Russians into Iakuts? “Going Native” and Problems of Russian National Identity in the Siberian North, 1870s-1914

Slavic Review ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 806-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willard Sunderland
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
Northern Caucasus ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Volga Ural Region

As far as the Russian state and most educated Russians were concerned, assimilation in the eastern borderlands of the Russian empire in the late imperial period was supposed to be a one-way street. “Backward” eastern peoples were generally supposed to become more like Russians, while Russians, for their part, were expected to change others while themselves maintaining their language, customs, religion, and overall Russianness. In reality, of course, things were rarely so straightforward. In the mixed settlement worlds of the borderlands, both Russians and non-Russians influenced one another in multiple ways, and Russian influences were not always strongest. In fact, in certain cases, contrary to official and elite expectations, it was not so much the Russians who “Russianized” the “natives” as the “natives” who “nativized” the Russians. By the late imperial period, “nativized” Russians of one kind or another could be found throughout the imperial east. In the northern Caucasus, for example, whole Russian villages looked and lived like gortsy; in the Volga-Ural region, other Russian peasants performed “pagan” sacrifices like Voguls and Maris; on the Kazakh steppe, still others had converted to Islam; and on just about every frontier one came across supposedly “Russian” cossacks who lived according to native ways and preferred to speak native languages.

Studying the History of the State Control in the Russian Empire During the Period of the Duma Monarchy

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-38
Author(s):  
Ziqiu Chen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
The State ◽  
State Control ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Russian State ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Council Of Ministers

After the establishment of constitutional monarchy in Russia as a result of the 1905–1906 reforms, the position of the Russian State Control (imperial audit service) changed. Formerly relatively independent, the State Control, whose head was directly accountable to the Emperor, now found itself in the united government, i.e. the Council of Ministers. The undermined independence of the State Control provoked a wide public discussion, which involved Duma deputies, employees of the State Control as well as competent Russian economists and financial experts, who made relevant recommendations calling for reducing the number of state institutions that were unaccountable to the audit service and giving the latter more independence. This paper analyses the key works of pre-revolutionary authors published in the early 20th century and devoted to the history of the State Control of the Russian Empire. Both in the imperial period and today, the Russian audit institution, in contrast with political, historical and military topics, has been of primary interest not to historians, but to economists, financiers and lawyers, since it requires special knowledge of the State Control’s technical mechanisms. Based on this, the author selected the following works that require thorough examination: How People’s Money Is Spent in Russia by I.Kh. Ozerov, On the Transformation of the State Control by Yu.V. Tansky, an official anniversary edition State Control. 1811–1911, and Essays on the Russian Budget Law. Part 1 by L.N. Yasnopolsky. The author of this article considers these works to be the highest quality studies on the Russian State Control at the beginning of the 20th century and their analysis to be of unquestionable importance for contemporary research into the history of the Russian audit institution.

scholarly journals Islamic Scholars: The Glue That Held Volga-Ural Muslims Together in the Russian Empire

Islamology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Mustafa Tuna
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
Regional Community ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Kinship Ties ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Volga Ural Region ◽  
Market Towns

When Russian forces occupied the Volga-Ural region in the sixteenth century, they nearly eliminated the local Muslim nobility. In the absence of a politically active nobility, Islamic scholars kept the region’s Muslim inhabitants connected as a larger community. This population of agricultural peasants and seasonal nomads rarely ventured beyond the vicinity of their villages or market towns, but scholars traveled extensively to pursue knowledge. As they traveled, they forged lasting connections with other students and scholars. When they graduated and dispersed through the region as village imams, they maintained these connections through kinship ties, letters, Sufi associations, and theological debates. Some of them also engaged in a broader network of Islamic scholars that extended primarily from Transoxiana to the Ottoman territories. As such, they served as the glue that held Volga-Ural Muslims together in a shared world, a regional Muslim domain, and they integrated this regional community of believers further into a transregional Muslim domain.

Policing Prostitution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhán Hearne
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Social History ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Commercial Sex ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Urban Problem ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Imperial State

Policing Prostitution examines the complex world of commercial sex in the final two decades of the Russian Empire before its collapse in 1917. From the 1840s until 1917, prostitution was legally tolerated across the Empire under a system known as regulation. Medical-police were in charge of compiling information about registered prostitutes and ensuring that they followed the strict rules prescribed by the imperial state governing their visibility and behaviour. The vast majority of women who sold sex hailed from the lower classes, as did their managers and clients. Official interest in prostitution generated a mass of documentation, which allows us to glimpse the lives and challenges of various groups of the Empire’s urban lower classes, including women who sold sex, their clients, brothel madams, police, and wider urban communities. In the late imperial period, prostitution was not just an urban ‘problem’ to be controlled and contained, but also a lucrative commodity due to the formal and informal financial relationships forged between brothel madams, registered prostitutes, and the police. This study is a social history of prostitution, drawing on archival material from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. It focuses on how regulation was implemented, experienced, and resisted in various urban centres in the northwest of the Russian Empire, and how everyday experiences of regulation varied widely from place to place. In principle, the tsarist state regulated prostitution in the name of public order and public health; in practice, that regulation was both modulated by provincial police forces who had different local priorities, resources, and strategies, and contested by registered prostitutes, brothel madams, and others who interacted with the world of commercial sex.

