Objectives. The study aims to reconstruct a fragment of the ancient history of Ciscaucasia. Materials. Part 1 provides a complete information on the unique burial complex in Ciscaucasia –– Dzhangar/Ulan-Tolga mound 1, Kalmykia. Methods. Archaeological methods, such as stratigraphic and typological ones, are used to reconstruct the linguistic and cultural situation in the region. Discussions and 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. The article examines sacrificial complexes within Bronze Age mounds of the Ergeni Upland. The archaeological culture represented by the investigated mounds is characterized by cattle sacrifice where a cow’s head and limbs symbolized a whole carcass of the sacrificial animal. A majority of the complexes contained fragmented or whole incense pots. The goal of the research is to analyze the sacrificial complexes and reveal key features of theirs essential for the reconstruction of Early and Middle Bronze Age cattle sacrifice rites. Results. The paper investigates materials from seven mound groups located in the Ergeni Upland. It concludes that mounds equipped with sacrificial altars constitute 15 % of the total number of mounds (17 of 112) and identifies somewhat basic features of such altars that tend to cluster in two groups: group one is characterized by the use of cattle bones only, and group two adds incense pots to such bones. The work attempts to attribute the presence of sacrificial altars to certain burial patterns within each mound. So, it reveals that sacrificial complexes are most frequently associated with burials of men. Special attention is paid to the presence of cattle skins placed into burials, according to participants of excavations, with animal heads and limbs. Indirect indicators of the presence of cattle skins were traced in two sacrificial altars only. The paper compares outcomes of the research of the Ergeni Upland’s sacrificial complexes to studies of similar structures within East Manych mounds, draws ethnographic and historical evidence related to such sacrificial practices that might have stemmed from the worship of the ox / cow as the primal forefather / foremother, protector of sentient beings, also tied to the fertility cult.

Introduction. The North Caucasus and forest-steppe zones of the Dnieper region are traditionally viewed as centers of the Early Scythian culture. At the same time, vast steppe territories situated between these centers have for a long time been uninvestigated because of a small number of Early Scythian sites. The advance of recent archaeological surveys allows revising the position of archaic steppe complexes within the Early Scythian culture. To date, over 100 early Scythian sites situated in the steppe zone of the Northern Black Sea region have been discovered. 80 of them are concentrated in the Lower Don region which can be regarded as a third center of the Early Scythian culture. Steppe burial complexes here differ from Caucasian and forest-steppe ones in terms of ritual, and their funeral set is typical for early Scythian culture, though it is much simpler and smaller in number. The paper deals with weaponry which was one of the most important items in the funeral set of Early Scythian sites. Objectives. The paper primarily aims to study weapons from the early Scythian sites of the Lower Don region, identify the most common types of weapons in the area, and compare them to weapons from other centers of the Early Scythian culture. Results. Bow and arrows seem to be the most popular weapon to have been put into the Lower Don graves. Arrowheads were found in 23 burials of the region. They are not very numerous: 18 complexes contained 20 pieces or less, and only 5 ― more than 20. A typical funeral item in Caucasian and forest-steppe burials, swords were found in just two steppe graves, one of them containing the single axe in the region. No defensive weapons have been found so far. Conclusion. The considerable number of early Scythian sites known in the steppe zone of the Northern Black Sea region, as well as unique character of their burial rites makes it possible to reapproach the hypothesis concerning the two Early Scythian areas and view the steppe zone as a third center of the archaic Scythian culture. Its heart – judging by the concentration of burial complexes and composition of their funeral set – was situated in the Lower Don region. Quiver sets found in every burial complex containing weapons allows to state that the population of the region was primarily armed with bows, and that the social stratification of the community was not very distinct.

