Migration of the Oirats in the first quarter of the 17th century on the eve of returning to Dzungaria

In 1541 the Oirats managed to form the Middle Confederation, which was led by the Khoshuts as the most powerful people. In the second half of the same XVI century the Oirats, suffering from attacks of their neighbors - the Turkic peoples from the west and south and the eastern Mongols from the east, began to move towards southern Siberia. Earlier they used to roam along the Black Irtysh river and north of the lake Zaysan, but now they began to move below the lake Yamysh. Opinions on the migration routes of the Oirats, existing in the literature, need clarification. The author offers his vision based on the archival materials and the Mongolian sources: the Hoyt Oirats, driven out of Kharakhoto by the Tumat Altan Khan, were the first to go towards the Altai Mountains. The next were the Torgut Oirats, who crossed the Altai, and then, together with the Derbets, they moved down the Irtysh river. The Elelets, the future Dzungars, left Western Mongolia for the Yenisei river sources. Already in the second decade of the 17th century the Oirats wandered along Om, Kamyshlov, Tobol and Ishim rivers, that is, they were roaming along the middle reaches of the Irtysh river. In 1623, at lake Yamysh, they defeated the troops of the Hotogoit Altyn Khan Sholoi Ubashi-Khuntaiji, but this victory did not exclude an internal struggle in the ruling house of the Khoshuts, which resulted in weakening of this people. Further civil strife forced the Torguts to move towards west, and in the early 1630s they reached the Volga river. Migrations over such long distances were possible only if there was an effective management apparatus, while maintaining traditions and identity.

PROBLEMS OF AGE AND GENETIC DIAGNOSTICS OF QUATERNARY DEPOSITS IN THE VALLEY OF THE YENISEI RIVER MIDDLE COURSE (YENISEI – LOWER ANGARA STRATIGRAPHIC REGION AND THE MINUSINSK BASINS AREA)

The article is devoted to the state of stratigraphic exploration maturity of the Eopleistocene – Neo-Рleistocene Quaternary deposits on the boundary of mountain and plain territories in the non-glacial area. The material analysis shows an inadequate rationale of the existing stratigraphic schemes, according to which the ladder of alluvial terraces of these territories was formed sequentially during the Eopleistocene, Neo-Pleistocene and Holocene. The revising of representative sections was carried out, the provision of them with geochronological data, the accuracy of age and genetic diagnostics were evaluated.

GOSUDAREV LOG REFERENCE SECTION OF THE GELASIAN AND EOPLEISTOCENE

An integrated analysis of Quaternary deposits of the Gosudarev Log section near Krasnoyarsk was carried out. In the wall of the ancient ravine, deposits of the two highest river terraces of the Yenisei River embedded in accumulative formations of the so-called Batoisky uval [ridge] were uncovered. In the axial part of this ridge, lacustrine Eopleistocene formations overlie river gravel of the Gelasian and are overlain by subaerial cover loess-like formations. This section is proposed as a reference one for the Gelazian and Eopleistocene deposits of the extraglacial zone of the Pre-Yenisei Siberia.

Unprecedented acceleration of winter discharge of Upper Yenisei River inferred from tree rings

The Yenisei River is the largest contributor of freshwater and energy fluxes among all rivers draining to the Arctic Ocean. Modeling long-term variability of Eurasian runoff to the Arctic Ocean is complicated by the considerable variability of river discharge in time and space, and the monitoring constraints imposed by a sparse gauged-flow network and paucity of satellite data. We quantify tree growth response to river discharge at the upper reaches of the Yenisei River in Tuva, South Siberia. Two regression models built from eight tree-ring width chronologies of Larix sibirica are applied to reconstruct winter (Nov–Apr) discharge for the period 1784-1997 (214 years), and annual (Oct–Sept) discharge for the period 1701–2000 (300 years). The Nov–Apr model explains 52% of the discharge variance whereas Oct–Sept explains 26% for the calibration intervals 1927–1997 and 1927-2000, respectively. This new hydrological archive doubles the length of the instrumental discharge record at the Kyzyl gauge and resets the temporal background of discharge variability back to 1784. The reconstruction finds a remarkable 80% upsurge in winter flow over the last 25 years, which is unprecedented in the last 214 years. In contrast, annual discharge fluctuated normally for this system, with only a 7% increase over the last 25 years. Water balance modeling with CRU data manifests a significant discrepancy between decadal variability of the gauged flow and climate data after 1960. We discuss the impact on the baseflow rate change of both the accelerating permafrost warming in the discontinuous zone of South Siberia and widespread forest fires. The winter discharge accounts for only one-third of the annual flow, yet the persistent 25-year upsurge is alarming. This trend is likely caused by Arctic Amplification, which can be further magnified by increased winter flow delivering significantly more freshwater to the Kara Sea during the cold season.

Evidence for Microplastics Contamination of the Remote Tributary of the Yenisei River, Siberia—The Pilot Study Results

This study is a pioneering attempt to count microplastics (MPs) in the Yenisei River system to clarify the role of Siberian Rivers in the transport of MPs to the Arctic Ocean. The average MPs content in the surface water of the Yenisei large tributary, the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River, varied from 1.20 ± 0.70 to 4.53 ± 2.04 items/m3, tending to increase along the watercourse (p < 0.05). Concentrations of MPs in bottom sediments of the two rivers were 235 ± 83.0 to 543 ± 94.1 with no tendency of downstream increasing. Linear association (r = 0.952) between average organic matter content and average counts of MPs in bottom sediments occurred. Presumably MPs originated from the daily activities of the in-situ population. Further spatial-temporal studies are needed to estimate the riverine MPs fluxes into the Eurasian Arctic seas.

