Ewa Nowicka-Rusek
Small, and sometimes very small, peoples living across the vast expanse of Siberia are struggling, with varying degrees of success, to survive—both as culturally distinct communities and in terms of maintaining their individual ethnic identities. Among the communities I encountered during my many years of field research in Siberia, the Buryats occupy a particularly important place – a relatively numerous (around a million people in total!!!), Mongolian-speaking people living across a vast territory stretching from the shores of Lake Baikal to the vast steppes of northern Mongolia. The Buryats have managed to preserve, revive and reconstruct many elements of their traditions, whilst simultaneously building a modern form of an ambitious, educated and creative society, shaped by contemporary universities.
In recent decades, as the effectiveness of the intergenerational transmission of ethnic culture has declined, there has been a rise in the importance of new cultural media, which have become hugely popular. These include festivals, performances and public cultural events that contribute to the national community. […]
The full article in Polish is available here
Full English translation coming soon.