The work aims at the study of a little-known period in the history of Barga (Hulunbuir) in 1917 when a large part of this region, including its capital town, came under the control of Mongolian guerrillas for a short time. Materials. For this purpose, Russian intelligence and diplomatic documents from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (Rus. AVPRI) and Russian State Archive of Military History (Rus. RGVIA),as compared to earlier published data, were studied. Results. The paper describes the character of governance practices in Barga during that period, internal situation, relations of the guerrillas and Barga’s new authorities with Russian officials on the Hailar Railway Station, Japanese military, authorities of the Manchurian provinces bordering Barga and authorities of Outer Mongolia, as well as reaction of the guerrillas and Barga’sauthorities to the short-term restoration of the Qing monarchy. After Hailar was captured by the Mongolian guerrillas, the Russian Foreign Ministry sought to restore tranquility in Barga as soon as possible and prevent clashes that could threaten security of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the autonomy of Barga fixed by the 1915 Russian-Chinese Agreement. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry allowed a temporary entry of Chinese troops into Barga to remove the guerrillas, with their subsequent withdrawal and preservation of the autonomy of the region, although the priority was a peaceful conciliation. Mongolian guerrillas were monarchists who stood for the restoration of the Manchu Dynasty’spower. The government of Barga, created under their influence, had no real authority and was engaged mainly in the supply of food for the guerrillas and solving current issues. Although they maintained intensive contacts with the Japanese in the Old Hailar, it is not correct to accuse them in Japonophilia. They maintained mostly good relations with the Russian population of Barga, but a significant part of the Barga people and all Daurs fled to neighboring regions. Southern part of Barga, a part of Inner Mongolia and eastern Outer Mongolia were devastated by the guerrillas. A part of the latter was ready to join Chinese provincial troops but it was delayed.

Introduction. The article examines an understudied episode in the history of the Kalmyk Khanate — the ceremony of proclaiming Donduk Ombo Khan of the Kalmyk people. Goals. The paper aims to introduce into scientific discourse some newly discovered archival materials covering the period of Donduk Ombo Khan’s rule (1735–1741). Results. The successful participation of the Kalmyks in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739 actualized the issue that the Russian Government should satisfy political ambitions of the viceroy Donduk Ombo. Confirmation if his status as Khan not only implied a certain consolidation of Kalmyk society but was also to guarantee further involvement of Kalmyk troops in the war. The concentration of powers in the hands of Donduk Ombo had a positive impact on the Kalmyk Khanate since after the prolonged period of internal feuds, the traditional administrative system was being restored, and uluses (districts) were being reestablished. The Kalmyk population also showed decently positive attitudes towards the installed political stability in the khanate, especially appreciated after the experienced civil war and times of vagrancy in the lands of Kuban. Still, the mentioned course of policy was evidently resisted by the majority of Kalmyk landlords. And the khanate’s internal political processes directly depended upon the relations between Kalmyk landlords and Russia, the latter seeking to consolidate powers among the Kalmyks in the hands of one ruler by granting him the title of Khan. However, the lack of a corresponding confirmation certificate supposed to have been issued by the 7th Dalai Lama resulted in that Kalmyk society viewed Donduk Ombo’s status and position as somewhat semi-legitimate. So, after the credentials received from Empress Anna Ioannovna were proclaimed, the newly established Khan of the Kalmyks immediately started arranging a mission to Lhasa.

Introduction. The impact and role of trades and crafts population in the establishment of stationary settlements throughout the Inner Kirghiz Horde remains understudied in domestic historiography though it might facilitate deeper insight into multiple processes that took place in western Kazakhstan in the 19th century. The topic is closely related to the issues of population formation, Russia’s policy in national peripheries, migrations, etc. Goals. The article primarily aims to illustrate the participation of trades and crafts people in the establishment of earliest settlements in Kazakh nomadic territories of the Volga–Ural interfluve, which includes a number of objectives, such as to specify the causes underlying the arrival of trades and crafts people in the lands of the Bukey Horde; examine their national, class and occupational characteristics; analyze the attitude of local inhabitants and authorities to the immigrants, and delineate some consequences of the migration for the development of the region. Results. The paper shows the fact those were predominantly trades and crafts people who settled there is explained by that due to certain natural and climate properties the steppe territories between the Volga and the Don rivers were by and large unsuitable for successful crop growing and, thus, unattractive for agricultural population. For this reason, the settlements established within the Inner Kirghiz Horde served ― by the occupational profile of its inhabitants ― as trade and handicraft centers. The favorable conditions included the interest of the Kazakh nobility and Kazakh community in the development of trade, which gave way to stimulating measures aiming to attract traders, and the absence of professional traders among the nomads as such that excluded ― at least, in the early stage ― competition between the natives and newcomers. The paper also notes that the Russian ruling circles showed no essential interest in the lands of the Bukey Kazakhs since those were not crossed by any strategically important routes, nor any deposits of natural resources that could be used for industrial purposes had been discovered yet. In the 19th century, the authorities did not seek to change lifestyles of the Bukey Kazakhs, and therefore took no measures to sedentarize them. For this and other reasons, permanent settlements there were few enough, the bulk of their inhabitants being migrants from other provinces. The majority of those to have founded villages were Tatars from Kazan Governorate who were close to the Kazakhs both in terms of language and religion. An important consequence of the Tatars’ penetration in the Inner Kirghiz Horde was the intensification of Islamic propaganda and strengthening of Islam’s positions among the Kazakh population. Conclusions. The study concludes that migrant traders played a major role in the creation and development of the earliest 19th-century stationary settlements in the territory of the Inner Kyrgyz Horde. Their arrival was not associated with any special policy of the Russian Government and the bourgeoisie but resulted from favorable trade conditions that prevailed in the territory. Merchants and craftsmen gave rise to permanent settlements in the lands of the Bukey Kazakhs, facilitating further development of trade and crafts, familiarizing the nomads with the mentioned activities and sedentary life.

