Anthropology in Russia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47854/e3frdr95Keywords:
Anthropologie, Ethnologie, RussieAbstract
The entry briefly summarises the historical development of anthropological research in the country since the 1730s. During the XXth c. Russian ethnology transformed from a geographical to the discipline belonging to social sciences and humanities. From mid-1960s to the 1990s it was characterised by debates over definitions of ethnic groups. Russian ethnology during this period was strongly influenced by conflicting ideologies: imperial stance seeking unification of the ethnically diverse population, on the one hand, and a local nationalisms ideology, on the other. The introduction of socio-cultural anthropology during the 1990s marked a new stage with the emergence of specialised sub-disciplines, the division between folklore, ethno-political, and regional comparative studies. The paper covers the history of the main anthropological institutions in the country, and traces the leading anthropological periodicals policy
References
Banks, M., 1996, Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions, Londres, Routledge.
Bertrand, F., 2002, L’anthropologie soviétique des années 1920-1930. Configuration d’une rupture, Bordeaux, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux.
Bromley, Y., 1974, « The term ethnos and its definition », in Y. Bromley (dir.), Soviet Ethnology and Anthropology Today, s.l., De Gruyter-Mouton : 55-72.
Bromley, J. et V. Kozlov, 1989, « The theory of ethnos and ethnic processes in soviet social sciences », Comparative Studies in Society and History, 31 (3) : 425-438, https://doi.org/10.1017/S001041750001598X
Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique, 1990, numéro thématique « Regards sur l’anthropologie soviétique », XXXI (2-3), Éditions de l’EHESS, https://www.persee.fr/issue/cmr_0008-0160_1990_num_31_2
Laruelle, M., 2000, « Lev Nikolaevič Gumilev (1912-1992) : biologisme et eurasisme dans la pensée russe », Revue des études slaves, 72 (1-2) : 163-189, https://www.persee.fr/doc/slave_0080-2557_2000_num_72_1_6650
Mogilner, M., 2013, Homo Imperii: The History of Physical Anthropology in Russia, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.
Vermeulen, H., 2015, Before Boas: The Genesis of Ethnography and Ethnology in the German Enlightenment, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Anthropen

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Unless otherwise stated, content comprised on this website, including text, photographs, illustrations, trademarks, logos, audio or video clips, is protected by copyright law. All rights, titles and interests in the content belong exclusively to Anthropen. With the exception of works licensed under CC BY NC ND 4.0 any copying, reproduction, distribution, total or partial modification is strictly prohibited without the written permission of Anthropen and may expose the offender to legal sanctions.