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Ermolin D. Old Believers of the Olonets Region in the Materials of M. A. Krukovsky

Denis Ermolin
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-8474-9120
E-mail: denis.ermolin@gmail.com

 

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ABSTRACT. The article is devoted to the consideration of the topic of Old Believers in the materials of M. A. Krukovsky’s expedition to the Olonets Province in 1899. This trip to the Russian North fits into the trend that had emerged by the second third of the 19th century: interest in deep Russian culture and the search for fragments of “hidden Rus’”. During the expedition, the traveler collected rich ethnographic material on the history and culture of Russians and Karelians, forming a universal source base for that time on a particular region: the field diary was published as a book in 1904, and the collected items and photographs were described and transferred to the MAE. In his materials, the ethnographer devoted significant space to the description of the Old Believers and their history in the context of the development of the region. A visit to the Vygovsky monastery and some sketes was one of the goals of M. A. Krukovsky’s trip, where he took some of the earliest photographs of the former monastery and its environs. Socio-political processes of the second third of the 19th century gave impetus to the description and understanding of the phenomenon of Old Believers as a living tradition, deserving attention from secular researchers. The journey of M. A. Krukovsky and the ethnographic materials collected during it significantly expanded the body of knowledge necessary for understanding the phenomenon of Old Believers and its rich spiritual and historical-cultural heritage.

 

KEYWORDS: M. A. Krukovsky, MAE, Old Believers, Vygovsky monastery, ethnographic photography

 

FOR CITATION: Ermolin D. Old Believers of the Olonets Region in the Materials of M. A. Krukovsky. Kunstkamera. 2025. 1 (27): 168–175. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-1(27)-168-175

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-1(27)-168-175
UDC [39+930.2](470.2)

 

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