Introduction. In recent decades, studies of urban everyday life in the period of global changes have become particularly relevant in Russian historical science. Tuva’s voluntary annexation to the USSR in October 1944 and its obtaining of the status of an autonomous oblast proved a most important event and led to changes in all spheres of the Tuvan people’s life. Being the capital, Kyzyl becomes the epicenter of new life. The goal of this article is to examine social and living conditions of Kyzyl’s population during the first decade after Tuva joined the USSR (mid-1940s – early 1960s). Materials and methods. The scientific value of the article consists in that this is the first attempt to characterize social and living conditions, dynamics of the quality of life of Kyzyl’s population as evidenced by diverse historical sources. The oral history materials, print periodicals, archival documents, and visual sources make it possible to scrutinize and essentially describe main trends in the development of the housing problem, to characterize the degree of development of urban amenities and sanitary/hygienic conditions, as well as the development of housing and communal services. The results of the investigation show that the period between the mid 1940s and early 1960s was a time of radical changes in everyday life of Kyzyl residents. The positive dynamics in solving the housing problem is evidenced by the fact that gradually one-storey wooden houses without roofs were replaced by comfortable multi-storey buildings. Improvements were also observed in public services, as well as improvements in the urban environment, maintenance of the city’s sanitary/hygienic conditions. The key problems included the chaotic unauthorized development of the city by residential buildings, frequent floods, the absence of greenery, and the delayed construction of plumbing network and sewage systems. Conclusions. The analysis of the social and living conditions of Kyzyl’s population in the first decade after Tuva became part of the USSR shows that, despite problems, the urban space had changed positively, which resulted not only from activities of the authorities but also from wide initiatives of townspeople.

Introduction. The article analyzes personal names and nicknames of Mongolia’s ethnic Tuvans which is an understudied ― though topical ― issue of contemporary Tuvan onomastics. The ‘second’ names contain data about old and modern culture of foreign Tuvans, and particularly that of Mongolia-based ones. Goals. The article primarily seeks to identify official, ‘home’, and ‘paired’ names (i.e. nicknames) of Tuvans residing in Western Mongolia. To date, this aspect of Tuvan linguistics has been no object of any special scientific research. So, the work can fill the gap, and facilitate further development of Tuvan onomastics in general. Materials. The paper analyzes personal names and ‘second’ names collected by the author during field research in Bayan-Ölgii and Khovd Provinces of Mongolia inhabited by ethnic Tuvans. Results. The analysis of personal names and nicknames concludes that the official documents of the latter mention personal names of Tibetan-Mongolian origin, while in everyday life they actually use ‘second’ names that deal with the history, customs and traditions of their ancestors. In the past, both essentially Tuvan and Tibetan-Mongolian names served as ‘household’ and ‘paired’ ones, while the current period witnesses the additional use of hypocoristic forms which is a novelty to name-giving practices of Mongolia’s Tuvans.

