In 1904, a Native religious movement, Ak Jang, formed in Gorny Altai in Southwestern Siberia. It strongly opposed itself to Shamanism, which was considered to be the core tradition of Altaians. The initial persecution of the movement by the Russian colonial administration did not stop its spread and development. It was widely practiced in Altai until 1930 when it was eradicated by the Soviet regime. <p>During the period when Ak Jang was still practiced, it was observed by a number of witnesses, some of whom were ethnographers while others were not. Those who investigated Ak Jang, produced a number of diverse and often contradictory interpretations of it. <p>From the 1930 until the post-Soviet period, Ak Jang was not studied due to an imposition of the Communist Party verdict regarding its (counterrevolutionary) character. In the 1980, the practice of Ak Jang has resumed. However, there is no agreement in academic publications regarding its nature and character. <p>In my research, I aimed at two objectives: the analysis and clarification of certain misconceptions about the nature and character of Ak Jang, and the formulation of a view, according to which Ak Jang is the manifestation of the continuity between the old religious and cultural tradition of Turks and Mongols and the modern tradition of Altaians and their cultural siblings the heirs of the ancient Turkic-Mongolian culture.

In 1904, a Native religious movement, Ak Jang, formed in Gorny Altai in Southwestern Siberia. It strongly opposed itself to Shamanism, which was considered to be the “core” tradition of Altaians. The initial persecution of the movement by the Russian colonial administration did not stop its spread and development. It was widely practiced in Altai until 1930 when it was eradicated by the Soviet regime. During the period when Ak Jang was still practiced, it was observed by a number of witnesses, some of whom were ethnographers while others were not. Those who investigated Ak Jang, produced a number of diverse and often contradictory interpretations of it. From the 1930 until the post-Soviet period, Ak Jang was not studied due to an imposition of the Communist Party “verdict” regarding its (counterrevolutionary) character. In the 1980, the practice of Ak Jang has resumed. However, there is no agreement in academic publications regarding its nature and character. In my research, I aimed at two objectives: the analysis and clarification of certain misconceptions about the nature and character of Ak Jang, and the formulation of a view, according to which Ak Jang is the manifestation of the continuity between the old religious and cultural tradition of Turks and Mongols and the modern tradition of Altaians and their cultural “siblings” – the heirs of the ancient Turkic-Mongolian culture.

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This thesis explores the relationship between shamanist ritual in Buriat communities in Pribaikal’e and the institutionalised Buriat national culture that was developed by the Soviet state and persists to this day. In Pribaikal’e, I suggest that a local sense of belonging is constituted through rites held at a clan’s ancestral hearth. I characterise these rituals as a communion between corporeal kinsmen and incorporeal spirits, emphasising commensality and communitas as a means of cementing kinship. Meanwhile, belonging to national and civic territories is underpinned by performing arts developed under Soviet rule, often adapted from ritual forms. In analysing how some of these different senses of belonging are constituted, I propose a broad distinction between ‘inward-facing’ ritual forms and ‘outward-facing’ forms that are placed in what Goffman (1975) calls ‘the theatrical frame’. I suggest, however, that in both kinds of form elements of ‘performativity’ and ‘ritualisation’ (Rostas 1998) can be discerned as modes of action through which senses of belonging are constituted and asserted. In contemporary Russia, the state is moving away from a model of federalism that incorporates national territorial autonomy and instead promotes ‘cultural autonomy’. As a result, two political territories in Pribaikal’e, Ust’-Orda Buriat Autonomous Okrug and the surrounding Irkutsk Oblast, have been unified. In a context where Buriat national culture no longer presupposes belonging to national territory, more localised expressions of belonging are being brought into public view. These include large-scale communion rites and public rituals that utilise the presentational conventions of Buriat national culture. The public framing of rites asserts local Buriats’ sense of belonging to their ancestral homelands and the authority of Buriat shamans to mediate with spirits on behalf of the Pribaikal’e.

The title of this thesis gives away little beyond an engagement with the visual and the implication of some sort of trouble: Agitating images. In many ways it is a project defined by trouble: trouble that is analyzed and historicized but also trouble that is expected and invited. The agitation refers initially to the project of communist agitators working in the 1920s and 30s among indigenous Siberian peoples. Soviet society was at war with illiteracy, at war with backwardness and, in central Siberia it was at war with shamans and wealthy reindeer herders. In relation to images, agitation is something altogether different and my metaphorical leap from a communist agitator to image as agitator can only exist through analytical fiat. What are agitating images? I argue that all photographs are actually agitating, even the most mundane and transparent images are agitating. They pose as media amenable to interpretation and the ascription of meaning; in fact they undermine meaning and they undermine interpretation. I demonstrate this in three distinct parts of the thesis. Part I offers a comprehensive articulation of my project. It is illustrated in a more or less conventional manner with archival photographs from Siberia. Part II is a demonstration of history and photography in conflict. I show how the Soviets—faced with an enormous inland territory and what was perceived as a culturally anterior population—developed the Culturebase, a unique technology to facilitate the shaping and manipulation of indigenous cultures. Part III of the thesis presents an altogether different approach. In this section I eschew the conventions and limitations of the printed page and offer a digital alternative. The format of Part III is agitating as well. As a website it is a performative act of perpetual openness. Agitating images is ultimately not about the end of interpretation, ethnography, or history. Rather, it is a generative work that reflexively apprehends its own place in the production of knowledge.

The study of Russia ¡§New Oriental diplomacy¡¨ Abstract Purpose of the thesis is to study after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Russia, the country's foreign policy from the one-sided, ¡§Pro-Western¡¨ policies, transferred to "Double-headed Eagle", "New Oriental diplomacy". The Russian and Asian countries increase the proportion of interaction, hope to be deepened in Asia regional influence, and then rebuild Russia's prestige in the world's great powers. Russia's the main objectives of "New Oriental diplomacy" is through the Russian Far East, Siberia area and the Asian countries, geographical proximity, and develop cooperation in security and economic-related policies. The approach of the thesis is realism, trying to analyze of Russia's "New Oriental diplomacy" in Asian security and economic cooperation. "New Oriental diplomacy"¡¦s safe side by taking part in the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization", with Member States in combating the three forces, to consolidate the Russian national security. "New Oriental diplomacy"¡¦s economic side by Russia's rich resources to promote cooperation with Asian countries, showing the oil pipeline and natural gas-related development. Finally, the thesis of Russia's "New Oriental diplomacy" for the Far Eastern Siberia, and East Asian countries jointly regional development, boosting Russia's economic success, more deep interaction with Asian countries to increase Russia's influence in Asian countries.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Carolina University, 2001. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-139).

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Carolina University, 2001. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-139).