No 1 (2023)

The materials of excavations of a separate group of burials of founder women in the Low-Vychegda Chezhtyyag burial ground dating back to the XIII century are introduced into scientific discourse. Based on the typological and chemical analysis of grave goods, the author identified the characteristic features of the burials. Grave goods include items of bronze foundry production, metal ingots and a scrap for making adornments, casting tools, many women’s adornments, numerous findings in the inter-grave space and a great number of artefacts that have been fired. There are no items related to the sphere of men’s production activities or weapons items. Next to the burials of women-foundry workers, there are small burials of teenage girls, apprentices of adult women. The rich implements of burials, many beads, a tamga trace on one of the vessels indicate a high social status of the buried founder women, endowing them with magical properties.

The purpose of the work is to analyze the method of hunting for large animals using trapping pits. These interesting archaeological artifacts are known in the tundra and North taiga zone of Northern Eurasia. The paper deals with the main problems of the initial stage of their study.

In the European part of Russia, the trapping pits were studied insignificantly. Extensive work was carried out in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The pits were dug and provided with special long fences. The main huntable animals were reindeer and elk. In Russia, the trapping pits are known from the Karelian Isthmus to the Barents Sea. They were used from the Mesolithic to the XVI century. In the Middle Ages in Fennoscandia, the traps could be made by aborigines, Sami, and neighboring groups as Karelians, Finns, Germans. Against a comprehensive study of ethnography and archeology, the hunting pits are good informative archaeological assets.

The concept of the “Russian world” has been actualized at present due to the recent geopolitical events but its origins are found already in the early specimens of the Old Russian texts. Gradually, the theme of the “Russian world” became prominent in the Russian literature. It is specifically expressed in the monuments that tell us about the crucial moments in the history of Russia as they also focus on the historical destiny of the state. The theme of the “Russian world” in the texts of the XIV–XV centuries becomes acute because of the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo and the idea of unification of the Russian state under the leadership of Moscow. The Russian world in the monuments of that period is a specific civilizational space, the geographical centre of which is transferred from Kiev to Moscow.

The image of a strong ruler, the leader of the Russian world, is idealized in the literature. Dmitry Donskoy appears in the texts as such a ruler. The literary texts of the XIV–XV centuries describe a particular person who serves the Fatherland. In the Zadonshchina and the Tale of Mamai’s Debacle, the idea of the unity of the entire Russian world against the enemy comes to the fore and is reflected in the spatial organization of texts, the all-Russian geography, the juxtaposition of time layers which testifies to the commonality of history and succession of generations, and in the appearance of the motive of sacrifice for the peaceful future. In the Song about the Life of <…> Dmitry Donskoy, the Duke is a successor of his great ancestors who possesses high moral and spiritual qualities, which, in the author’s understanding, a true person of the Russian world should possess. The Life of Sergius of Radonezh focuses on the spiritual protection of the Saint over Russia and his significant role in uniting the Russian lands. The Three Messages <…>. of Kirill Belozersky contains proposals for the arrangement of the renewed Russian world. With help of the monuments, we can distinguish characteristic features of the Russian world: the commonality of history, the independence of the state, the Christianity, fortitude, courage, and sacrifice in the name of the Fatherland.

The paper describes the insurance activity of the Vologda merchant Ivan Tikhonovich Bovykin in the second third of the XIX century. The main source of materials was publications in the “Vologda Provincial Gazette” for 1838–1860. According to the data obtained, I.T. Bovykin was the most active authorized agent in the Vologda province, representing the largest and most famous private insurance institutions of the Russian Empire in different years. From 1847 to 1859, he, the only one in the province, was engaged in transport insurance. In the field of fire insurance despite high competition, I.T. Bavykin was active from 1848 to 1859, working on behalf of the country’s oldest insurance joint-stock company. Moreover, during the considered period he was the only agent in the province specializing in life insurance.

With help of the materials published in the Vologda Provincial Gazette, the paper examines the main directions of charitable activity of the merchants in the Vologda province in the public education sphere in the second third of the XIX century. They include donations for the current needs of educational institutions, presenting schools with items necessary for the learning process, financial support of poor students, maintenance of educational buildings. The large-scale contribution provided by merchants to the education system of the province is confirmed by the public expression of gratitude from high officials of public education and giving them awards.

The paper examines the sanitary conditions and medical care of the population in the Komi region in the second half of the XIX–early XX centuries and summarizes the factual material on incidence of infectious diseases among the inhabitants of the region. The paper presents factors that influenced morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, analyzes measures to improve the sanitary and epidemic situation in the region.