Goals. The article deals with one of the most unique collections of Tuva’s National Museum ― a collection of photo documents compiled by its first director, expert in local history, photographer Vladimir P. Yermolaev (1892-1982). Materials. The paper describes the development of V. P. Yermolaev’s collection, its subject, structure and chronological framework. The collection of photo documents by V. P. Yermolaev comprises two segments ― photographs and negatives (glass and film ones) numbering over 4,000 storage items. The V. P. Yermolaev Collection is unique in that it presents somewhat earliest photographs of Tuva’s territory, glimpses of Tuvan people’s life. The earliest photographs date back to 1913. Results. The article systematizes the collection thematically. The photographic heritage of V. P. Yermolaev mirrors everyday life of the feudal Tuva, the Civil War period, formation of industry and transport, development of culture and arts in the Tuvan People’s Republic (TNR), participation of the TNR in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, etc. The history of receipt and formation of the collection is also paid special attention to. Conclusion. The study reveals that the formation of the collection was gradual and lasted over several decades. The insight into museum records and photo documents as such concludes that V. P. Yermolaev’s collection of photo documents comprises not only negatives but also albums with control prints and photographs largely supplemented with the author’s own comments. The analysis allows concluding that V. P. Yermolaev was one of the first researchers to have used photography as a key method of data collection and research of Tuva’s sociocultural development.

Introduction. The syntax of the complex sentence in Altaic languages is characterized by a large number of synonymous constructions. Goals. The paper seeks to differentiate the synonymous constructions, firstly, to systemically identify important oppositions and, secondly, to determine development vectors of certain constructions. The study hypothesizes such constructions as actually quasi-synonymous, i.e. those are not complete synonyms and differ in shades of meaning or style. For the first time in Mongolian studies, the paper attempts to differentiate quasi-synonymous poly-predicative constructions with concessive meanings. In modern Buryat, concessive-adversative relations are expressed by four structurally different constructions, namely: ones containing adverbial participles ending with –bashye (-бАшье), ones with the particles γaa and -shye (hаа, -шье), ones with the concessive-adversative particle aad (аад), and ones containing the bifinite construction with particles on the basis of the service verb of saying –ge (гэ-). The study investigates examples from Buryat imaginative literature placed in the online Buryat corpus. Methods and results. The use of methods of contextual analysis, introspection and linguistic experiment makes it possible to identify various semantic shades, such as principal mono-subjectivity, an extended time interval between events, and a complication with the modus component. Thus, the differentiation of quasi-synonymous constructions contributes to the refinement and rationing of relations between them.

Introduction. When it comes to Tuvan toponymy it is, as usual, the geographical environment that served as the primary basis for its development, but this article studies place-names with different semantics. Goals. The paper basically aims to analyze place-names containing numerals, clarify lexical meanings and etymologies of their components, identify some secondary or primary nature of the emerged toponymic metonymies, delineate the distribution area of some ‘wandering’ Turkic geographical names among Tuva’s toponyms, and ascertain the history of their emergence. Materials. The article examines the author’s field data collected during comprehensive research expeditions undertaken between 1999 and 2018, as well as examples extracted from The Toponymic Dictionary of Tuva by B. K. Ondar. Results. The study concludes that in numerals-containing toponyms the quantitative element — a) accurately specifies the number of geographical objects; b) expresses the meaning ‘several’; c) expresses the meaning ‘a lot’; e) and acts as an unclear quantitative indicator. First components of complex toponyms are usually common Turkic numerals, the exception to this being saya ‘million’ borrowed from Tibetan through Mongolian, while latter components are common Turkic names of geographical objects, trees, including a small number of Mongolisms or Turko-Mongolisms related to other lexical clusters. Tuva’s numerals-containing place-names comprise a number of ‘wandering’ Turkic geographical names to be traced throughout the Altai, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Khakassia, and the Caucasian Mineral Waters.

