Вестник археологии, антропологии и этнографии (Jun 2017)
Host Altai society and deported Armenians in the context of permanent repressions and deportations in the 1930–1940s: images and cultural interaction
Abstract
The aim of the article is to study the influence of ethnical deportations on the rural population of Altai Krai by using oral history as a method and source of ethnographic research on the example of the 1949 Armenian deportation campaign. It is asserted that the study of nations and cultures in the context of global historical processes of the XX–XXI centuries requires new approaches. The techniques of oral history which deal with historical memory are one of the ways of studying anthropological contents of historical processes. The main sources of the article are the materials of field research on the territory of Altai Krai. The research focuses on host, mainly Russian population in the context of permanent ethnical deportations of the 1940s. It is mentioned that the population of the Altai countryside became multiethnic in quite a short period of time which was related to resettlement of families and small groups of deported nations all over the territory of the region. It led to cooperative living and common experience in overcoming war period difficulties, basing on life support culture. The article compares attitudes of local population towards different waves of ethnical migrants (Germans, Armenians, Moldavians, Polish and the others), it analyses the images formed and interethnic interaction. The article identifies commitment of the deported population to consolidation with reclamation of the outskirts of the settlements and preservation of song, dance and holiday traditions. A conclusion is made about the influence of the deported population on the host society, the changes which took place in cultural, social and manufacturing spheres of the Altai countryside are described. It is pointed out that cultural exchange in difficult living conditions firstly took place in the material sphere and was connected with such basic components of life support culture as dwelling and food. As a result, ethnocultural skills of the deported population encouraged interethnic consent.
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