Anthropology in Russia

Authors

  • Sergey Sokolovskiy INSTITUT OF ETHNOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47854/e3frdr95

Keywords:

Anthropologie, Ethnologie, Russie

Abstract

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

2026-02-04

Issue

Section

Entrées