Vol 10, No 2 (2025)

The object of the study are ancient bronze goods discovered in the South Caucasus as a result of archaeological excavations at the sites of ancient settlements and burial grounds of the Bronze and early Iron Ages. Among the various types of bronze jewelry, bracelets were the most numerous and functionally in demand, as they were used simultaneously as decoration and amulets. There is an opinion that they were an equivalent of money and served as a means of commodity-money exchange.

In the era of antiquity, in the region, jewelers continued to produce bronze jewelry along with jewelry made of silver and gold. Commonly found jewelry made of silver and gold were compositionally close or identical to bronze jewelry. In the antique layers of the region, bronze jewelry is found in all types of burial grounds. At that time, weapons and tools began to be made of iron. In addition to bracelets, other types of bronze jewelry have been identified – various pendants, rings, neck jewelry, and numerous buckles.

The study identifies jewelry that is similar in parameters (technique of execution, metal composition, style of form and decoration), which was found during archaeological excavations located distant from each other. The objective of the study is to conduct the comparative analysis of the identified local artifacts with artifact decorations that are generally similar within the region; to reflect such aspects of these goods as form, type and elements of ornamentation, raw material base of products, which indicate ethnocultural contacts of the population of the region.

The article examines the celebration of Nowruz (Nowryz among the Karakalpaks), one of the most significant and revered holidays in the culture of many peoples of the Muslim world, including Central Asia and the Karakalpaks. Despite the fact that Nowruz is not a religious holiday, it has been officially recognized in Muslim Iran and is widely celebrated in the agricultural oases of Central Asia. Unlike religious holidays, the date of which is determined by the movable lunar calendar, Nowruz is celebrated annually in spring of the solar calendar on the day of the vernal equinox. This holiday symbolizes the beginning of a new year, celebrating the awakening of nature and a new life cycle. Nowruz has a deep symbolism and occupies an important place in the traditional worldview of the Central Asia peoples. Its celebration is associated with the veneration of natural forces, the unity of man with the world around him, and rituals aimed at ensuring well-being, health, and prosperity in the coming year. It is a time of joy, hope and new beginnings, when people come together to share a meal, exchange gifts and express good wishes. During the Soviet era, traditional holidays underwent significant changes: the scale of religious and folk celebrations was diminished, and they transformed from official public events with mass celebrations into family celebrations. The same fate befell Nowruz. The extensive festivities of Nowruz were first reduced to local celebrations, and then disappeared altogether. The revival of the holiday is associated with the post-Soviet period, and today Nowruz is an integral part of the cultural heritage of the peoples of Central Asia. It retains its connection with centuries-old traditions and is passed down from generation to generation.

The subject of the study are illustrations from the Niva magazine, popular in the Russian Empire, that were published in the first decade of its existence (the 1870s). The educational tasks set by the publisher A.F. Marx were implemented in cross-cutting long-term themes – history and culture, geography and wildlife, scientific discoveries, current events in the country and abroad. An important area of the publication’s work in the context of multinational and multi-confessional Russia was the theme of the culture and life of the peoples of the country. Interest in the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of Russia was prepared by academic expeditions of the 18th century, the organization of the First Ethnographic Exhibition of 1867 and fundamental publications. The Niva magazine was engaged in the popularization of that topic among the population. It systematically published articles and engravings describing the geographical location, climate, way of life, and material culture of different peoples. It order to do that, reputable authors were involved – writers, travelers, and artists. Each material included an engraving that depicted one or a few representatives of the people described.

In the early years, the main source of illustrations was the album “Ethnographic description of the peoples of Russia” by G.-T. Pauly, but new drawings from life or photographs were also created. The article examines the main sets of ethnographic illustrations that depict traditional clothing. Their significance as a pictorial source is analyzed. At the end of the article, a list of 108 ethnographic illustrations published in the Niva magazine in 1871–1880 is attached.

