Introduction. The article presents results of a study of ceramics production technologies from Taldinsky-1 burial site (Central Kazakhstan). A total of four structures were excavated on the site, and three of them belong to the early Alakul culture, one — to the latest Bronze Age. Materials and Methods. A total of 16 vessels have been studied through the use of the MBS-10 binocular microscope according to the A. Bobrinsky method. Results. The research obtained data on characteristics of the raw material, compositions of molding compounds, methods for constructing seed and hollow forms, and surface treatment. The paper reveals the main cultural traditions of Alakul ceramics, namely: the raw material is medium ferruginous and medium plastic clay; the composition of the molding compound — medium-sized grus + manure in low concentration; the seed form — bottom-to-wall and patch-lumpy; the hollow form — single-layer and patch-lumpy. The discovered differences in manufacturing technologies make it possible to presume some of the vessels had actually been imported. Moreover, two of the discovered vessels proved to belong to the Fedorovo culture, one of them having been located in the same burial as the Alakul ones. This attests to the coexistence and mutual contacts of the Fedorovo and Alakul populations already at some early stage of development of the Andronovo cultural and historical community. All the three vessels found in the same latest Bronze Age burial were made by potters to have followed different cultural ceramic traditions. Conclusions. Thus, the data of the technical and technological analysis of the ceramics from Taldinsky-1 burial site reflect the processes of cultural interaction in the Bronze Age which took place both at the level of direct contacts between representatives of different cultures (Andronovo burials) and at the level of product exchanges (Bronze Age burial).

Goals. The study aims to reconstruct a fragment of the ancient history of Ciscaucasia. Materials. Part 1 provides a complete information on an unusual burial complex in Ciscaucasia –– Dzhangar/Ulan-Tolga mound 1, Kalmykia. Methods. Archaeological methods such as stratigraphic and typological are used to reconstruct the linguistic and cultural situation in the region. Results. The paper shows that burials within the mound indicate a chronological sequence of migrations from Central and Eastern Europe during the Eneolithic and the Bronze Age. Conclusions. The first migration, supposedly a Tocharian one, is evidenced by burials with zoomorphic scepters. The two subsequent migrations, Indo-Iranian ones, can be associated with Indo-Aryans of western Ciscaucasia (Novotitarovka version of the Kuban-Dnieper culture with carriages) and Proto-Iranians of eastern Ciscaucasia (Pit-Grave culture). The third Indo-European migration is mirrored by the Catacomb culture which lasted until the arrival of the Timber-Grave population from the east, apparently evidencing the Iranian Reconquista of the steppe in the 14th – 13th centuries BC.

Introduction. Timur’s Inscription made in the Ulytau mountains during the 1391 campaign against Tokhtamysh is a unique artifact discovered in the territory of Kazakhstan during the Soviet era. The current interdisciplinary investigations of Kazakhstan’s researchers have resulted in a hypothesis according to which both the inscription and the mound — the latter being a heating and engineering facility for housing a large ceremonial fire — served a single purpose. Still, the questions regarding the use of the mound and the inscription from their creation to their discovery by K. Satpaev remain unanswered. For instance, no efforts have been made to clarify whether researchers had had any data about Timur’s Inscription — except for the already known medieval Persian-language texts — before K. Satpaev’s discovery. Goals. The paper seeks to find out if early-to-mid 18th century researchers (when the first expeditions throughout the region were organized and detailed maps drawn) made use of any testimony from eyewitnesses (native inhabitants, merchants) in addition to the medieval written sources. Results. For the first time ever, the study historically reconstructs the first cartographic message related to Timur’s Inscription in Guillaume Delisle’s Carte de Tartarie, and validates the conclusion that the source of the data had been not eyewitness testimony but The History of Timur Bek by François Pétis de la Croix. It also analyzes works by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg whose message about a ‘pyramid’ on Mount Itik is viewed by Kazakhstan’s archaeologists as the earliest scientific data dealing with Timur’s Inscription of the Ulytau. Insights into Gerhard Friedrich Müller’s notes criticizing Ph. J. Strahlenberg’s assertions and S. U. Remezov’s maps allow for the conclusion the oral testimony of local inhabitants the 18th century researchers dealt with hardly had anything to do with Timur’s Inscription proper. The paper reveals parallels between Mount Itik and the Ulytau have been a mistake, the former being supposedly located somewhere in the Kokshetau Upland. Conclusions. The work concludes in the early-to mid 18th century — in terms of scientific discourse — there were no eyewitness testimonies, and researchers made sheer references to virtually unconfirmed Persian-language texts and earliest European translations of the latter.

