Latvian hamlets of Perm Kama region: formation and features of traditional culture

The article deals with archive sources and ethnographic material which give the opportunity to explore the formation of a small group of Latvians in the Perm Kama region in the early XX century and their ethnic and cultural features and processes. The influx of Latvian peasants to Perm in the early XX century was the part of migration from the Baltic region to the eastern regions of Russia which was mainly caused by the lack of land. In 1928 there were 21 Latvians settlements with 128 people in Siva district of the Ural region. Hamlet settlements were dismantled during 1939-1940 and most of Latvians were sent to other settlements of the region. During 2010 Census there were no Latvians in Siva district. Rural and compact settlement patterns allowed the Latvians to retain some elements of traditional culture. Agriculture and animal husbandry were the main occupations of Latvian farmers in the Kama region. Hamlet settlements were separate estates with a house, stables, barns for grain and flour, wells and barns for hay and straw. Several types of residential buildings were spread; house's interior retained some traditional features in furnace design and furniture whereas the costume was less ethnically specific and became close to urban attire. Food was the example of great preservation of traditions. Christmas, Easter, Midsummer Day were the main holidays. Kama Latvians were Lutherans. Only the first and in some cases the second generation of immigrants knew the basic components of native language. Several factors led to the weak conservation of ethnic culture and to a rapid dissolution of the Latvian population within the Russians: the small number of groups in alien ethnic environment, a significant effect of Russian traditions, the period of active social, economical, political and ideological changes in the state.