Passions about Arkaim: Russian Nationalism, the Aryans, and the Politics of Archaeology

Inner Asia ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Shnirelman
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Sacred Place ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Politics Of Archaeology ◽  
The City

AbstractArkaim is the name given to the site of an ancient town in the Southern Urals, dated to the 17th–16th centuries BC. Discovered in 1987, Arkaim rapidly became more than an archaeological site. It became the focus for an extraordinary congolmeration of ideas linked to ecological and political movements, in particular those of Russian nationalists. Threatened with flooding because of a dam project, Arkaim was made a ‘Museum Reserve’. Soon it became the focus for theories that this was a sacred place and furthermore the home of proto-Slavs. The break-up of the Soviet Union was followed by attempts by Russian nationalists to demonstrate the legitimacy of their domination of the former empire. The article shows how quasi historical claims expanded into myth and fantasy, linked to the emergence of new cults. Arkaim became the city not only of proto Slavs but of Zarathustra and the Aryans too. Such inventions are related to local politics and ethnic tensions as well as to wider Russian nationalism.

A Nuclear Generator of Clouds: Accidents and Radioactive Contamination Identified on Declassified Satellite Photographs in the Mayak Chemical Combine, Southern Urals

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Kiarszys
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
Radioactive Isotopes ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Intelligence Agency ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The 1960S

The Mayak Chemical Combine was one of the most secretive places in the Soviet Union. It was built in the southern Urals, close to Kyshtym. The facility produced weapons-grade plutonium and other radioactive isotopes for the Soviet nuclear military programme. Fugitives from behind the Iron Curtain mentioned the site, usually due to accidents and peculiar, unexplained observations. Such reports were often treated in the West as exaggerated or fictional, as they spoke of large-scale disasters, deportations and vast landscape transformations. This paper aims to present the research potential of declassified Cold War intelligence records for archaeological landscape studies of off-limits military sites. To outline a somewhat broader perspective, I will combine those sources with contemporary historical knowledge and modern remote sensing data. The analysis will be focused on the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] satellite imagery (CORONA and GAMBIT) from the 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s. The discussed sources recorded outcomes of nuclear disasters, hundreds of square kilometres of uninhabited wasteland, abandoned villages, disappearing lakes, dying forests, diverted rivers, and other features related to this clandestine plutonium facility.

New Coal Basin of the U.S.S.R.

1944 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 132-132
Author(s):  
I. Andronov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Coal Basin ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Coking Coal ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Power Base ◽  
Set Up

Until quite recently only a few specialists, even in the Soviet Union, knew about the Poltava and Bredin anthracite deposits in the Southern Urals. Under the stern conditions of war, however, this coal basin in the east of the Soviet Union has sprung to economic life. A new power base has been set up, new shafts sunk, all of them working and with reserves of coal before them sufficient for many years. Many of the Bredin pits contain coking coal, and the Poltava-Bredin coal district will soon be able to supply many of the large Urals works with high-quality fuel.

Securing the nuclear nation

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-26
Author(s):  
Kate Brown
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Ethnic Cleansing ◽  
Construction Site ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Nuclear Weapons Complex ◽  
Local Farmers

In 1946, in the Southern Urals, construction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics first plutonium plant fell to the GULAG-Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (NKVD). The chief officers in charge of the program – Lavrentii Beria, Sergei Kruglov, and Ivan Tkachenko – had been pivotal figures in the deportation and political and ethnic cleansing of territories retaken from Axis forces during WWII. These men were charged with building a nuclear weapons complex to defend the Soviet Union from the American nuclear monopoly. In part thanks to the criminalization and deportation of ethnic minorities, Gulag territories grew crowded with foreign nationals and ethnic minorities in the postwar years. The NKVD generals were appalled to find that masses of forced laborers employed at the plutonium construction site were members of enemy nations. Beria issued orders to cleanse the ranks of foreign enemies, but construction managers could not spare a single healthy body as they raced to complete their deadlines. To solve this problem, they created two zones: an interior, affluent zone for plutonium workers made up almost exclusively of Russians; and anterior zones of prisoners, soldiers, ex-cons, and local farmers, many of whom were non-Russian. The selective quality of Soviet “nuclearity” meant that many people who were exposed to the plant's secret plutonium disasters were ethnic minorities, people whose exposures went unrecorded or under-recorded because of their invisibility and low social value.