scholarly journals Visual image of the Russian capitals and provinces of the late XIX – early XX centuries in travelogues of the foreigners

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Aleksei Andreevich Seniukhin
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Visitor Attractions

The subject of this research is the iconography of the capitals and provinces of the Russian Empire of the late XIX – early XX centuries in the illustrative series of essays authored by the foreigners on their trip to Russia (travelogues). The topic seems relevant due to the “visual turn” and active study of the image of Russia as “Other” in the humanities. Based on application of the comparative and quantitative analysis, the author determines the frequency of storylines used for depicting St. Petersburg, Moscow and other regions of the Russian Empire in photography and drawings; as well as reveals the key elements of iconography and connections between them within the framework of a single illustration, which indicates the accents made by the travelers. The conclusion is made on versatility of the images of the Russian capitals and provinces of the late Imperial period in the illustrative series of travelogues, which manifests in the differences of frequency of the strategies for their representation and iconographic elements. Moscow and St. Petersburg were mostly described through visitor attractions and urban, which blended them in the “East – West” dichotomy. Although in the context of everyday life storylines, the province represented the journey and daily activity of the tourists, then through the landscapes, wooden buildings, dirt on the streets and appearance of the local dwellers, it formed the image of “authentic Russia”, close to the “barbaric”.

The Bulghar Region as a “Land of Ignorance”: Anti-Colonial Discourse in Khvārazmian Connectivity

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-204
Author(s):  
Alfrid K. Bustanov
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
The State ◽  
Colonial Discourse ◽  
Stable Bridge ◽  
Migrant Community ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Volga Ural Region

Hagiographic sources from nineteenth-century Inner Russia and Khvārazm indicate the existence of a cluster of Muslims opposed to the state-supported Islamic institutions of the Russian Empire. Many Muslim scholars of the period did not accord the Volga-Ural region the status of an ‘abode of Islam,’ as they considered it to be a ‘land of ignorance.’ This paper examines the significance attached by Muslims of Inner Russia to the pious rhetoric of resettlement from a ‘land of ignorance’ to the ‘abode of Islam’. I argue that the opposition to the already well-established imperial structures in the Volga-Urals resulted in the formation of a powerful migrant community near Urgench, Khvārazm, that used the Naqshbandiya-Mojaddediya Sufi networks as a stable bridge to home.

scholarly journals Правовой и религиозный авторитет в концепции иджтихада у Марджани

Islamology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Nathan Spannaus
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Legal Methodology ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Volga Ural Region

In the history of Islamic thought in the Russian Empire, Shihabaddin Mardjani’s (1818-1889) call for ijtihad is well-known, but often misunderstood as a form of radical modernization. In fact, Mardjani’s understanding of ijtihad, as evident in his important Arabic works, does not differ significantly from the conception of ijtihad that predominated in the post-classical period of Islamic history (13th-19th cent.). This article addresses in detail Mardjani’s stance on ijtihad and its religious and legal premises, from the perspective of its broader context in the middle of the 19th century, specifically the changes to the structure of Islamic institutions in the Volga-Ural region and the weakening of the religious authority of the ulama. I argue that although Mardjani’s stance was shaped by this context, it is nevertheless based on maintaining the legal methodology of the Hanafi school (madhhab) and scholars’ role as religious interpreters.

scholarly journals THE PROBLEM OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE BORDERLANDS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AT THE TURN OF THE 19-20TH CENTURIES IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORICAL AND LEGAL DISCIPLINES

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (15) ◽  
pp. 1434-1438
Author(s):  
Alexander Petukhov ◽  
Tatyana Kozhina
Keyword(s):  
Local Population ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
The Other ◽  
Homogeneous State ◽  
Imperial Politics ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Russian Universities ◽  
Volga Ural Region

