Ethnosophical Landscape of Gorny Altai

Anatoliy M. Alekseev-Apraksin

doi:10.21638/spbu17.2024.411

Authors

Anatoliy M. Alekseev-Apraksin St. Petersburg State University, 7–9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation; Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 24/14, ul. 7-ya Krasnoarmeyskaya, St. Petersburg, 190005, Russian Federation; Ivanovo State University — branch in Shuya, 24, ul. Kooperativnaya, Shuya 155908, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5009-1110

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2024.411

Abstract

The article reconstructs the ethnosophical landscape of the Altai Mountains Republic. The main attention here focuses on the reflexive ethnic self-awareness of the Altai-Kizhi. The methodological basis of the study is the theory of cultural landscape, comparative analytics, and cultural generalization. The analyzed material was collected in the course of the 2023 expedition in the Altai Mountains. The article reveals the specifics of objectivist and subjectivist approaches to the study of cultural landscapes. For the first time, the concept of “ethnosophical landscape” is introduced and justified. It is defined by the author as a space of imagination based on ethnic traditions and religious consciousness when historical memory, creative self-reflection, and practical activity are aimed at preserving and creating cultural identity. The interviews and observations allowed the author to identify traditional, modernist, and metacultural ethnosophical landscapes as well as a number of key factors that determine the regional specifics of the Altai-Kizhi landscapes. The theoretical significance of the study of ethnosophical landscapes is to clarify the mechanisms for preserving ethnic identity and transmitting cultural memory. Its practical significance lies in increasing administrative and managerial efficiency; establishing fruitful forms of interaction with indigenous peoples; eliminating the reasons for their isolation; as well as in making informed decisions to preserve the ethnocultural identity of Russian regions.

Keywords:

ethnosophy, Altai-Kizhi, Oirats, Old Believers, Altai Kazakhs, religious landscape, nomadism, sacred places, frontier territories

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References

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