scholarly journals Development of museum activities on the territory of Orenburg Region and Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic during the «Thaw»

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-247
Author(s):  
Irina Pavlovna Morozova
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Socialist Republic ◽  
Soviet Socialist Republic ◽  
Orenburg Region ◽  
Data Archives ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Republic Of Bashkortostan ◽  
The Republic

This paper discusses the development of cultural life of the Orenburg Region and Bashkiria on the example of museum business during the Thaw. The author shows that the development of the museum network in the southern Urals in the second half of the 1950s is associated with the general rise of cultural and scientific life of the country after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. During this period, the interest to archaeological activities also increased. The popularization of the museum business in the region took place thanks to the activities of the museum staff that began to resort to various forms of communication with visitors: exhibitions, lectures, etc. The flow of museum visitors increased every year. The analysis of periodic publications and data archives helped to conclude that the museum business on the territory of the southern Urals during the Thaw was successful as new museums opened, because it was necessary to introduce culture to the population of the regions. If we consider the specifics of the opened museums, most of them were local lore. Due to the involvement of the regions population, the museum funds were actively replenished with artifacts. In the early 60s of the XX century new museums were opened as well as Askin Museum of local lore was created on a voluntary basis in the Republic of Bashkortostan (Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic).

Socio-political problems of residents of Вishkek residential areas

2021 ◽  
pp. 346-356
Author(s):  
Rita Bobuevna Salmorbekova ◽  
Dilshat Karimova
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Expert Survey ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Rational Distribution ◽  
Internal Migrants ◽  
The City

The article examines the problems of the population of the residential areas of the city of Bishkek based on the sociological study. An expert survey carried out in four districts of Bishkek is presented. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than 50 new residential areas appeared in the city. Naturally, new residential areas do not have sufficient infrastructure for the population to this day. The current situation with internal migrants in Kyrgyzstan violates the regional demographic balance and the rational distribution of the population across the country. The population is moving actively at the interdistrict and interregional levels. As a result, the main influx of internal migrants moves to Bishkek and Chui Region. The problem of researching the state of the new residential areas in Bishkek is relevant for modern Kyrgyzstan. However, the official statistical base does not cover all citizens living in new buildings, since most residents do not have a residence registration in the area. 75–80 % of the population does not have education and health services. In many residential areas, social facilities, roads, and communications have not been built yet, and the infrastructure as a whole is not developed. Ignoring the issue on the part of the state can lead to a social explosion, expressed by protest actions, exacerbation of social and interregional conflicts among residents of the given area. Based on this, it was necessary to conduct an expert survey among the representatives of the municipal territorial authorities of each district. The main problems of residents of the new residential areas were studied as much as possible.

The Road to Post-Communism: Independent Political Movements in the Soviet Union, 1985-1991

1995 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
William M. Reisinger ◽  
Geoffrey Hosking ◽  
Jonathan Aves ◽  
Peter J. S. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Post Communism

scholarly journals Bioindication of atmospheric air quality based on the condition of Pinus sylvestris l. Needles in the conditions of the city of Orsk, Orenburg region

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (44) ◽  
pp. 3-3
Author(s):  
Alexander Saakian ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Pine Needles ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Atmospheric Air ◽  
Orenburg Region ◽  
The City ◽  
Industrial Center