The general situation with infectious diseases and morbidity strongly influenced the life time and mortality rate of population in the study period. The introduction of sanitary and hygienic concepts and rules, development of the system of medical institutions, vaccination and control of epidemics apparently started to have a decreasing effect on the mortality from infectious diseases. The total mortality rate of the population remained high but the mortality of the urban population by the beginning of the XX century began to decrease gradually. Such relatively simple measures as the abandonment of surface water consumption, construction of public wells and improvement of principal sanitary and hygienic conditions, significantly contributed to the decreased mortality cases from infectious diseases.

The paper reveals the main problems and prerequisites to formation of the GULAG (Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps) in the 1920s. The specificity of this period of history is described in detail. The author utilizes an extensive material of letters, diaries and other private sources. The analysis of statistical data allows to trace the main formation trends of the totalitarian system of Stalinism. On the example of SLON (Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp), the author shows characteristic features of the GULAG system.

Based on the documentary sources and scientific papers of Soviet and modern researchers, the paper analyzed why the industrialization of the Komi ASSR proceeded independently of the main strategic plans of the USSR. The first five-year development plans of the Komi region did not take into account the industrialization vector of the USSR aimed at a shift to a new technological paradigm. The wrong impressions about the role of the region in the economic system did not allow to archive the actual potential of the Komi region. The country was in dire need of oil and coal but the central planning authorities and scientific institutions did not see prospects for development of deposits on the Komi territory. Only the non-economic system of GULAG (Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps) by attracting a great deal of resources managed to work through the general skepticism about mineral resources of the region, and the Pechora brigade of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR determined a new position for the Komi region on the economic map of the country.

The paper analyses the work of the Sverdlovsk railway divided during the Great Patriotic War into two main lines – the Perm and the Sverdlovsk lines (before 1943 – named after L.M. Kaganovich) to ensure the evacuation of industrial enterprises and population from western territories of the USSR to the eastern regions. The paper also shows the process of conversion of the railway economy to correspond to war requirements and needs and describes measures aimed at overcoming difficulties, such as staff reduction, a poor repair base, lack of locomotives and fuel for them, inconsistency of dispatching services. Particular emphasis is placed on the occurrence of “traffic jams” associated with an increase in the intensity of rail traffic and loading-to-unloading problems that directly affected the effectiveness of the rolling stock.

The paper reveals weaknesses in organization and implementation of transporting civilians to the rear areas. The author found that systematic train schedule delays, inconsistency in the actions of evacuation and railway services generated a lot of everyday problems, e.g. low comfort, poor nutrition, spread of infectious and cold-related diseases and, as a consequence, a high percentage of mortality among evacuated passengers.

Throughout the whole war period, the Soviet authorities intentionally corrected negative moments in the functioning of railway lines. As a result of the adoption of a number of government resolutions followed by the corresponding efficient actions, the “great migration to the East” of industry and a significant part of population from areas subjected to the Nazi invasion was successful. The Sverdlovsk railway fulfilled its tasks with honour making a significant contribution to the evacuation and creation of a powerful military-industrial complex in the Urals.

On the basis of the data of annual statistical collections, the paper analyzes the dynamics of the number and share of mid-level specialists working in the national economy of the regions and republics of the European North of the RSFSR. The study period coincided with the reform of public education carried out in the country at that time and logically changed the number and share of certain categories of mid-level specialists. The paper demonstrates that, according to the statistical data, the number of technicians in the national economy noticeably increased whereas the share of other categories of mid-level specialists decreased. Then the author compares the studied dynamics with a similar process on the territory of the RSFSR as a whole, notes a number of specific features, and also points to an increase in the number of mid-level specialists in the total population of the European North of the RSFSR.

The paper examines the biographical data and merits of three representatives of the Istomins family – native sons of the village of Izhma. The author discusses merits of F. Istomin as one of the first missionaries in the tundra zone of the Pechora area, activities in the field of literature, local history, linguistics of his son M.F. Istomin and scientific achievements of his grandson F.M. Istomin, one of the first Komi ethnographers.

The paper is devoted to the Soviet Finno-Ugric ethnographic studies during the Great Patriotic War and in the first post-war decade. The key point of the paper is the history of the intellectual dispute between D.V. Bubrikh and N.N. Cheboksarov about the development paths of the Finno-Ugric science in the USSR. It also highlights the influence of N.Ya. Marr’s ideas on the approaches to the interpretation of ethnographic materials and the discussion on the cosmopolitan impacts in the scientific texts of the Soviet Finno-Ugric researchers.