Introduction. The traditional food system of Biakalia’s residents still remains understudied. The available works primarily focus on dairy and meat products, and almost ignore the plant food system, which is due to the fact the agricultural traditions of Baikalia’s native populations that had attained quite a high level of agronomy in ancient times – have not been explored. The traditions basically concentrated in a relatively small area occupied by present-day Alarsky District of Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug (Irkutsk Oblast) and former Balagansky Uyezd of Irkutsk Governorate. Historical Background. Since ancient times the Alar Valley served as the main breadbasket of the region. Being the leading grain producer in the whole region, it retains this position even nowadays. During the period in question, in the 19th and 20th centuries, agriculture was already the key sector of economy. This had been determined by the early sedentarization of the Alar Buryats resulting from beneficial geographical conditions, as well as somewhat genetic skills. So, the factor determined the food system of Buryats in that area. Goals. Taking into account the available ethnographic research and comparative data on the material culture of Turkic peoples, as well as own field data, the article seeks to explore the unique Alar Buryat cuisine and examines the grain-based nutritional system which includes most common cereals. It also describes the crops cultivation and cooking technologies, and analyzes the terminology. Results. The study reveals a previously unknown number of autochthonous specific features containing certain Turkic elements, such as similarity of many Buryat dishes, their names and cooking methods, tools and stoves characteristic to Turkic material culture. The article presents quite reasonable assumptions which prove somewhat close interaction between aboriginal peoples at an early stage of ethnic development, and also points out the large influence of Russian agronomic culture that brought new technologies and plant cultures, especially potatoes, thus significantly enriching nutritional ration. Some elements of spiritual culture also indicate the important role of cereals in life of the Alar Buryats. The study also concludes that the Alar Buryats had developed a food system where baked goods, meat and dairy constituted equal proportions. That was a major difference from food systems of other Mongolic peoples where meat and dairy prevailed. In general, this demonstrates that the ethnic group has high adaptive capacity, an ability to manage and efficiently interact with the changing external environment. The previously unknown terms and elements of Alar Buryat material culture are valuable enough for science.

Introduction. The article examines behavioral patterns of pregnant women, introduction of a newborn into the family and community within the framework of traditional Bashkir culture. The goal of the research is to delineate rules to be observed by a pregnant woman and her relatives in prenatal and postnatal periods. Methods. The research applies descriptive, comparative historical, and typological methods. Results. The work employs a comprehensive approach which includes analyses of scholarly papers in folklore studies, ethnography, collected field data, and available publications. The obtained results show that the category of age constitutes an essential part in the culture of communication. In traditional society, individual behavior and social contacts were largely determined by age. Each nation has its own perception of time, and traditional etiquette is closely related to such representations. In the traditional culture of Bashkirs, the health of mother and child was believed to be determined by whether certain prenatal and postnatal rituals, rules of conduct and etiquette established by transition ceremonies were observed. The first days of a child’s life witnessed quite a number of ceremonies connected to the ‘for-the-first time’ category; once the latter were duly observed, the status of the newborn was fixed, established, and corresponding rules of conduct defined. That was accompanied by the use of material, verbal and nonverbal means of influence on the baby. The numerous ceremonies performed since the first days were programmed to delineate somewhat required standards of behavior in the family and society. At each stage of the child’s way into adulthood he / she was patronized and mentored by a family or community member. Similar ties were established with those who took part in the shaving of prenatal hair, cutting of fetters, witnessed the emergence the first milk tooth, etc. So, subsequently in everyday life the child communicated with the latter as if those were close relatives. Such individuals had the right to instruct the child, deliver sermons, and ask for his / her help. In traditional culture, special significance was attached to the name-giving ceremony. Names were viewed as conductors of good and evil believed capable of determining an individual’s future. Once fixed right after the birth, the name performed protective, predictive, and informative functions. It was closely connected with moral and aesthetic qualities of the individual. Subsequent changes in status resulted in that the individual gradually lost his / her given name, and people around replaced it with terms of relationship. On the one hand, names performed a protective function, and on the other hand, proved a most vulnerable part of personality, which is attested to by the ban on pronouncing personal names as such. Conclusions. The examined research materials show that in traditional society the introduction of a newborn into family and society was based on ancient views, Moslem doctrine, and life-cycle representations of the Bashkirs. The first forty days of life were regulated by strict bans and instructions. Those were days of bidding farewell to signs of ‘otherness’: they buried the afterbirth, made an amulet of the umbilical cord, etc. During the period the new member of the community was being hominified’, i.e., the child acquired patrons, received a name, and was granted attributes of the external world.

