Boris Smirnov (1924 – 1979) was a Russian ethnologist and historian, excavator of
Kelginino Gravefield in
Eastern Mokshaland. He collected a great bulk of field material on
Moksha Ancient History, including folklore, toponimy, historical, and archeological data connected to
Moxel culture, traditions and Medieval trade routes.
Ethnological findings
Among the findings of Boris Smirnov there is a Medieval star chart used in Mokshaland by travellers, wanderers, herders and navigators on
Volga trade route
In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea and the Sasanian Empire, via the Volga River. The Rus used this route to trade with Muslim countries on the southern shores of the ...
. He had been collecting epic tales and legends and then checking the places they narrated about. He had been accumulating information on feasts and everyday life, agriculture and honey hunting. He recorded law and traditional punishment details, old crafts peculiarities and old children games rules. The rest of his time he spent in the city library reading all the scientific journals they received. He led correspondence with scholars who sometimes kept answering him, sometimes were reluctant to keep the discussion going in spite of the fact he sometimes proposed plausible solutions. The neighbours new that he might be bound three places: post office, where he received tons of books, library or forest if he had a short handle spade with him. He used to wear cheap suits and a cap in summer and
fufaika wool jackets, and a soldier's fur hat in winter time. He roamed about Big Moksha Forest and often ran across
Dubravlag
The Dubravny Camp, Special Camp No.3 (), commonly known as the Dubravlag (russian: Дубравлаг), was a Gulag labor camp of the Soviet Union located in Yavas, Mordovia from 1948 to 2005.
The Dubravlag was founded as one of several Gulag s ...
border lines. Since it was a special territory and trespassing was forbidden he from time to time been detained and questioned but happily always been released after phone calls and enquiries sent to
Zubova Polyana
Zubova Polyana (russian: Зу́бова Поля́на; mdf, Зубу, ''Zubu'') is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Zubovo-Polyansky District of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, ...
. Except for ethnology and archeological artefacts he was a botanist and collected full herbarium of
Zubovo-Polyansky Aimak. He had a small garden and grew
Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica) in it, as well as he always had lots of perfect vegetables and various flowers. "He had been treated with compassion by his friends Valerian Ryabov, Adolf Prokhorov and some others" writes Sergey Olenin. He didn't bother them much but always gave a short report on his recent work. Boris Smirnov's health condition had been deteriorated in 1966. He was not able to finish his Book 4 and seems he didn't start Book 5 he mentioned in his works. In 1979 he died. Adolf Prokhorov delivered his diaries and drafts to the Mordvoia Republic Government Institute For Humanities. Most of his field work had remained unpublished in the Institute For Humanities archives for years. First two books were published posthumously in 2012
Ethnographic material
Ethnographic material includes old Moksha rites, traditions, bygone tales, pagan beliefs, mythology, legends and folklore material reflecting life and customs. Major part consists of tales and legends regarding toponimy history: founding of villages, names of rivers, lakes and gorges.
Letters to Kremlin regarding Mordovia renaming
Since Boris Smirnov had learnt
Moksha language
Moksha ( mdf, мокшень кяль, translit=mokšeň käľ, label=none, ) is a Mordvinic language of the Uralic family, with around 130,000 native speakers in 2010.
Moksha is the majority language in the western part of Mordovia.
Its closes ...
and discovered many facts of the ancient Mokshaland history that been never taught in schools he was convinced that the term ''
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...
'' was historically incorrect and moreover derogatory or to be precise was an
ethnic slur
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
for
Mokshas
The Mokshas (also ''Mokshans'', ''Moksha people'', in ) comprise a Mordvinian ethnic group belonging to the Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in the Russian Federation, mostly near the Volga River and the Moksha River, a tr ...
and
Erzyas
Erzyas or Erzya people ( myv, Эрзят, ''Erźat'') are one of the Mordvin peoples. Famous people of Erzya descent
* Purgaz
* Stepan Erzia, Russian sculptor
* Nadezhda Kadysheva, Russian singer
* Vasily Chapayev, Bolshevik commander
* Valeri ...
. He applied for the republic renaming to the government with all the evidence he had proving that the term
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...
does not comply the contemporary situation and republic must have been renamed to Erzya-Moksha. He received an answer that he might be under some misapprehension. He went to Moscow hoping that a personal appointment would solve the misunderstanding. He wrote again and made appointments again. Olenin suggests this was in vain, writing: "He was lucky not to be arrested for his views opposing the Communist Party line, may be because he was treated as not entirely healthy person."
Kelginino Gravefield
The most striking findings were the Carolingian sword and
Vladimir the Great
Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
's and his son
Novgorodian prince Vysheslav's symbols of power. They date back to
1010
Year 1010 ( MX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Africa
* The Nile river in Egypt freezes over.
Asia
* The Lý dynasty is established in Vietnam (or 1 ...
. The latter became the proof for declaring the historical unity of Russian and Mordva peoples that can be traced back 1000 years. Later the government stopped supporting the archeological studies.
Critics
Boris Kevbrin,
Vladimir Rogachev, and
Dmitry Shulyaev (Books 1, 2, and 4 introduction)
Works
* Book 1. Middle Partsa and Chiush
ivers Ivers is the Name of the following people:
* Donald L. Ivers (born 1941), former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
*Eileen Ivers (born 1965), Irish-US-American musician
*Julia Crawford Ivers (1869 - 1930), US-American ...
1963
* Book 2. Middle Vad and Lundan
ivers Ivers is the Name of the following people:
* Donald L. Ivers (born 1941), former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
*Eileen Ivers (born 1965), Irish-US-American musician
*Julia Crawford Ivers (1869 - 1930), US-American ...
1964
* Book 3. Low Vad
iver
Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park.
Geography, transport and economy
Part of the 43-square- ...
1965
* Book 4.
See also
*
Gardariki
References
Cited works
*
*
*
*
General sources
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnov, Boris
1924 births
1979 deaths
Soviet historians
Russian ethnologists
Volga Finns
People from Mordovia
People without hands
People with schizophrenia
Soviet people with disabilities
Russian people with disabilities