Алексей Конев
Social Anthropology Department, Institute of the problems of Northern development, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Division, leading researcher Scientific interests (subfields and subjects): history of Russia (17-19 century), history of Siberia
Address: Russian Federation
Address: Russian Federation
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Papers by Алексей Конев
A previously unpublished document is presented, containing information about the subsistence activities of the inhabitants of the Middle Ob River basin, which was prepared in 1805 by a Surgut
private commissar. The document was intended for the completion of a gubernatorial report to the Minister of Internal Affairs. It is interesting as one of the early experiences of characterizing economic activities of the Russian and indigenous populations of North-West Siberia by local officials, as well as due to the lack of documents comparable with this one in terms of the content for the period from 1740 to 1881 for the respective region. Active involvement of administrators of the district and provincial levels in the collation of systematic information about the territorial and ethnic diversity is considered as a process of the formation of a new model of
self-cognition by the Empire and collection of information by the center for making management a decisions. It replaced the practice of retrieving the information from foreign travelers and members of academic expeditions. The source being published is subjected to critical historical-ethnographic analysis from the point of view of completeness, relevance, and uniqueness of the data contained, and it is annotated. The discovered document contains little-known information about the consumption by the indigenous inhabitants of the Middle Ob of Calla palus - kas’ (‘khas’), as
an alternative staple food when there was a shortage of fish and bread.
The author summarizes some of the results of his many years of research, which have become more relevant thanks to the discussion on the pages of the Golden Horde Review (see: Samigulov G.Kh. Yasak People, Foreigners, Yasak and Exchange of Gifts – Practical Thinking about a Theory. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 342–369; Konev A.Yu. The Phenomenon of “Foreigners”, Yasak and Gift Ex-change: Peoples of the Volga Region, the Urals and Siberia in Russia in the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2019, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 760–783). Methodological and conceptual-terminological aspects are the main aspects of this study. It pays its main attention to the yasak people, that is, the largest group of the indigenous Siberian population. The author updates his periodization of evolution in the legal status of peoples in North-West Siberia from the end of sixteenth to begin-ning of twentieth century.
The article is devoted to the results of an examination of the fragments of the skull found during the restoration of the object of cultural heritage of federal significance “Church of the Savior”, located in the city of Tyumen. Presumably in the crypt of the temple in 1916 the merchant of the first guild, Tyumen mayor A.I. Tekutyev and his wife were reburied. Verification of this version made it necessary to study their biographies, compare the data of registers of deaths and press reports of that time. The article contains the biography of A.I. Tekutyev and outlines the impressive contribution he made to the development and prosperity of Tyumen. When the remains were found in the crypt of the Church of the Savior, the question arose about their identification. It is thanks to the importance of the figure of Tekutyev for the city that the authorities set out to pay tribute to his memory by reburying the remains (provided that their belonging to the famous mayor is proved) and perpetuating the memory by creating a memorial. The initiative was supported by the public of the city. In this regard, a search was carried out for the relatives of the mayor, which did not lead to positive results, which did not allows a genetic examination. Then it was decided to carry out the reconstruction of the lifetime appearance on the found remains by the method of restoring the face from the skull of M.M. Gerasimov and compare the resulting portraits with the available lifetime Tekutyev photographs. For a successful, but not necessarily positive, identification examination, satisfactory skull preservation and the presence of good quality photographs are necessary. Since both conditions were met, identification was possible. The examination allows us to conclude that the remains belonged to Tekutyev with a high degree of reliability.
воеводам конца XVI — XVII в., представляющей собой прямое обращение царя к сибирским «иноземцам». На основе изучения вновь выявленных и уже опубликованных источников впервые предпринят сравнительный и содержательный анализ текстов «жалованного слова»: определены разделы, установлены статьи и элементы, подвергавшиеся изменению и редукции на протяжении XVII в. Установлено, что «жалованное слово» восходит к более ранним формам царских «пожалований», содержащих меры поощрения и льготирования. На протяжении первой трети XVII в. оно приобретает новую функцию: в нем конкретизировались, подтверждались и закреплялись права и обязанности сибирских народов в рамках соответствующих категории подданных российского монарха
и художественно-графических изображений. Виды сибирских городов, созданные иностранными и русскими художниками и путешественниками XVIII в. достаточно хорошо известны. Большинство из них, как правило, транслируют авторское прочтение реального городского ландшафта, нередко существенно искажая реальные объекты. Наряду с такого рода графикой сохранились так называемые «прошпехты»/«перспекты», в которых просматривается стремление к весьма точной передаче архитектурного облика городов. Эти изображения представляют значительный интерес для изучения истории градостроительства. Одному из них, долгое время практически неизвестному, посвящена данная статья.