The article analyzes the approaches to the consideration of the imperial policy of Russia at the turn of the 19-20th centuries in the teaching of historical and legal disciplines in Russian universities. The authors state the discrepancy between the results of modern research on the Russian empire and the idea of the Russian empire as an ethnically homogeneous state that remains in the practice of teaching. Adjusting such an outdated view requires greater attention to the issues of heterogeneity of the Russian empire, its place among other empires at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the nature and typology of the Russian imperial borderlands and their relationship with the imperial center. Using the example of the Volga-Ural region, the authors consider the processes that took place at that imperial borderland of Russia at the turn of the 19-20th centuries, and its place in imperial politics. The Volga-Ural is characterized as the first imperial borderland of the Russian Empire, where a model of Russian imperial politics was formed. The central place in Russian imperial politics was played by the Christianization of the local population, which could be either violent or voluntary. The results of the imperial confessional policy were contradictory. The success of Christianization led to the beginning of the 20th century to the formation in the region of new identities among residents, who perceived themselves as Orthodox, but distinguished themselves from the ethnically Russian population. On the other hand, the opposition to Christianization by local Muslims contributed to the identity of the Volga-Ural Tatars, which was based on adherence to Islam. The article offers a number of specific recommendations for updating the teaching of historical and legal disciplines by introducing into their content issues of imperial control at the borderlands of Russia at the turn of the 19-20th centuries. Keywords: Borderlands of the Russian Empire, teaching of historical and legal disciplines.

scholarly journals LEADERS OF THE MUSLIM MOVEMENT RUSSIAN EMPIRE ABOUT KEY POLITICAL ISSUES THE BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 969-981
Author(s):  
Aydar Yu. Habutdinov ◽  
Marina M. Imasheva
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
The State ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Volga Ural Region

In the article, based on a wide range of documents, an attempt is made to analyze the interaction of the leaders of the Russian Muslim social movement on the main political issues of two key regions: the Volga-Ural and the Caucasus, at the beginning of the 20th century. We are talking about the cooperation of the leaders of the Muslim movement in considering the issues of the models of statehood and autonomy and land. The interaction of Muslims of the Volga-Ural region and the Caucasus in the framework of the activities of the Ittifak al-Muslimin party, the Muslim faction of the imperial State Duma of four convocations, during the revolutionary events of 1917 and the Civil War is considered.The source base of the study is bills, legislative sources, programs of parties and factions, clerical materials, verbatim records of meetings of the State Duma of all four convocations and Muslim congresses. Methodologically, the article is based on systematization, classification and analysis of these documents. To compare the facts and events related to the activities of the leaders of the Muslim movement of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century and to determine their role in the history of interaction between the Muslims of the Volga-Ural region and the Caucasus, the comparative-historical method adopted in domestic science was applied. The conclusions are made that, firstly, the economic and intellectual elite of the Tatar and Azerbaijani peoples stood at the head of the social movement of Muslims of the Russian Empire. Secondly, the main issues facing the Muslim politicians of Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century were questions about the form of government and the autonomy of Muslims and land. Thirdly, the political cooperation between the leaders of the Muslims of the Volga-Ural region and the Caucasus at the beginning of the twentieth century led to the creation of the All-Russian Muslim party "Ittifak al-Muslimin", the Muslim faction of the State Duma, and the convocation of All-Russian Muslim congresses.

scholarly journals How Russia ‘Colonized Itself’

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Etkind
Keyword(s):  
Russian Empire ◽  
The Self ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Western Idea ◽  
The Crimea ◽  
Peculiar Character ◽  
The Russian Empire

In the late imperial period, Russian historiography was dominated by the self-colonization school. Russian historians wrote detailed accounts of Russia’s takeover of the Crimea, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, and other lands, but they did not describe these areas as Russian colonies. Instead, mainstream Russian historians argued that ‘Russia colonized itself’. The discourse of self-colonization was a specific, though longterm and surprisingly robust, moment in Russian historiography. Appropriating the western idea of colonization, Russian historiography transformed this idea in quite a radical way. First, in Russia, the process of colonization was construed as self-reflexive and internal, rather than as object-directed and external. Second, in Russia, we find an uncritical approval of the processes of colonization, which is different from the British and French historiographical traditions and from the postcolonial approach to colonization. However, some Russian historians held a critical stance toward the peculiar character of the Russian Empire.

Muslim Charity under Russian Rule: Waqf, Sadaqa, and Zakat in Imperial Russia

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Russian Empire ◽  
Ural Region ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Imperial Russia ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Volga Ural Region

This article examines the development of Muslim charitable practices in the Russian Empire (Volga-Ural region, Siberia and the northern Kazakh Steppe) from the Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552 to the 1917 Russian Revolution. Building upon existing research on charity in those regions, it argues that Russian rule from the 1550s to the mid-1800s created the basis for a range of locally-organized charity-based economies for meeting the religious, cultural, and social needs of Muslim communities in a non-Muslim state. Though these economies differed somewhat in organization, all were structured around Muslim modes of charity and all generated and re-enforced hierarchies within their respective communities. The struggles over charitable practices that occurred from the 1860s to 1917 emerged from these well-established but evolving economies as their participants responded to changing circumstances within and around their confessional communities.


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