Ethnographic information in the first Komi novels: challenges of translation

The article deals with the translations of the first Komi historical novels about the October Revolution into the Russian language and especially with the challenges of translating ethnographic realities. The main aim of the paper is to give an idea of some ethnographic peculiarities which emerged in the process of translating the first Komi historical novels about the October Revolution into Russian using archival documents. To achieve this aim the author compares original texts with their translations into Russian, introduces archival documents into scientific discourse and reveals the influence of the historical period on the priorities of the translation process. The novelty of the study is determined by using texts and archival documents, previously unstudied in terms of translation, namely, the correspondence betWeen the authors and the editors. The paper concerns the most important historical and cultural processes in Russia of that time, because the original novels in question were first published during Stalin's repressions, while the translations were published during the Khrushchev Thaw. Nowadays, these novels are relevant both in the Komi and the Russian languages because of their highly mastered ethnographic details, which give a picture of the material and spiritual values of the Komi people.