The paper deals with an important period in the history of Kalmykia that has been given no sufficient attention by anthropologists and sociologists — the everyday life of Kalmyk people in Siberia during the deportation years (1943–1956) and their memories thereof. The publication consists of an introduction, two interviews, and comments. The goal of the publication is to describe everyday survival practices adopted by Kalmyks in Siberia. The materials are presented in the form of transcriptions of spontaneous narratives received by the author in 2004. The interviews have been investigated through the use of the textological analysis and text deconstruction methods. The interviews reveal survival and adaptation strategies of the younger generation of so-called ‘special settlers’ (Rus. spetsperelentsy) in forced settlement locations. So, the paper describes the moving into adulthood of Sergei Ivanov, a ten-year-old boy expelled together with his family from Ulan-Kholsky Ulus of the Kalmyk ASSR to the village of Iskitim of Novosibirsk Oblast, who virtually became the head of the family when a boy. Sima Polteeva, a seventeen-year-old girl deported from Bashanta with her family to Krasnoyarsk Krai, also had to make important life decisions being that young. Through male and female narratives, the work shows different forms of resistance to the repressive regime and gender-based adaptation strategies of the Kalmyks in the host society. Texts of both the interviews mention episodes dealing with ethnic-related social exclusion, and describe how young people experienced the stigma of Kalmyk ethnicity any public manifestation of which was prohibited by authorities. The texts contain family stories and private memories of the deportation years ― without political clichés and conjuncture assessments. Simultaneously, the memories provide evidence of the 60-year-old events to be assembled now ― in the 21st century. These are memories of the deportation in a ‘first-person’ format, and details of the daily life of the Ivanovs and Naranovs are both interesting and important enough. The discursive strategies of precisely these two narratives concerning the deportation of Kalmyks show that the respondents’ eviction injuries have been largely rethought and reinterpreted. The publication will be of certain interest to researchers investigating everyday life during the Stalinist era, deportations of ‘punished’ peoples, including practices of adaptation and resistance of deported individuals in places of exile; it will also be of interest to researchers Soviet Kalmykia’s history.

Introduction. The Buddhist teaching on ‘two truths’, i.e. the ‘two levels of reality’ ― empirical and ultimate ones ― proved to be very close to the modern quantum mechanical worldview as presented by H. Everett and developed by the Russian physicist М. B. Mensky. The ontological contents of the Two Truths Doctrine posited in Tibetan Madhyamaka by Je Tsongkhapa was debated by Gorampa Sonam Senge from Sakya. Goals. Having presented the main ideas of the ‘two truth’ doctrine and the Everett-Mensky concept, the paper considers the main problems of the interpretation of the ‘two truths’ by Tsongkhapa and Gorampa, and finally turns to the above quantum-mechanical theory to evaluate the positions of these philosophers.
Keywords: two truths, Tibetan Madhyamaka, quantum mechanics, Tsongkhapa, Gorampa, Everett, Mensky
For citation: Terentyev A. The Tibetan ‘Two Truths’ Debate and Everett-Mensky’s Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Oriental Studies. 2019;(3): 423–440. DOI: 10.22162/2619-0990-2019-43-3-423–440.