The Komi dialectology originated in the XIX century as the scientists compiled their first lexicographic works and is associated with the names of famous researchers P.I. Savvaitov, N.P. Popov, F.I. Videman, G.S. Lytkin and others. Towards the second half of the XX century, the lexicography of the Komi language was a successfully developing scientific sphere. In the 1960s-1980s, unique dialectological materials were first introduced into scientific circulation in form of separate monographic works on the Upper Vychegda, Syktyvkar, Upper Sysola, Izhma, Pechora, Lower Vychegda, Middle Sysola, Luza-Letka, Udora dialects. This was possible by efforts of the researchers who stood at the origins of the Komi linguistic science. One of them is Tatiana Ivanovna Zhilina[1], a qualified specialist in the field of the Komi dialectology and lexicography, Candidate of Philological Sciences. The lexical materials accumulated by her in numerous expeditions to the basins of the Vym, Vychegda, Sysola, Luza, Letka Rivers, as well as to the Trans-Ural and Kama regions, contain more than 100 thousand units and are a reliable empirical base, the national word stock of the Komi language. In spite of the lack of proper technical equipment at that time, the professionalism and conscientious attitude to work of Tatiana Ivanovna do not allow us to doubt the reliability of the obtained results today. There are no analogues among the Finno-Ugric centers in Russia yet and they are not expected to appear in the foreseeable future.

[1] To the 100th anniversary of the birth of T.I. Zhilina, Candidate of Philological Sciences, a major specialist in the field of the Komi dialectology and lexicography. Born on December 14, 1923 in the Tentyukovo village (now part of Syktyvkar). After graduating from the Syktyvkar Secondary School № 1 in 1940-1944, she studied history and philology at the Komi State Pedagogical Institute. After graduation, she worked at the Ust-Tsilma secondary school as a teacher of the Russian language and literature. In 1946, T.I. Zhilina took a postgraduate course at the Komi Base of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Syktyvkar and successfully completed it by presenting for defense the dissertation “Nominal categories of the Upper Vym subdialects of the northern dialect of the Komi language” in 1950. After its successful defense in 1951 at the Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, she joined the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR where she worked until 1982.

Grigory M. Burov (22.09.1933 – 24.02.2013), a graduate of the Kiev University, arrived in Syktyvkar in 1957. He worked in the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR until 1968. Subsequently, he worked in Ulyanovsk and Simferopol.

However, the period of his work in the Komi Region turned out to be the most productive .G.M. Burov is a discoverer of numerous sites of the Mesolithic, Early Metal and Early Iron Age of the previously unexplored Vychegda territory. G.M. Burov analyzed and published materials from Komi all the subsequent years of his life.

The Vis 1 (Mesolithic) and Vis 2 (mid I millennium A.D.) peatbogs discovered by G.M. Burov in the vicinities of the Sindor village have gained worldwide fame. The exemplary paleogeographic studies were carried out in the Sindor microregion. The leading geobotanist and peat specialist S.N. Tyuremnov and other scientists compiled pollen diagrams, described profiles of peatlands, restored the historical courses of the Vis and Simva Rivers. They also obtained a series of direct radiocarbon datings of wooden artifacts.

A unique collection of items made of wood, bark, and grass was obtained at the Vis 1 peatbog. It included fishing tools – fragments of nets and a fishing spear; hunting tools – bows, arrows, a spear; means of transportation – skis, sledge runners, a paddle; household items including a box of birch bark, mats of wood shakes. Many items are decorated with carved geometric ornaments. The sculptural head of an elk on one of the skis is particularly noteworthy.

G.M. Burov was the first of the researchers who justified the cultural differentiation of the Mesolithic sites of the European North-East. He identified two cultural types: the Kama-Pechora type dating back to the VIII-VII millennium B.C., and the Vis type (the second half of the VII–VI millennium B.C.). The Middle Vychegda Mesolithic culture identified by him belongs to the Kama-Pechora type.

There are a lot of high-quality theoretical and concrete-historical studies in the modern Russian-language "revolutionary" historiography. The revolutionary events of 1917 constantly attracted the attention of historians and politicians. However, the official state position towards the revolution was sounded with caution and not entirely definitely in the Russian Federation. So, the “centenary” is a good occasion for analyzing the concepts and views proposed by the professional historical community in this social-political context. One of the most debated issues are common and opposite components of February and October, analysis of the relationship between the stages of the revolutionary process, periodization of the revolution. The paper considers the attitude to this complex of issues in the contemporary Russian-language historiography. The role and place of historical studies in the modern Russian reflection on the causes of revolution, its driving forces, progress and results are analyzed.

The paper includes a previously unpublished fragment from the scientific report of the Luza ethnographic team of the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR of 1959 devoted to the economic structure of the population of the Luza region (Komi Republic, Russia).

В начале XXI столетия отечественная школа переживает непростые времена. Свидетельством кризиса среднего образования является недопустимо низкий уровень знаний выпускников. Следует признать, что государство осознает серьезность ситуации. Именно поэтому в последнее время были предприняты некоторые шаги, которые должны способствовать ее исправлению. Есть среди них и меры, призванные коренным образом улучшить положение с подготовкой по истории. Они обозначены в «Концепции преподавания учебного курса "История России" в образовательных организациях Российской Федерации, реализующих основные общеобразовательные программы» [1].