Objective: To discuss debated issues relating to the special characteristics of patriality of non-Russian peoples who had been in the sphere of influence of the former Kazan and Siberian Khanates and were included into the system of the Tsardom of Moscovy in the sixteenth century; the classification of this population and the terminology used for its description; the special features of the status of the indigenous peoples classi-fied as “yasak people”; and the role of gift exchange in the process of their integration into the Russian state structure.
Статья посвящена обсуждению дискуссионных вопросов, касающихся: специфики подданства нерусских народов, входивших в сферу влияния бывших Казанского и Сибирского ханств и включавшихся с XVI в. в систему Московского царства; терминологии описания и классификации этого населения; особенностей положения туземных жителей, отнесенных к категории «ясачных»; роли дарообмена в процессе их интеграции в российскую государственную структуру.
Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the clauses of the instruc-tion to voivode A. N. Trubetskoy, that formulates policy of the Russian state re-lated to the Siberian autochthons. Special attention is paid to the terminology used in voivodes instructions refers to different groups of indigenous population. The author also emphasizes the value of this instruction in the governance sys-tem of Siberia in the first half of the XVII century
The evolution of terminology for describing Siberian ethnicities in Soviet Russia and the USSR, and Russian Empire has recently become the subject of research interest for historians. Studying this subject is important for understanding the features of socialist construction in so-called national outskirts. This article focuses on the term “inorodtsy” (aliens). Analysis of sources showed that the language for describing the autochthonous population was rather conservative and was changing considerably slower than political transformations appeared. Former names for social groups were not immediately replaced by new emerging concepts. Challenging the new Soviet political vocabulary, the term aliens was still actively used until the late 1920s due to the following reasons. First of all, such institutions of the Imperial Russia as inorodtsy local governments and yasak were still functioning during the first years after the revolution. Second, political environment of protracted civil confrontation in the region. Third, the self-identification of the indigenous ethnicities by the means of imperial categories of social stratification (yasak aliens) which the peoples used to justify their special case in post-revolutionary Russia. The usage of this terminology in scientific and popular literature was also caused by the aliens’ discourse being associated with the field of historical experience relevant for the researchers. Ideology trends aimed at radically rethinking this experience and creating an image of socialist future for the indigenous ethnicities, hence the term inorodtsy was replaced with new definitions, and moreover it was banished from the language in the early 1930s.
the historical dynamics of the phenomenon of the empire in Russia, its continuity in a
polemical manner. Based on the thesis of A.J. Riber about the “sedimentary society” and
the metaphor of “ruins of the Empire” by A.I. Miller, the author tries to find out: whether
reforms have always been the key to social and political stability; how changes were
radical in practice that occurred as a result of revolutions; what was the influence of
“alien discourse” on the policy of Soviet power in relation to the natives Siberian after the
revolution of 1917? This paper emphasizes the importance of foreign policy challenges
as factors of essential changes in the process of formation and development of the
Russian Empire. In particular, it is proposed to approach the interpretation of the territorial
expansion of Russia and the incorporation of non-Russian peoples as a mutual change /
adaptation of the both parties entering into interaction, which resulted in the formation of
new structures and connections. This approach allows for better understanding of both
the mechanisms of the transformation of the Russian state into the Russian empire, and
the processes of disintegration and following reconstruction of the imperial space and
relevant institutions that took place during the 20th century.
REVISITING THE HISTORY OF KODA PRINCES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS
(17th – BEGINNING OF THE 19th CENTURIES)
Abstract. Based on rare archival documents, which have not been introduced into scientific circulation, the article
considers the policy of the Russian state concerning the native elite of the North-Western Siberia. The article
focuses on the confessional aspect of this policy.The author takes as a premise the fact that in the 16th – 17th centuries
there existed a direct link between the baptism of a “foreigner”/“non-Orthodox” and their transformation into a
full-fledged subject of the Moscow Sovereign. This framework determines the significance of Christianization of the
indigenous elite of the region and the relevance of the topic under consideration. The author presents the text of a
copy of the blessed patriarchal letter from the State Archive in Tobolsk. The text analysis enables reconsideration of
the established view on the date and circumstances of the baptism of Koda “Prince” Loban/Nikifor Alachev. Therefore
a new interpretation of the related events can be offered. The author believes that Alachev’s rights to the “ancestral
lands” of the Onzhins-Yuryevs were undoubtedly related to the fact that he had adopted Orthodox Christianity.