Introduction. In old Mongolian literature, texts of didactic texts enjoyed special popularity. Those were created by Mongolian authors following the examples borrowed from ancient Indian didactic literature. In such tutorials the three basic values — Dharma, artha and kama – are to be in constant balance. However, one of these factors should always be leading. The nitisastra was an integral part of the arthasastra as an independent science about politics and governance. Still, in Mongolian literature, it is the combination of two instructions — secular and religious ones — that became characteristic to the didactic genre. The rich and diverse heritage of Mongolian didactic literature, according to the established tradition, became known as ‘teachings of the two rules’. Even if in such works religious instructions did not occupy any prominent place, the ultimate goals of such texts could well be interpreted in the spirit of the Buddhist Dharma. So, ‘The Story of Usun Debiskertu Khan’ is a most famous work of didactic literature. According to the contents of the monument, the legendary Khan of Tibet had delivered the teachings during a conversation with sixteen dignitaries of his. The text of the monument was translated into Oirat after the creation of the Clear Script (1648) but it could have also been translated into Classical Mongolian in the early-to-mid 17th century. The thirteen manuscript copies of the text discovered in collections of Oirat manuscripts throughout Russia, Mongolia and China attest to the popularity and wide distribution of this work. At the same time, the work can be found both in the form of separate manuscripts and within literary collections which, as a rule, had comprised most famous and beloved texts. The Story was first published by representatives of the Kalmyk expatriate community in the early 20th century.

Introduction. The collection of written monuments contained in the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS has been consistently enriched throughout over half a century. For the time being there is no detailed description of its creation (formation). Valuable sources of information here are different inventory lists, certificates, descriptive reports, lists of deliveries, and donation cover letters by individuals who submitted their personal rare materials to the institute. The inventory lists – according to which the first texts arrived in the early 1960s when the institute was reestablished after the return of the Kalmyks – attest to that the manuscript collection has been developed step by step. The list of donators includes such names as Tyugmyud Gavji, E. Ubushiev, N. Davurov, V. Artaev, etc. Some texts were discovered by employees of the Institute during expeditions. Materials in classical scripts contained in the Archive of Kalmyk Scientific Center may serve as a tremendous research field for academic historiographers. The former had been collected and preserved by Kalmyk ‘lay’ gelongs (Tyugmyud Gavji, E. Ubushiev and others), remaining a living evidence that the Kalmyk Buddhist tradition did survive the whole of the dramatic 20th century. Goals. The paper provides another insight into written sources delivered to the Archive of Kalmyk Scientific Center (then Kalmyk Research Institute of History, Philology and Economics) by E. Ubushiev (Agvan Tabdan). The article describes and analyzes the inventory list of the gZungs ’dus collection from E. Ubushiev’s personal archives – through the use of records by V. Polyaev (Chumatov) (1953–2013), then a junior research associate to have described texts received from the Kalmyk Buddhist priest. Such inventory recording is the first stage within a series of arrangements aiming to investigate a certain writing (or collected writings) since somewhat detailed description, assessment of significance of a text, representation of its contents, accurate classification and other aspects may be critical to further evaluations of its cultural-and-historical weight, to its further introduction into contemporary cultural discourse. Results. The work concludes the tremendous merit of the enthusiastic Buddhist priests who donated their personal archives (containing manuscript monuments) was that – according to wills of theirs – the materials were delivered to the academic institute since they believed those were Mongolists and Tibetologists who could transmit corresponding messages to other researchers and Buddhist-minded citizens, and thus preserve the wisdom for the people in general. And this was well completed by the Orientalist V. Polyaev. The presented inventory record characterizes him as an accomplished and erudite specialist with expertise in Tibetan and somewhat bright poetic translation talent. The reviewed documents also illustrate the institute’s archive keeping activities were held at a high professional level, and the directorate showed great interest in the preservation of the Kalmyk Buddhist heritage.

