The 1920s and 1930s Soviet Modernization of Buryat Culture and Household Life Revisited

Introduction. Since the 17th c. as part of the Russian Empire, Buryats found themselves in the sphere of influence of Western secular culture and Orthodox Christianity. Depending on the local natural and climatic conditions, some basic features of agriculture, mining, and Russian culture were introduced into the Buryat economic activities and everyday life, but, in general, the people persisted in their extensive nomadic and semi-nomadic economy and patriarchal culture. In 1923, with the birth of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (BMASSR), the processes of transformation of their culture and life began in every sphere of their traditional life, such as economic activities, material culture, family and marriage relations, religious beliefs, public leisure, etc. The article aims to study the processes of modernization of Buryat culture and everyday life at the initial stage of Soviet construction. Materials and methods. Major sources for the study were documents from the State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia; also, published sources and media materials were of great importance for the discussion. In its methodology, the study proceeds from the principles of historicism, consistency, objectivity, and reliability, helpful in approaching the process of Soviet modernization of Buryat culture as a multidimensional, contradictory process, hence avoiding both one-sided criticism and idealization. Results. The undertaken analysis of pertinent media materials and archival sources shows that two stages may be singled out in the Soviet construction in Buryatia. The first stage, that began with the formation of the BMASSR and continued to the late 1920s, was the time of radical transformations introduced in the lifestyle of the Buryats, but, still, their traditional culture and life persisted. They were to finally give up, with the policy of collectivization and the process of settlement of the nomadic Buryats pursued by the Soviet authorities at the next stage marked by Velikii perelom (Great turning point) and the beginning of “militant atheism”, i. e. in the period of intensive construction of a new life and the eradication of traditional lifestyles. The study concludes that the Soviet modernization embraced every aspect of the Buryat society, and its impact was deep, comprehensive, and effective. The project was implemented, with objectives and hopes assigned to it fulfilled.

1. State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia.

2. Babueva V. D. The World of Buryat Traditions. Ulan-Ude: Ulzy, 2001. 141 p. (In Russ.)

3. Boronoeva T. A., Gomboev B. Ts., Nanzatov B. Z., Nikolaeva D. A. Buryat Traditional Costume: An Album. Ulan-Ude: Printleto, 2017. 160 p. (In Bur. and Russ.)

4. Boronova M. M. Ethnic intelligentsia and ethnocultural assimilation policy during the Stalin modernization. In: Cultural Environment of Eastern Siberia and Mongolia — From Past to Future. Ulan-Ude: East-Siberian State Academy of Culture and Arts, 2009. Vol. 2. Pp. 157–170. (In Russ.)

5. Buryat-Mongol ethnic drama school. Zhizn’ Buryatii. 1929. No. 5. Pp. 3–4. (In Russ.)

6. Conference delegates discuss Report on cultural and educational work in districts and villages. Buryat-Mongol’skaya pravda. 1925. No. 55. P. 3. (In Russ.)

7. Educational progress in Buryat Republic. Buryat-Mongol’skaya pravda. 1923. No. 44. P. 2. (In Russ.)

8. Galdanova G. R. Traditional beliefs of Buryat Buddhists. In: Buryat Buddhism. History and Ideology. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scientific Center (SB RAS), 1997. Pp. 96–97. (In Russ.)

9. Gomboev B. Ts. Cult Sites of the Barguzin Valley: A Perspective from Ethnocultural History of Baikalia. Cand. Sc. (history) thesis. Ulan-Ude, 2004. 255 p. (In Russ.)

10. In the steppe. Buryat-Mongol’skaya pravda. 1925. No. 38. P. 5. (In Russ.)

11. Khakhalov A. U. (ed.) CPSU Organization of Buryatia: Historical Essays. Ulan-Ude: Buryatia Book Publ., 1970. 612 p. (In Russ.)

12. Levykin I., Randalov Yu. (eds.) Population of Buryatia: Social Structure and Lifestyles. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scientific Center (SB USSR Ac. Sc), 1990. 125 p. (In Russ.)

13. Makharova G. S. Interethnic Marriages in the Republic of Buryatia: A Case Study of the Contemporary Situation. Cand. Sc. (history) dissertation. Ulan-Ude, 2003. 123 p. (In Russ.)

14. Manzhigeev I. A. Buryat Shamanic and Pre-Shamanic Terms. Moscow: Nauka, 1978. 128 p. (In Russ.)

15. Mitupov B. M. Buryat ASSR, 1923–1937: Industrial Development and Emergence of the Working Class. Ulan-Ude: Buryatia Book Publ., 1958. 144 p. (In Russ.)

16. Mitupov B. M. Buryat-Mongol Oblast Party Organization in the Early Days of Socialist Transformation. Ulan-Ude: Buryatia Book Publ., 1957. 134 p. (In Russ.)

17. Nimaev D. D. Buryats and Mongols: Cultural and Household Traditions. Ulan-Ude: Siberian Branch of USSR Academy of Sciences (Buryat Office), 1988. 163 p. (In Russ.)

18. Nomogoeva V. V. Buryat Buddhism: Traditions of education and Soviet power. Vlast’. 2010. No. 7. Pp. 77–80. (In Russ.)

19. Nomogoeva V. V. Sociocultural Modernization in Ethnic Regions of Eastern Siberia, 1920s–1930: A Case Study of Buryatia. Dr. Sc. (history) thesis. Ulan-Ude, 2011. 404 p. (In Russ.)

20. Sanzhiev B. S. Sociopolitical Life and Ethnocultural Construction of Soviet Buryatia during the Great Patriotic War (Pages of Memoirs): Personalities and Events. Irkutsk: Sibir, 1995. 180 p. (In Russ.)

21. Special rest days that necessary? Ten religious holidays revisited (open discussion). Bezbozhnik. 1925. No. 23. P. 9. (In Russ.)

22. Tarmakhanov E. E. Soviet Buryatia, 1938–1958: Industry and Working Class. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1979. 333 p. (In Russ.)

23. Tsibikov B. D. Buryat-Mongolia during the Soviet Economic Reconstruction. Creation of the Buryat-Mongol ASSR, 1921–1925. Ulan-Ude: Buryatia Book Publ., 1953. 173 p. (In Russ.)

24. Tsybikov G. Ts. Shamanism among Buryat-Mongols. In: Selected Works. Vol. 2. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1981. Pp. 169–177. (In Russ.)

25. Tsyrempilova I. S. Authorities and Religious Confessions in Buryatia, 1917–1940: The History of Interaction Reviewed. Cand. Sc. (history) thesis. Ulan-Ude, 2000. 199 p. (In Russ.)

26. Tultseva L. A. Contemporary Holidays and Rites of Soviet Peoples. Moscow: Nauka, 1985. 191 p. (In Russ.)