The article examines topical issues related to the participation of the Crimean Tatars in the socio-economic life of the Taurida province in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Based on the analyzed archival documents (some of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time), and provincial statistics, it was concluded that during that period, directly on the Crimean peninsula, Crimean Tatars constituted over 50% of all residents. Gardening, viticulture and winemaking remained the traditional areas of development of the region’s economic potential, in which many representatives of the Crimean Tatar population were employed. For example, Crimean Tatar residents were engaged in grape harvesting in the Yalta district. The total area occupied by gardens in Simferopol, Feodosia, and Yalta districts was over 5,000 acres. Fruit grown in Crimea were in steady demand outside the peninsula. However, as before the Crimean War, salt mining, cattle breeding, and tobacco growing remained the key sectors of the Crimean economy, where Crimean Tatars were employed as well. The list of owners and tenants of the Crimean salt lakes and salt springs in a number of districts of the Taurida province included Crimean Tatars. Archival documents contain the last names of Crimean Tatar merchants who were engaged in various trade operations and declared their capital to all merchant guilds. Crimean Tatars took an active part in the work of zemstvo councils, while the provincial and zemstvo councils of the Taurida province were in charge of the distribution and receipt of zemstvo fees, collected information on the state of agriculture, productivity, provided food assistance to peasants, and acted as organizers of exhibitions of agricultural goods. During the transformation of the Russian public education system in the 1870s, one of the central innovations of which was the reform of the “national minority school”, the “Rules on measures for the education of national minorities inhabiting Russia” were adopted. That document became the starting point for opening primary rural and urban schools for Muslims at public expense.

The activities of Ismail Gasprinsky including his ideas and practical steps (publication of the Tarjuman newspaper, the beginning of the Muslim school system reorganization) aimed at reforming the education system was a completely new phenomenon in the Turkic-Tatar community. The public reaction to his plans for large-scale reforms was mixed. At first, society treated them with great caution. However, the positive results demonstrated by the shakirds of the new method madrassas and mektebes gradually changed the attitude of society towards the new method and more and more supporters began to think about introducing a new approach to teaching children. The mugallims of Tatar madrassas, who had extensive experience in teaching children using traditional methods, began to look closely at the new educational approach of Ysuly Sautiya. The transition to a new sound method of teaching in Tatar society happened quite quickly and painlessly, the benefits were obvious even to those who doubted it. However, some of Gasprinsky’s ideas, for example, about the common Turkic language, did not find support and approval in Tatar society.

The purpose of the publication is to reveal the perception by the Tatar intelligentsia of I. Gasprinsky’s practical activities, ideas and plans at the beginning of the 20th century. The sources for the study were materials from the Tatar periodical press of the early 20th century, individual articles and memoirs of two representatives of the Tatar intelligentsia R. Fakhrutdin and G. Iskhaki. The used materials are written in the Old Tatar language in Arabic script. Therefore, they are inaccessible to a wide range of readers. This study expands the possibilities for reconstructing intellectual discussions in the Turkic-Tatar society of the early 20th century related to the personality of I. Gasprinsky.

The Tatars are one of the most ancient peoples of the Penza region. They live compactly in the Belinsky, Vadinsky, Gorodishchensky, Issinsky, Kamensky, Kuznetsky, Lopatinsky, Luninsky, Neverkinsky, Pachelmsky, Sosnovoborsky, Spassky, and Shemysheysky districts. A significant number of Tatars live in settlements with a mixed population. In total, there are about fifty Tatar settlements in the region. The Tatars of the Penza region belong to the Mishari Tatar subethnic group, among whom the western dialect of the Tatar language is widespread. According to the nature of the set of phonetic, grammatical and lexical features, two independent dialects of the Tatar language are distinguished in the region: the Kuznetsk and Temnikovsky dialects of the western dialect. In general, the vocabulary of the Tatar dialects of the Penza region is a holistic lexical and semantic subsystem of the Tatar language diasystem, which has been formed for over several centuries. It has preserved archaic elements, as well as local lexemes. The conditions of centuries-old close proximity of the Tatar population of the studied region with the Russians, and later bilingualism, could not but affect their language. As a result of language contacts, a large number of borrowings from the Russian language entered the speech of the inhabitants. The article presents Russian borrowings that penetrated the dialects of the Tatars of the Penza region, recorded during the scientific expedition of the Institute of Language, Literature and Art of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, which took place in 2022. The main research methods applied are the field method of data collection, as well as descriptive (study of factual material, generalization), comparative-historical, and comparative-contrastive methods.