In addition, the article introduces some materials for the genealogical study of both lineages of the Koda rulers as
well as the lives of their descendants at the end of the 18th – first half of the 19th centuries. First of all, this refers to
the retired Cossack Ilia Alachev and his son Fiodor, who lived in Bronnikovo volost of Tobolsk uyezd
CHRISTIANISATION (BASED ON MATERIALS FOR WESTERN SIBERIA
IN THE LATE 16th — 18th CENTURY)
In almost all societies, the rites of passage are accompanied by the ritual of gift giving. Baptism is one of the
key transition rites in the Christian tradition. At the first stages of the Russian conquest of Siberia, the conversion
of heterodox believers from the indigenous population into the Orthodox faith involved two intersecting processes,
with the first being aimed at religious conversion itself and the second — at making the indigenous population to
be further rooted in the Russian allegiance. In this article, we set out to approach these processes using the gift
theory pioneered by M. Mauss and elaborated by contemporary economists and social anthropologists. Since
M. Mauss developed his theory using the example of stateless societies, our research was based on findings
achieved by N.V. Ssorin-Chaikov. His research into the phenomenon of gift relations between the state and its
citizens is mainly based the Hobbesian concept. We found out that, until the first decades of the 18th century, the
process of conversion into the Orthodox Church not only concerned the religious aspect, but also played an important
role in turning a yesterday’s «non-Orthodox» into a fully valid subject of the Russian Tsar. By allowing a
non-Orthodox believer to be baptized, the state sought to establish or strengthen its sovereignty over a new convert.
As early as at the proclamation stage, new converts accepted a free gift from the state — a «new time», and,
a new quality of allegiance, which implied their loyal service. In return for the Christianisation, the state gifted new
subjects with money and new clothes. In the second half of the 18th century, the gifts were substituted by privileges
in tribute payment. The baptized representatives of the Siberian native elite could gain acceptance and prolong
their status of «volost strongmen». The quality and amount of gifts presented by secular authorities and godparents
were intended to mark the status of both the donator and the gifted, building up a system of hierarchical
relations and incorporating newly baptized people into a particular social group.
A previously unpublished document is presented, containing information about the subsistence activities of the inhabitants of the Middle Ob River basin, which was prepared in 1805 by a Surgut
private commissar. The document was intended for the completion of a gubernatorial report to the Minister of Internal Affairs. It is interesting as one of the early experiences of characterizing economic activities of the Russian and indigenous populations of North-West Siberia by local officials, as well as due to the lack of documents comparable with this one in terms of the content for the period from 1740 to 1881 for the respective region. Active involvement of administrators of the district and provincial levels in the collation of systematic information about the territorial and ethnic diversity is considered as a process of the formation of a new model of
self-cognition by the Empire and collection of information by the center for making management a decisions. It replaced the practice of retrieving the information from foreign travelers and members of academic expeditions. The source being published is subjected to critical historical-ethnographic analysis from the point of view of completeness, relevance, and uniqueness of the data contained, and it is annotated. The discovered document contains little-known information about the consumption by the indigenous inhabitants of the Middle Ob of Calla palus - kas’ (‘khas’), as
an alternative staple food when there was a shortage of fish and bread.
The author summarizes some of the results of his many years of research, which have become more relevant thanks to the discussion on the pages of the Golden Horde Review (see: Samigulov G.Kh. Yasak People, Foreigners, Yasak and Exchange of Gifts – Practical Thinking about a Theory. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 342–369; Konev A.Yu. The Phenomenon of “Foreigners”, Yasak and Gift Ex-change: Peoples of the Volga Region, the Urals and Siberia in Russia in the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2019, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 760–783). Methodological and conceptual-terminological aspects are the main aspects of this study. It pays its main attention to the yasak people, that is, the largest group of the indigenous Siberian population. The author updates his periodization of evolution in the legal status of peoples in North-West Siberia from the end of sixteenth to begin-ning of twentieth century.