Introduction. The article investigates extralinguistic or social factors determining language functioning in modern society. It highlights the effectiveness and relevance of factor analysis to reveal peculiarities of the language situation. Goals. The research primarily aims to reveal and analyze specific social factors for the language situation in the Tyva Republic. Materials. Various census data, such as ethnic and demographic indicators of the Tuvan population, its educational level and professional structure have been examined. The paper also surveys different historical and statistical sources describing social life of the Tuvans. Results. On the basis of all-Union and all-Russian census statistics, the article reports that social parameters of Tuva’s language situation are ambiguous enough. Some factors impact positively while others are essentially dynamic and can gradually lead to a language shift. The positive one is that of Tuva’s geographical features, the latter contributing to the numerical predominance of Tuvans and their compact residence in the given territory. Secondly, it should be noted that in the early 20th century Tuva had been a sovereign state (from 1921 to 1944). The period witnessed the emergence of the Tuvan written and literary language. As a result, different social functions of the Tuvan language were rapidly and significantly expanded. Nowadays the revival and development of traditional culture have also some positive impact on the functioning of the Tuvan language. Research materials show that there are some dynamic factors which can hasten language change processes towards a bilingual situation. The paper concludes one of them is represented by the current educational trend that the Tuvan youth be generally inclined to develop Russian-language competence. Another factor is professional stratification of Tuvans. Most Tuvans are not engaged in traditional types of labor activities. The functional distribution of languages is reflected first of all in the lexicon, and leads to the constant code switching and functional weakening of the mother tongue. Thus, consideration of social or extralinguistic factors is necessary and relevant for corresponding sociolinguistic insights.

Studies of epic plots constitute an urgent issue of present-day folklore poetics. The paper considers plots of the Jangar epic as living narratives in all their structural complexity, relevance of motifs, and eventfulness on the content level. Goals. The study aims to provide an insight how the tradition organizes and presents epic plots, reveal semantic and structural ties, relations between characters, discover some hidden expositions, contaminations, novelties, plot transformations, and modifications. The research objects are Xinjiang Oirat Jangar epic plots dealing with the hero’s matchmaking. Results. The analysis of the mentioned plots in the context of the contemporary Xinjiang Oirat national tradition reveals some typical plot formation features. In the Xinjiang Oirat tradition, the universal Turko-Mongolic epic theme of the hero’s matchmaking is characterized by diversity mirroring various matchmaking forms inherent to the fabulous-and-epic antiquity, as well as consecutive changes in marriage patterns and family relations, vestiges of matriarchy and patriarchal trends, marriage by abduction, cradle marriage, traditional marriage, etc. The study reveals that the Xinjiang Oirat tradition contains all types of plots: archaic plots rich in motifs, traditional and classical ones. The discovered polystadial patterns include ― to a greater or lesser extent ― impacts of archaic and classical types of the epos. It should be noted that some traditional motifs have experienced transformations within classical plots, and their content, event background, functions of characters come close to historical reality. Plots of the late ‘living’ epic Xinjiang Oirat tradition illustrate processes of introducing taletelling novelties and contaminations. The latter can be manifested in episodes determined by contextual interrelations of plots within the tradition and community, as well as in borrowings from the Kalmyk version (‘About Uzyung Aldar Khan’s Marriage’, ‘About How the Glorious Noyon Bogdo Jangar Married Aga Shavdal’, ‘About Khoshun’s Marriage’). The paper traces plots with double contaminations, e.g., the plot ‘about an imaginary bridegroom’ (‘About Khan Siyr’), the plot ‘about the imaginary bride’ (‘About Khongor’s Marriage’), the plot ‘about a prohibition and its violation’ (‘About Uzyung Aldar Khan’s Marriage’). The commonality of epic plots is traced on the contensive level of epic situations and collisions, functions of characters, movement of narratives.

