At the origins of Russian Siberian ethnography (some points to the scholarly portrait of A.A. Makarenko)

Using Alexey Makarenko’s writings and published fragments of field diaries, this article examines his scholarly path which determined his role in the history of Russian ethnology as a founder of Russian Siberian ethnography. The scholar ’s biography, typical of his time, is described, including his participation in revolutionary activities and political exile to Eastern Siberia. Differences between Russian ethnological discourse of the Late Imperial period and colonial discourse which was common in European ethnology are mentioned. Considering the concept of “internal colonization” of Russia, proposed by Alexander Etkind, specific aspects of knowledge production related to the peoples of the Russian Empire in the late 19th - early 20th centuries are shown. This process was associated with activities of intelligentsia whose prominent representative was A. Makarenko. His prolonged residence among local groups of Siberian population and active involvement in their lives influenced Makarenko ’s views on “Siberization” of Russian old-timers and “Russification” of Siberian indigenous people. The causes of A. Makarenko’s spiritual crisis after his expeditions to the Katanga River basin (Podkamennaya Tunguska) for collecting information on ethnography of the Evenks as well as A. Makarenko ’s self identification, who almost never mentioned his Ukrainian origins, are discussed. It is concluded that in relation to the indigenous Siberian population, Makarenko adhered to the concept of “Imperial diversity, ” while in relation to the Slavic population of Siberia he shared the ideas of its “unification / Russification.”