Turkic Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2025-4/348-362

Abstract

The article provides a historiographic review of the research carried out by Turkologists at the Russian Academy of Sciences the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (formerly the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences), from the formation of the Moscow group to the present. It pays tribute to the contributions of scientists of different generations, including such luminaries as S. P. Tolstov, V. N. Basilov, S. I. Weinstein, T. A. Zhdanko, M. A. Itina, B. Kh. Karmysheva, S. A. Tokarev, M. N. Guboglo, and our distinguished contemporaries G. L. Khit, E. P. Batyanova, N. A. Dubova, I. A. Arzhantseva, V. I. Kharitonova and others. The author analyzes the subject matter and geographical scope of their studies. The scientific legacy of the Soviet era has conveyed unique ethnographic data to posterity. Although somewhat uneven, attention was paid to almost all the Turkic people of Central Asia, Siberia, the Volga region, the Caucasus, and beyond. Nearly every monograph examined the history of a particular ethnic group from ancient times to present, relying extensively on archaeological, paleoanthropological sources, written evidence, and field ethnographic materials. At that time, the comprehensive study of the Turkic people on a truly scientific basis was gaining momentum in the country. In the context of modern Russia, the IEA RAS has begun to devote considerable attention to ethnosociological and ethnopolitical research. Many books demonstrate the preservation of the traditions of classical ethnography, although they also reflect a desire to update research methodology and explore new topics and approaches. International and interregional cooperation is primarily expressed in the preparation of books in the series “Peoples and Cultures,” “National Movements in the USSR and in the Post-Soviet Space,” and others.