Introduction. The takmak holds a special place in the genre system of Bashkir folklore, essentially being an ancient stratum of national folk music. The term ‘takmak’ ― with minor phonetic variations – can be found in languages of a few Turkic peoples, such as the Shors, Kazakhs, Khakasses, Kumyks, Chuvashes, and Tatars. This folk genre gained great popularity and development in the Soviet era, and still remains most popular and much needed. Historical Background. Despite the available publications (including monographs) dealing with Bashkir folk takmaks, the theme is understudied enough. Bashkir folklorists have not resolved the question of classification, the genesis of takmaks being as unclear. Goals. Examining the existing works, the paper aims to analyze versions of the researchers regarding origins of the genre and its classification, consider semantic and essential differences between takmaks and short songs, identify intra-genre types of the takmak, and reveal its specific features. Results. The paper concludes that takmaks are an ancient genre of Bashkir folklore. In terms of purposes, those are divided into dance, play, ritualistic ones, not to mention aitysh-takmaks, reminder takmaks (or yadkar-takmaks), humoristic or fabulous ones. When it comes to a functional classification, we witness the emergence of a complete system. On the one hand, each subgroup acts as a separate kind of Bashkir folk musical arts; and on the other hand, they all retain indissoluble mutual genetic ties. The takmak differs from the genre of short songs (Bash. ҡыҫҡа йыр) by means and principles it involves to mirror the reality; takmaks are not sung but rather recited melodiously with an obligatory dance accompaniment

Introduction. The article deals with two little-known Kalmyk folk songs recorded from Vasily M. Ochirov, a Veteran of Labor, Honored Worker of Agriculture of Kalmykia, Honored Worker of Agriculture of Russia, Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Kalmykia, Hero of Kalmykia. V. Ochirov first heard the songs ‘Evakuats’ (‘Evacuation’) and ‘Akhnrin Dun’ (‘A Song about Elder Brothers’ ) composed during the Great Patriotic War when a teenager. Goals. The paper aims to introduce the unique samples of Kalmyk folk songs into scientific discourse, one of the songs being identified as a lingering one (Kalm. ut dun), the second one — as a short song (Kalm. ahr dun). Results. The genre characters of the songs are complicated enough; they describe real historical war-time events (1942). Certain features of these songs qualify them as lyrical-dramatic and even lyrical-epic songs. At the same time, the songs contain verses that may be identified as verbal components of a ritual. The text of the song ‘Evacuation’ contains a refrain repeated words — a curse (Kalm. kharal) against Hitler, and the text of the song ‘Ahnrin Dun’ — good wishes (Kalm. yorӓl) towards elder brothers who had joined the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.

Introduction. The article focuses on The Original of Laura, an unfinished novel by V. V. Nabokov, supporting materials to which contain definitions of such concepts and categories as ‘Buddhism’, ‘Nirvana’, ‘bonze’, and ‘Brahmin’. Moreover, the novel mentions Yukio Mishima and cites an article by R. Scruton’s examining Ivan Morris’s The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan. Goals. The paper aims to reveal the reasons why Nabokov turns to the Far Eastern philosophy Japanese cultural tradition, describe Nabokov interpret such categories of Buddhism as ‘incarnation’ and ‘Nirvana’. Results. The article shows the development of Nabokov’s interest in Buddhism, illustrates the semantic series to have constituted the image of Japan in his work, determines the semantic categories of Japanese Buddhism actualized in Nabokov’s narratives. Conclusions. In Japanese Buddhism Nabokov was attracted by aspects that combined philosophical, aesthetic and ethical principles. The unity of these principles Nabokov finds in the Samurai code of Bushido, and particularly, in the act of seppuku aestheticizing death, and The Original of Laura actually seeks to solve the problem of a happy death.

