach, the attempt to understand the unexpected through considering the questions unasked, would thus appear as a parallel effort with no monopoly on useful results. But it is a necessary one if we are to deal with the central experience of scholars faced with societies and histories they studied and preached about for so long overwhelming puzzlement. Raphael Samuel's editorial (HWJ 29, Spring 1990), 'The Russian Question', did an admirable job along the first of the epistemological roads suggested. Empathy with the Soviet socialist project enabled him to bridge the gap and address the current emotions and perceptions of many Soviet historians. His short narrative began by taking on board the issue of the collapse of belief in the 'dignity of their cause'. Then it brought the events of 1989 face to face with available explanations. In particular, it linked the current crisis to Russia's history, tracing continuity and contradictions from the Mongol origins of Russia's statehood to the nomenklatura, from the debates of Westerners and Slavophiles in the nineteenth century to the realities of the USSR today, from the China-Soviet split to how nationalisms divided

The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions

Sources of the first half of the fourteenth century provide evidence that a sharp rift in institutional continuity occurred in Muscovy. This rift constituted a kind of "punctuated equilibrium" in the evolutionary development of the Rus' political system. The political institutional structure inherited from the Vladimir-Suzdal' component of Kievan Rus' ended abruptly, and, concomitantly, a new political structure similar to that of the Kipchak Khanate was established. I contend in this article that the Muscovite princes introduced Mongol political and military institutions into Muscovy on a wide scale during the first half of the fourteenth century.