The article is devoted to the results of an examination of the fragments of the skull found during the restoration of the object of cultural heritage of federal significance “Church of the Savior”, located in the city of Tyumen. Presumably in the crypt of the temple in 1916 the merchant of the first guild, Tyumen mayor A.I. Tekutyev and his wife were reburied. Verification of this version made it necessary to study their biographies, compare the data of registers of deaths and press reports of that time. The article contains the biography of A.I. Tekutyev and outlines the impressive contribution he made to the development and prosperity of Tyumen. When the remains were found in the crypt of the Church of the Savior, the question arose about their identification. It is thanks to the importance of the figure of Tekutyev for the city that the authorities set out to pay tribute to his memory by reburying the remains (provided that their belonging to the famous mayor is proved) and perpetuating the memory by creating a memorial. The initiative was supported by the public of the city. In this regard, a search was carried out for the relatives of the mayor, which did not lead to positive results, which did not allows a genetic examination. Then it was decided to carry out the reconstruction of the lifetime appearance on the found remains by the method of restoring the face from the skull of M.M. Gerasimov and compare the resulting portraits with the available lifetime Tekutyev photographs. For a successful, but not necessarily positive, identification examination, satisfactory skull preservation and the presence of good quality photographs are necessary. Since both conditions were met, identification was possible. The examination allows us to conclude that the remains belonged to Tekutyev with a high degree of reliability.
воеводам конца XVI — XVII в., представляющей собой прямое обращение царя к сибирским «иноземцам». На основе изучения вновь выявленных и уже опубликованных источников впервые предпринят сравнительный и содержательный анализ текстов «жалованного слова»: определены разделы, установлены статьи и элементы, подвергавшиеся изменению и редукции на протяжении XVII в. Установлено, что «жалованное слово» восходит к более ранним формам царских «пожалований», содержащих меры поощрения и льготирования. На протяжении первой трети XVII в. оно приобретает новую функцию: в нем конкретизировались, подтверждались и закреплялись права и обязанности сибирских народов в рамках соответствующих категории подданных российского монарха
и художественно-графических изображений. Виды сибирских городов, созданные иностранными и русскими художниками и путешественниками XVIII в. достаточно хорошо известны. Большинство из них, как правило, транслируют авторское прочтение реального городского ландшафта, нередко существенно искажая реальные объекты. Наряду с такого рода графикой сохранились так называемые «прошпехты»/«перспекты», в которых просматривается стремление к весьма точной передаче архитектурного облика городов. Эти изображения представляют значительный интерес для изучения истории градостроительства. Одному из них, долгое время практически неизвестному, посвящена данная статья.
Objective: To discuss debated issues relating to the special characteristics of patriality of non-Russian peoples who had been in the sphere of influence of the former Kazan and Siberian Khanates and were included into the system of the Tsardom of Moscovy in the sixteenth century; the classification of this population and the terminology used for its description; the special features of the status of the indigenous peoples classi-fied as “yasak people”; and the role of gift exchange in the process of their integration into the Russian state structure.
Статья посвящена обсуждению дискуссионных вопросов, касающихся: специфики подданства нерусских народов, входивших в сферу влияния бывших Казанского и Сибирского ханств и включавшихся с XVI в. в систему Московского царства; терминологии описания и классификации этого населения; особенностей положения туземных жителей, отнесенных к категории «ясачных»; роли дарообмена в процессе их интеграции в российскую государственную структуру.
Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the clauses of the instruc-tion to voivode A. N. Trubetskoy, that formulates policy of the Russian state re-lated to the Siberian autochthons. Special attention is paid to the terminology used in voivodes instructions refers to different groups of indigenous population. The author also emphasizes the value of this instruction in the governance sys-tem of Siberia in the first half of the XVII century
The evolution of terminology for describing Siberian ethnicities in Soviet Russia and the USSR, and Russian Empire has recently become the subject of research interest for historians. Studying this subject is important for understanding the features of socialist construction in so-called national outskirts. This article focuses on the term “inorodtsy” (aliens). Analysis of sources showed that the language for describing the autochthonous population was rather conservative and was changing considerably slower than political transformations appeared. Former names for social groups were not immediately replaced by new emerging concepts. Challenging the new Soviet political vocabulary, the term aliens was still actively used until the late 1920s due to the following reasons. First of all, such institutions of the Imperial Russia as inorodtsy local governments and yasak were still functioning during the first years after the revolution. Second, political environment of protracted civil confrontation in the region. Third, the self-identification of the indigenous ethnicities by the means of imperial categories of social stratification (yasak aliens) which the peoples used to justify their special case in post-revolutionary Russia. The usage of this terminology in scientific and popular literature was also caused by the aliens’ discourse being associated with the field of historical experience relevant for the researchers. Ideology trends aimed at radically rethinking this experience and creating an image of socialist future for the indigenous ethnicities, hence the term inorodtsy was replaced with new definitions, and moreover it was banished from the language in the early 1930s.