Introduction. The Jangar epic is an essentially heroic composition represented by five cycles and one separate song. Goals. The paper aims to consider songs of the early Baγa Tsokhor Cycle of the Jangar based on archaic epic patterns nuclear elements to which being those dealing with the hero’s matchmaking. Methods. The revealed nuclear motifs of matrimonial collisions – within a comparative and typological analysis involving matchmaking-related legends of the Altaians, Buryats and Tuvans – allows defining somewhat invariant motifs of the archaic epos that trace their origins back to mythology and previous epic traditions. Results. The research reveals the role of the father-in-law who acts as a master of waters and whose image goes back to ‘hunting’ epic patterns. The description of the father-in-law’s invariant role became possible due to the use of epic compositions of Siberian Turko-Mongols since the Kalmyk epic tradition contains only rudimentary elements of this image. The paper also shows that in the legends examined– texts of the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle being no exception – it is a representative of the water world who acts as the hero’s betrothed, the hero here being rivaled by creatures of heavenly origin. Motifs of search of the betrothed in the other world, Khan Jangar’s travels through alien worlds also attest to archaic nature of the cycle. Conclusions. Songs of the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle are based on the invariant nuclear motif cluster of the archaic epos, as well as epics of Siberian Turko-Mongols, and it is comparison with the latter that sheds light on numerous ancient motifs or their rudiments that cannot be described or explained in any way. A possible development of the cycle gets clearer when viewed through the prism of the ‘initial nucleus’ theory. So, the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle formed as a result of growth and ‘volume swell’ of nuclear topics and motifs of the archaic epos. The Jangar’s archaic songs developed into a classical heroic epic in accordance with general epic development patterns.

Introduction. A significant part of the written heritage of Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism is formed by translated literature included in compilations of the Tibetan Buddhist canon — Kangyur (Kanjur) and Tengyur (Tanjur) — and compendiums of ritual texts, and, moreover, distributed as independent texts. One of such texts widely represented in the Mongolian literary tradition is The Sutra of the Eight Luminous (Mong. Naiman gegeen, Kalm. Nӓӓmn gegӓn). The Chinese original text of the sutra is called The Sutra of the Eight Luminous (lit. ‘solar’) (Ones) Preached by the Buddha, or Bayang Jing (Chin. fó shuō tiāndì bā yáng shén zhòu jīng, abbreviated — Bāyáng Jīng). The sutra belongs to the subgenre of dharani-sutras which had been primarily connected with ritual in Vajrayana Buddhism since the texts are said to bestow various benefits and eliminate obstacles. Usually, in the Tibetan tradition dharani-sutras are viewed as ‘the word of Buddha’. However, at early stages of the formation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon its compilers obviously followed the Chinese tradition which considers this sutra to be apocryphal since the text includes certain elements of Taoism and traditional Chinese beliefs. Despite the fact the sutra was absent in the ‘Ldankarma’ catalogue and the early handwritten Kangyur editions of the Thempangma branch, it was later included in the xylographic editions, as well as various collections of canonical texts. In the literary tradition of Mongolic peoples the authenticity of the sutra was never questioned. This is evidenced by the numerous handwritten and xylographic samples of the text, the earliest of which date to the Yuan dynasty (14th c. AD). Besides, the sutra is a major Buddhist texts translated by Zaya Pandita Namkhai Jamtso from Tibetan into Oirat using his developed Clear Script. Goals. The article seeks to provide information on the publication and history of studies related to the Tibetan, Uighur, Mongolian and Oirat versions of the sutra, as well as to give a list of the Mongolian, Oirat and Tibetan copies of the sutra contained in Russian repositories. The main methods include the source analysis and searching ones. Conclusions. The text of the sutra translated from the original Chinese text is represented in the Tibetan and Mongolian literary traditions, as well as among the Uyghur translations in the form of two main versions to be correlated to both early and late translations. Besides, the paper concludes there is a later Tibetan version of the sutra which differs from the Chinese original, and it is the former that was actually spread among the Mongolic populations as a ritual text. The analysis of the Mongolian and Oirat manuscript catalogues shows that The Sutra of the Eight Luminous has quite a number of xylographic and handwritten copies in Mongolian, Oirat and Tibetan scripts.

Book Review: Panchen Lama Losang Yeshe. Lamrim «Bystryi put’ k vsevedeniyu»: obnazhennoe rukovodstvo po etapam puti prosvetleniya [The Lamrim Titled ‘A Swift Path to Omniscience’: an Essential Guidance on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment]. A. Loshchenkov (transl., comment., appendix). Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scient. Center (Sib. Branch) of RAS, 2018. 224 p.