The article presents the results of a bioindication study of atmospheric air pollution on the condition of pine needles (Pinus sylvestris L.) on the example of the city of Orsk, Orenburg region. The city of Orsk is a major industrial center of the Southern Urals. The research was carried out on 6 sites located within the city with different anthropogenic loads. The research method is based on the direct dependence of damage to Pinus sylvestris L. needles (necrosis and desiccation) on the level of atmospheric air pollution. Analyzed the morphological characteristics of the needles of Pinus sylvestris L. in the studied areas. The result of the study is an assessment of the state of atmospheric air. Keywords: BIOINDICATION, SCOTS PINE, NEEDLES, AIR POLLUTION, ORSK CITY, ORENBURG REGION

scholarly journals «ЧЕРКАСОВСКОЕ» ДВИЖЕНИЕ В ЯЛТЕ 1944 г.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
N.D. Borshchik ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Health Resort ◽  
Crimean Peninsula ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Red Army ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Post War ◽  
The City

The article deals with the problems of post-war reconstruction of Yalta – one of the most popular resorts of the Soviet Union. During the great Patriotic war, this all-Union health resort was subjected to barbaric destruction and looting. The fascist occupation regime (1941-1944) caused enormous damage to the health resort Fund of Yalta, the city economy and the entire infrastructure of the southern coast of Crimea. The rapid return to the pre-war structure and the commissioning of social facilities has become a priority for the regional authorities and the population. In addition to traditional methods, the Patriotic «Сherkassov» movement, which began in the liberated Stalingrad in 1943 and spread throughout the country, was widely used. A solid Foundation was laid for the interaction of the city administration of Yalta and the local population with the commanders and soldiers of the red Army. Based on the analysis of archival documents of the State archive of the Republic of Crimea, it was possible to trace the course of restoration work in the fi rst months after the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula from fascism. It is established that for the rapid restoration and functioning of the Yalta resorts, public activists launched a socialist competition on «Сherkassov» methods

Sergei Viktorovich Yarov, 1959–2015

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 177-179
Author(s):  
Clayton Black
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

Abstract This article offers a brief tribute to the life and career of Sergei Viktorovich Yarov, whose works pioneered new avenues of research in the history of workers, popular mentalities, and the city of Leningrad, especially during the Siege. It provides an assessment of his key works, especially his monographs, and his role in the development of the historical discipline in Russia before and after the fall of the Soviet Union.

scholarly journals Juda Hirsch Quastel, 2 October 1899 - 15 October 1987

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 379-418 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Family Members ◽  
The West ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Garment Factories ◽  
The Subject ◽  
East End ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City

Juda Hirsch Quastel, who contributed for more than 60 years to the growth of biochemistry, was born in Sheffield, in a room over his father’s rented sweet shop on the Ecclesall Road. The date was 2 October 1899, and his parents, Jonas and Flora (Itcovitz) Quastel, had lived in England for only a few years. They had emigrated separately from the city of Tamopol in eastern Galicia, which was then within the Austro-Hungarian Empire; it has since, after a period under Polish rule, become part of the Ukrainian Republic of the Soviet Union. Tamopol at the end of the 19th century was a city of some 30 000 and the centre of an agricultural district. Its inhabitants were ethnically mixed, but about half of them were Jews, many of whom under the relatively benevolent Austrian regime were fairly prosperous. Quastel used to recall how his father and grandfather had held the Emperor Franz Joseph in great respect. His grandfather, also Juda Hirsch (married to Yetta Rappoport), had at one time worked as a chemist in a brewery laboratory in Tamopol. The parents of the subject of this biography had been in commerce there, and were not poor; but today’s family members know little about the life of Jonas and Flora in Tamopol, or about the reasons that persuaded them, like many of their neighbours, to emigrate to the West. An uncle had already gone to England, and perhaps had encouraged them to follow because of the greater opportunities. In England they lived at first in London’s east end, where they worked in garment factories; but their move to Sheffield, and to Jonas’s modest entrepreneurship, had been completed in the late 1890s. It was there that Juda Hirsch and his four younger siblings (Charles, Doris, Hetty and Anne) were born.

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