the historical dynamics of the phenomenon of the empire in Russia, its continuity in a
polemical manner. Based on the thesis of A.J. Riber about the “sedimentary society” and
the metaphor of “ruins of the Empire” by A.I. Miller, the author tries to find out: whether
reforms have always been the key to social and political stability; how changes were
radical in practice that occurred as a result of revolutions; what was the influence of
“alien discourse” on the policy of Soviet power in relation to the natives Siberian after the
revolution of 1917? This paper emphasizes the importance of foreign policy challenges
as factors of essential changes in the process of formation and development of the
Russian Empire. In particular, it is proposed to approach the interpretation of the territorial
expansion of Russia and the incorporation of non-Russian peoples as a mutual change /
adaptation of the both parties entering into interaction, which resulted in the formation of
new structures and connections. This approach allows for better understanding of both
the mechanisms of the transformation of the Russian state into the Russian empire, and
the processes of disintegration and following reconstruction of the imperial space and
relevant institutions that took place during the 20th century.
REVISITING THE HISTORY OF KODA PRINCES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS
(17th – BEGINNING OF THE 19th CENTURIES)
Abstract. Based on rare archival documents, which have not been introduced into scientific circulation, the article
considers the policy of the Russian state concerning the native elite of the North-Western Siberia. The article
focuses on the confessional aspect of this policy.The author takes as a premise the fact that in the 16th – 17th centuries
there existed a direct link between the baptism of a “foreigner”/“non-Orthodox” and their transformation into a
full-fledged subject of the Moscow Sovereign. This framework determines the significance of Christianization of the
indigenous elite of the region and the relevance of the topic under consideration. The author presents the text of a
copy of the blessed patriarchal letter from the State Archive in Tobolsk. The text analysis enables reconsideration of
the established view on the date and circumstances of the baptism of Koda “Prince” Loban/Nikifor Alachev. Therefore
a new interpretation of the related events can be offered. The author believes that Alachev’s rights to the “ancestral
lands” of the Onzhins-Yuryevs were undoubtedly related to the fact that he had adopted Orthodox Christianity.
In addition, the article introduces some materials for the genealogical study of both lineages of the Koda rulers as
well as the lives of their descendants at the end of the 18th – first half of the 19th centuries. First of all, this refers to
the retired Cossack Ilia Alachev and his son Fiodor, who lived in Bronnikovo volost of Tobolsk uyezd
CHRISTIANISATION (BASED ON MATERIALS FOR WESTERN SIBERIA
IN THE LATE 16th — 18th CENTURY)
In almost all societies, the rites of passage are accompanied by the ritual of gift giving. Baptism is one of the
key transition rites in the Christian tradition. At the first stages of the Russian conquest of Siberia, the conversion
of heterodox believers from the indigenous population into the Orthodox faith involved two intersecting processes,
with the first being aimed at religious conversion itself and the second — at making the indigenous population to
be further rooted in the Russian allegiance. In this article, we set out to approach these processes using the gift
theory pioneered by M. Mauss and elaborated by contemporary economists and social anthropologists. Since
M. Mauss developed his theory using the example of stateless societies, our research was based on findings
achieved by N.V. Ssorin-Chaikov. His research into the phenomenon of gift relations between the state and its
citizens is mainly based the Hobbesian concept. We found out that, until the first decades of the 18th century, the
process of conversion into the Orthodox Church not only concerned the religious aspect, but also played an important
role in turning a yesterday’s «non-Orthodox» into a fully valid subject of the Russian Tsar. By allowing a
non-Orthodox believer to be baptized, the state sought to establish or strengthen its sovereignty over a new convert.
As early as at the proclamation stage, new converts accepted a free gift from the state — a «new time», and,
a new quality of allegiance, which implied their loyal service. In return for the Christianisation, the state gifted new
subjects with money and new clothes. In the second half of the 18th century, the gifts were substituted by privileges
in tribute payment. The baptized representatives of the Siberian native elite could gain acceptance and prolong
their status of «volost strongmen». The quality and amount of gifts presented by secular authorities and godparents
were intended to mark the status of both the donator and the gifted, building up a system of hierarchical
relations and incorporating newly baptized people into a particular social group.