“Siberian indigenous people issue” in the writings of orthodox missionaries in the 19^th – early 20^th centuries: The problem of cultural dialogue

   “The Siberian indigenous people issue” is a complex of relations between Russian colonizers of Siberia and its indigenous population. The article considers it as a factor determining the regional identity of Russian Siberians and the specificity of the Siberian text. This issue is structurally important for the spiritual literature of Siberia. The article covers the development of the natives’ image from the works of the 17^th – early 18^th centuries (“Yesipov’s Chronicle” and “A Brief Description of the Ostyak People” by G. Novitsky, one of the first missionary travelogues) to similar texts of the late 19^th century, such as “Traveling Notes” by Archbishop Nil (N. F. Isakovich). The missionary travelogue is a version of the imperial colonizing travelogue, with its characteristic opposition of “ours” and “theirs” and the desire for the mental and physical appropriation of space and its transformation. At the same time, the texts reflect two approaches to colonization – the total Russification of the indigenous population and their Christianization while preserving their national languages and culture. Particularly noteworthy are the works by indigenous priests, such as the “Memorable Testament” by Archpriest Michael Chevalkov. These texts are a rare example of the 19^th century autochthonous literature, reflecting the process of the local intelligentsia formation. The problem of cultural dialogue is transferred in them into the realm of internal psychological and existential conflict and the author’s self-determination in relation to his own ethno-confessional identity. Pre-revolutionary Siberian missionary literature is not yet sufficiently in demand as an object of philological research. By referring to it, we expand the source base for the study of the Siberian text. It allows us to identify new axiological meanings introduced by representatives of the clergy in the formation of Siberian identity.

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