Sibirskoe oblastnichestvo i zarozhdeniie altaiskogo natsionalizma

Abstract

The article discusses the influence of oblastnichestvo movement on the shaping and development of Altai nationalistic discourse. The author examines the ways in which oblastnichestvo leaders understand and interpret nationalism. He draws attention to four principal discursive mechanisms that have been instrumental in propelling the idea of Altai nation. First, it is the practice of describing nature which played an essential part in creating the image of a unique region. Second, it is the shaping of a particular ethnographic, and above all folkloristic, image of Altai. Third, it is the impact of anti-colonial and separatist themes and discourses. Fourth, it is the myth of the Golden Age of Siberian natives and its influence on the European culture, which has been laid in the foundation of Altai historical memory. The article further examines the part that oblastnichestvo played in forming and consolidating the milieu of Altai intellectuals.