The article attempts, for the first time, to explore the thematic layer of ‘deportation’ lyrics within modern Karachay-Balkarian poetry. The goal of the study is to reveal the key genre and stylistic features of deportation related works with due regard of artistic language means and nation-specific images, as well as to identify ideological and aesthetic trends, delineating morality aspects in works of young poets. Results. The examined works by young artists of the word manifest an increasing interest in the national view of the world, ethnic history (and the deportation in particular), ‘own roots’, culture, customs, and traditions. The closer attention to the national spiritual values makes it possible to give free rein to the new understanding of artistic and socio-philosophical meanings underlying this problem. Ideologically, the works seek to show the inhumanity and absurdity of the fact of resettlement, emphasize the dramatic injustice of history towards people forcibly taken away from their native lands. Methods. The article applies an integrated approach that facilitates a detailed insight into the issue, discovering key aspects in the development of the creative consciousness present-day authors.

Since the earliest times, the issue of the immortality of soul has been turned to by numerous thinkers, including Bashkir authors. The emergence of the new historical era in the late 1980s made it possible — and necessary — to have deeper insights into the topic, reevaluating the role of religion in social discourse. The goal of the study is to investigate the artistic understanding of the motif in present-day minor prose works by Bashkir writers in its relations to respective religious plots, which includes the necessity to meet the objectives as follows: 1) to interpret plots of religious fables; 2) to analyze short stories by М. Yamaletdinov, А.-G. Utyabai, Т. Iskandaria, literary miniatures by G. Khusainov through the use of the cluster approach and motif analysis to reveal typological peculiarities and individual characteristics of minor genres that establish the logic of fiction narratives. Materials. The paper analyzes religious plots, The Eternal Loneliness (Rus. Vechnoe odinochestvo) by М. Yamaletdinov, The Picked Apple (Rus. Sorvannoe yabloko) by А.-G. Utyabai, Saturniidae — Mother’s Butterfly (Rus. Pavlinoglazka — mamina babochka) by Т. Iskandaria, literary miniatures The Soul (Rus. Dusha) and The Soul’s Ascension to Heaven (Rus. Voznesenie dushi na nebesa) by G. Khusainova. Results. The examined minor prose works largely seek to conceive essential religious aspects and scientific hypotheses, e. g., when it comes to the immortality of soul, authors tend to make use of religious motifs in search of answers, and even analyze ideas of some contemporary scientists. The belief in immortality is manifested in events of the literary works, different space-time dimensions, and emotional states of characters. The described concepts of the Muslim faith, such as Jannah ‘paradise’, Jahannam ‘hell’, soul, body, dhikr, prayer, tasbih ‘(prayer) beads’, come to the fore and serve as textual joining links.
Conclusions. The article concludes comparative analyses of understudied texts and religious plots may give rise to a new understanding of spiritual quests of that period, esteem the writers’ thoughts about relations between the God and soul, immortality of the latter, and facilitate an objective appraisal of modern Bashkir minor prose. Despite the examined texts have individual features and invoke differing psychological conditions, it is faith in the Almighty that serves as a ‘structural nucleus’ of the plots, and without the belief in immortality the former loses its meaning and significance.

Introduction. In recent years, literary translations from languages of Russia’s peoples are becoming rarer and rarer. Without mutual exchanges of spiritual and artistic values minority literatures have every chance to lose their viability. Rationale. The issue uder consideration remains understudied – despite its actual social significance. The goal of the work is to analyze the current situation related to publications of translated works by writers representing peoples of the Russian Federation, to identify causes of their sharp decline, attempts to determine the potential consequences of the latter and somewhat possible solutions of the problem. The work uses the comparative, historical, cultural, and statistical methods. Results. Throughout the last decade, non-Russian literary publications — in Russia’s minority languages — constitute only 2 % of the whole of fiction publications, and published works translated from the same languages hardly constitute a tenth or a thousandth of one percent. The situation is basically caused by the lack of proper interest of state agencies towards literatures and training of professional translators specializing in languages of Russia’s peoples, by the loss of ties between regional writers and the political center, etc. The decrease in publications of translated works significantly reduces their role in the communication of national cultures of our country.