Cultural heritage paradigms and ethnographic collections of V.K. Arsenyev: museum practices

Cultural heritage has become a key concept in the field of culture and a resource for territories’ development. A series of cultural turns experienced by mankind have mostly led to changes in attitudes towards it. In the 20th century, there were three main paradigms related to heritage conservation activities: attitude to heritage as a monument, as a resource and product, and as a factor determining the quality of life of human and society. The rapid evolution of the concept of heritage has resulted in a broad reflection of the inheritance process. It is of particular importance to the ethnocultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Far East since their traditional culture lacks systems and needs the heritage preserved by museums. The ethnographic museum collections acquired by foreign cultural researchers in the late 19th - early 20th centuries serve as an important transmitter of cultural traditions and should be reinterpreted. The activities of V.K. Arsenyev are regarded as an institutional creation of the ethnocultural heritage of several Far Eastern regions. He was a traveler and writer who made an invaluable contribution to the preservation of the one-of-the-kind culture of the Udege people. The study describes the museum practice of updating and dealing with the ethnographic heritage of V.K. Arsenyev.