Ethnographic materials of 1920's - 1930's: on the problem of sources on history and culture of the Finno-Ugrian peoples of the Middle Volga and Pre-Urals region

The article is devoted to the problem of searching and publishing of new sources on history and culture of the Finno-Ugrian peoples of the Middle Volga and Pre-Urals region (Mordva, Mari, Udmurts, Komi and Komi-Permyaks). The author presents a new and perspective for present-day historiography research base of ethnographical texts (1920s-1930s): fieldwork materials, diaries, letters and photographs. Some possibilities of their interpretation are shown. The article is prepared under the fundamental research program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Historical and Cultural Heritage and Spiritual Values of Russia". Project "New sources on history and culture of the Finno-Ugrian peoples of the Middle Volga and Pre-Urals region".