STATE OF THE KYRGYZ IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

The article deals with the evolution of the political and legal system of the Kyrgyz society during theEarly Middle Ages. In the 6th century, the Khagyas (Kyrgyz) State was formed on the Yenisei River on thebasis of the unification of the Altai and Yenisei Kyrgyz tribes. The IX-beginning of the X century — the periodof the greatest growth of the power of the Kyrgyz power was called the “Kyrgyz Great Power”.

The Modern State and the Dynamics of Minor Landforms Found in the Steppes of the Southern-Minusinsk Hollow

В статье изложены результаты многолетних исследований генезиса, морфологии, особенностей функционирования, современного состояния и динамики малых эрозионных форм рельефа в условиях котловин гор Южной Сибири на примере Южно-Минусинской котловины. Овражные формы представлены здесь локально. Доминируют береговые промоины и овраги, секущие крутые борта долин рек Абакан, Енисей и их притоков. Густота расчленения и плотность современных овражных форм рельефа возрастает на сельскохозяйственных землях (пашни и пастбища) и в пределах селитебных ландшафтов. Размеры малых эрозионных форм рельефа отличаются большим диапазоном. Так, протяженность коротких промоин составляет первые десятки метров, длинных логов — 3–5 км. Глубина вреза изменяется от 1,5–3 м до 10–20 м, ширина между бровками достигает 40–60 м. В настоящее время, несмотря на период увеличения увлажненности территории, после достаточно длительного засушливого периода овражные формы активно задерновываются. Этому способствует рост температуры и выпадение осадков слабой интенсивности. В результате происходит зарастание нарушенных земель ильмом мелколистным, наблюдается превращение степных ландшафтов в парковые. The article discusses the results of a multiannual research of the genesis, morphology, modern state and dynamics of minor landforms that can be found in the mountains of Southern Siberia in the Southern-Minusinsk Hollow. The majority of ravine landforms found in the area are bank gullies infesting the steep banks of the Abakan River, the Yenisei River and their tributaries. The density of ravine dismemberment increases in agricultural areas (arable lands and pastures) and in residential areas. The size of ravine landforms varies over a wide range. The length of short gullies does not exceed a few dozen meters. The length of long logs can reach 3–5 kilometres. The depth of incision varies from 1.5–3 metres to 10–20 metres. The distance between the brows of a ravine can reach 40–60 meters. Nowadays, despite a period of higher humidity, prolonged dry periods and high temperatures make ravines peaty. As a result, the areas overgrow with small-leaved elm and steppe landscapes are gradually transformed into parks.

“The Inner State of the Human Heart During a Righteous and a Sinful Life”: A Manuscript and a Modern Lubok of the Chasovennye Old Believers on the Yenisei

В статье рассматриваются источники формирования визуального образа в старообрядческой лицевой рукописи матушки Македонии, созданной в 1950-1960-е гг. на Енисее, и современном лубке «Внутреннее состояние сердца человеческого при жизни праведной и греховной», нарисованном в 2011 г. в женских монастырях староверов-часовенных на Дубчесе в Красноярском крае. Сравнение вербального и визуального текстов в книге «Сердце человеческое», изданной большими тиражами в России в XVIII-XX вв., с одноименной лицевой рукописью м. Македонии, найденной в экспедиции в 2019 г., позволило установить прототипы копирования и переработки материалов для создания настенного листа. Впервые в научный оборот вводятся два письменных источника старообрядческой культуры середины ХХ-XXI вв. - лицевая рукопись и настенный лист, свидетельствующие о сохранении книжной и лубочной традиций при кардинальных трансформациях культурного пространства и времени в условиях развития современных технологий. Антропология лубка раскрывается через интерпретацию образа Человека и его «внутреннего состояния сердца», размышления о выборе жизненного пути - праведного и греховного. Компаративный анализ и комментирование картинки позволяют описать мироощущение и восприятие изобразительного источника. В целом традиция переписывания книг и создания народной картинки актуальна в старообрядческих общинах на Енисее, выполняет дидактическую и коммуникативную функции, о чем свидетельствуют рассказы информантов и артефакты, найденные в экспедициях Красноярского края. This article examines the source of the visual imagery in an Old Believer illuminated manuscript of Mother Macedonia, created in the 1950s-1960s on the Yenisei River, and in the modern lubok “The Inner State of the Human Heart During a Righteous and a Sinful Life,” drawn in 2011 in Chasovennye Old Believer female monasteries on the Dubches River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Comparison of the illuminated manuscript with the book “The Human Heart,” published in large editions in Russia in the 18th - 20th centuries, reveals the materials used in creating the lubok. These two written sources, the illuminated manuscript and the lubok, that are here introduced to scholarship, testify to the perseverance of the book and lubok traditions despite fundamental changes in culture and technology. The anthropology of the lubok is revealed in the image of the “inner state of the heart,” reflecting a person’s choice of life path, righteous or sinful. Comparative analysis and commentary on the image allow us to better understand the worldview and perception of those who created it. In general, the tradition of copying books and creating popular prints is alive among the Old Believer communities on the Yenisei and performs didactic and communicative functions, as also evidenced by the stories of informants and artifacts found on expeditions in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.