The History of the Soviet Ethnographic “Field”: An Introduction to the Topic

Abstract

This article serves as a preface to the block of articles on “The Soviet Ethnographic ‘Field’: Theories, Practices, Discourses”. The authors discuss the history of ethnographic fieldwork in Russia and worldwide and argue that it has been the focus of “turns” associated with rethinking the history of the discipline in the postcolonial and post-Soviet contexts. Historians of American and European anthropology have criticised the colonial assumptions underlying the anthropological concept of “the field”, while historians of Soviet ethnography have viewed it more as a victim of a repressive state, which was blamed, in particular, for the disappearance of stationary fieldwork. The authors call for a rejection of the binary perception of the history of Soviet ethnography and the “Great Break” paradigm as an explanatory model in favour of a more pluralistic approach that takes into account the ability of the authorities not only to prohibit and punish, but also to create conditions and incentives for the adaptation of old and the production of new knowledge, discourses, and identities. An overview of the articles in the issue is given and their contribution to modern historiography is revealed. The authors identify two recurring themes in the published articles: the diversity of views on fieldwork among representatives of different schools of Soviet ethnography and the role of the “field” in defining ethnography’s place among related disciplines.