Old-Timers (Traditional culture of Ugra old residents)

On the 22th of January, 2007 the grand opening of the exhibition “Old-timers (Traditional culture of Ugra old residents)” took place in Surgut city. The exhibition was organized by Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography with the assistance of Surgut municipality within the bounds of collaboration between Znamensky College of the Russian Culture and the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The exhibition is a part of the program “Russian Faces” supported by UNESCO and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of RF.

The project peculiarity is its comprehensiveness: artifacts of the traditional ethnography are exhibited simultaneously with display of photographs and numerous video records clearly illustrating their use in everyday life. The exhibition space thus gains volume, giving rise to the effect of presence and increasing the sense of documentary authenticity what helps to comprehend cultural and scientific information.

The up-to-date multimedia exhibition centre, established in the College with the assistance of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, let realize the most difficult modern exhibition projects. The collaboration goal set by its participants is to form in the College an educational complex of modern type, which can provide the highest level of teaching of profile disciplines, the wide use of new information and museum technologies being very important for this.

The “Old-timers” project purposes on putting into scientific use and to inform public the unique materials revealed during “Slavonic course” expeditions operated in 1991-2005. The publication of almanacs, which can be considered as detailed exhibition catalogs, and organization of scientific practical conferences on field study results serve the same aim.

The artifacts from Znamensky College of the Russian Culture, collected during “Slavonic course” expeditions as well as from the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Surgut regional museum and the Ethnography museum of Shercala village are displayed at the exhibition.

Resources of the distance education system, which is being developed by employees of   Surgut city Znamensky College of the Russian Culture and Saint-Perersburg Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, were demonstrated on the opening ceremony. Speeches of the heads of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography and of the project participants were on live broadcast from Saint-Petersburg, transmissed on a big screen in the exhibition centre of the College. The chief registrator of the Museum E.A.Mikhailova gave a lecture on the history of Sibirian collections of the Museum, which are among the richest in the world. The exhibition is open up to the 31th of March, 2007.

Research activities.

In 2006-2008 the scientific staff members work on the following reseaches:

• “Ethnical identity in view of sociocultural integration and cultural interference of nations in Central, Eastern Southern Europe and Scandinavia”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12688. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of European studies Dr. A.A.Novic.
• “From existence to unexistence: folklore and funeral ritual in traditional cultures of the Old and New Worlds (a comparative investigation). Reg. № 01.2.2006 12686. The scientific advisers: the head of the department of Sibirian ethnography Dr.L.R.Pavlinskaya, the head of the department of American ethnography Dr.U.E.Berezkin.
• “The Northern Caucasia: cultural stereotypes in traditional and modernized life”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12684. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of Caucasian ethnography Dr.U.U.Karpov.
• “Historical aspects of the biological evolution of the man (using the materials of collections and databases of the Museum of Antropology and Ethnography)”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12681. The scientific adviser: the head of the anthropology department, Dr.V.I.Khartanovich.
• “ Multimedia information system for visitors of the Museum of Antropology and Ethnography and specialists: theoretical and practical aspects”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12689. The scientific adviser: the director of the Museum of Antropology and Ethnography, Dr. U.K.Chistov.
• “Northern Eurasia Antiquities in the archaeological collection of Kunstkamera – chronology, periodization and transformation in culture”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12680. The scientific adviser: the head of the archaeology department Dr. G.A.Khlopachev.
• “Traditional cultures of countries of the Southern seas in the third millenium: field studies, the museum, theory”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12683. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of Australia, Oceania and Indonesia Dr.E.V.Revunenkova.
• “Cultural spaces in traditions of Southern and South-West Asia (using collections of the Museum of the Anthropology and Ethnography)”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12679. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of Southern and South-West Asia ethnography Dr. M.A.Rodionov.
• “Traditional culture and spiritual life of peoples in European part of Russia and adjoining regions”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12678. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of the ethnography of Estern Slavs and peoples of European part of Russia Dr.A.I.Terukov.
• “Central Asia: the tradition in view of global changes”. Reg. 01.2.2006 12682. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of Central Asia ethnography Dr. R.R.Rakhimov.
• “Verbal and non-verbal forms of African cultures”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12685. The scientific adviser: the head of the department Dr.V.F.Vydrin. “Images. Concepts, artifacts in traditional cultures of Oriental countries and in collections of the Museum of the Anthropology and Ethnography”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 12687. The scientific adviser: the head of the department of the ethnography of Eastern and South-East Asia Dr.I.A.Alimov.
• “The chronicle of Lomonosov chemistry laboratory”. Reg. № 01.2.2006 126890. The scientific adviser: the head of the department “Lomonosov museum” T.M.Moiseeva.
• “Playing negativism: anthropological bases, cultural dynamics”. The responsible person: the Chief Registrar Dr.A.G.Kosinsev.