On the notes of baron G.A. von Schwachheim about the Yakuts and Tungus of the Yakut Province

Abstract

The material is a publication of an interesting historical document «News about the nomadic peoples living in the Yakut Province» (1783), written by baron G.A. von Schwachheim, the Olekminsky commissar who served in the Yakut Province. The document was previously little known and contains valuable ethnographic observations about the Yakuts and Tungus. Of great importance is the fact that the document belonged to a Russian official of German origin, who demonstrated good knowledge and observation. In this he was helped by his education, curiosity and official zeal, as well as his concern for the internal problems of the province where he served. The published materials reflect the historical process of development of ethnographic knowledge in the conditions of the special state policy of Russia in the 18th century, noted in the specialized literature about the initial stages of Russian ethnography. Its essence consisted in the pragmatic adaptation of the interests of the emerging science to the political interests of the state.