Visual representation of the Oirat-Kalmyks and Tuvans in the context of day-to-day life at the beginning of the XX century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2022.4.19Keywords:
modernity; coloniality; visual image; decolonial approach; photography; postcard; Oirat-Kalmyks; Tuvans; imperial experience; everyday lifeAbstract
The article examines the daily life of the Oirat-Kalmyks and Tuvans in the early 20th century in its visual perspective captured in photos taken by Russian photographers. The methodological foundation of the research is the decolonial approach, according to which modernity and coloniality are the two pillars of Western civilization. In their forms and meanings, visual representations of the Oirat-Kalmyks and Tuvans contain certain signs of coloniality. They demonstrate the features of the history of colonization of the peoples.
The empirical basis of the study consists of visual documents of the imperial period kept in Russian archives: Astrakhan State United Historical and Architectural Museum Reserve, the collections of S. Yu. Stepanov (Astrakhan) and L. B. Chetyrova (Samara), the National Archives of the Republic of Tuva, and the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia.
In the Russian Empire, photographs were not only a way of documenting different ethnic groups and their way of life, but also a tool for carrying out colonial policy. The latter is especially evident in the case of photo postcards and, above all, postcards designed for export to other countries. Photo postcards contain the imperial representation of the Oirat-Kalmyks. People seem to be theatrical; their otherness is emphasized. On the contrary, visual representations of the Tuvans are photographic reports from the place of events, made in real living and working conditions and without retouching. In these representations, there is no compositional designation of the superior or, conversely, subordinate position of this people in comparison with the Russians.
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For citation:
Sergeeva N. M. and Chetyrova L. B. Vizual’naia reprezentatsiia oirat-kalmykov i tuvintsev v kontekste byta v nachale XX veka [Visual representation of the Oirat-Kalmyks and Tuvans in the context of day-to-day life at the beginning of the XX century]. New Research of Tuva, 2022, no. 4, pp. 257-275 (In Russ.). DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25178/nit.2022.4.19
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Author Biographies
Nataliya M. Sergeeva, Samara National Research University
Candidate of Sociology, Associate Professor, Department of Sociological and Marketing Research Methodology, Samara National Research University.
Postal address: 34 Moskovskoye shosse, 443086 Samara, Russian Federation.
Tel.: +7 (846) 337-99-88.
E-mail: bo-na-mi@yandex.ru
Lyubov B. Chetyrova, Samara National Research University
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Samara National Research University.
Postal address: 34 Moskovskoye shosse, 443086 Samara, Russian Federation.
Tel.: +7 (846) 337-99-54.
E-mail: chetyrova@gmail.com
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