Field session of the MAE RAS

On December 15, 2025, the field session of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences took place during which museum staff presented the results of their field research conducted throughout the outgoing year. Twenty-seven employees who had participated in expeditions both within Russia and abroad shared reports on their experiences. All presentations were divided into three sections. During the first meeting, papers dedicated to archaeological studies in the Baltic-Ladoga region as well as expeditions to areas inhabited by indigenous small-numbered peoples of Leningrad Oblast, Siberia, and the Far East were heard. The second session covered expeditions to the Caucasus region, Albania, Germany, and Turkey. In the final part of the field session, reports based on research carried out in the Middle East, Africa, Philippines, and New Guinea were presented. A concluding paper about a digital archive for field materials was also delivered. Fieldwork remains one of the main tools for ethnographers, and this session provided an opportunity to share research experience and discuss methodology and prospects for future ethnographic expeditions.