Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The exhibition "Everyday Life and Romance of Archaeographic Expeditions (for the Anniversary of Archaeography in Siberia)" opened at NSU during the All-Russian scientific conference "Source Studies of Old Russian Literature and Language (Archaeography, Textual Criticism, Poetics)," which took place from October 16-18. It features photographs from various years and personal belongings of the participants of the early expeditions—from canvas jackets and sneakers, camping utensils and notebooks to ship tickets and early printed books.
Many participants at the exhibition's opening ceremony recognized themselves in old photographs and reminisced about trekking through the taiga, traveling to the expedition site by steamship, and being welcomed by the Old Believers in their settlements. And, of course, they spoke of their mentors and teachers. Many warm words were spoken about the founder of archaeographic expeditions, Elena Dergacheva-Skop. Grateful students remembered her as an energetic, thorough, and very cheerful woman, dedicated to science and passionate about her work. It was she who drew many of those present into the amazing world of ancient manuscripts, early printed and handwritten books, awakening in them the passion for scientific inquiry and the desire for new discoveries. Not all of them subsequently dedicated their careers to archaeography, but they did not abandon their scientific work and continued their research in other fields.
NSU Rector and RAS Academician Mikhail Fedoruk attended the exhibition opening. He noted the significant contribution of NSU Humanities Institute researchers to science and the significance of their expeditionary work. Then, Ekaterina Turuk, a research fellow at the NSU Humanities Institute's Laboratory of Archaeography and Source Studies, spoke about the exhibition and the most interesting exhibits on display.
This exhibition is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of archaeological expeditions to Siberia, the very date when Elena Ivanovna Dergacheva-Skop, Vladimir Nikolaevich Alekseev, and Elena Konstantinovna Romodanovskaya, a staff member of the Institute of History, Philology, and Philosophy of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, led our philology students on their first trip to the Siberian Old Believers. Since then, these expeditions have become regular events. We envisioned a slightly lyrical, romantic, and even homely feel to this exhibition, hence its title. It turned out that the personal belongings of the archaeological expedition participants represent the everyday life, while the photographs they provided provide the romantic touch. We are grateful to everyone who responded to our request and participated in the search for artifacts for our exhibition. Thanks to them, the exhibition features unique exhibits. "That's how we acquired Elena Ivanovna Dergacheva-Skop's handbag, which she used to carry the expedition participants' tickets, a whole box of Oleg Albertovich Donskikh's diaries, and photographs from his personal archive. And at our insistence, Andrei Yuryevich Borodikhin found the very jackets and backpack he used on the expeditions. He even managed to miraculously find his hiking shoes, mug, and kettle! He even shared a bear tooth, given to him by the Old Believers as a talisman. All these items can be seen at our exhibition," said Ekaterina Turuk.
A significant portion of the exhibition is made up of photographs. Archaeography Laboratory staff members Ekaterina Turuk, Inna Shilova, Grigory Belousov, and GI Master's student Anna Cherkasova have accomplished a significant amount of work, working with the photo archive. They classified and sorted the photographs, digitized the slides, and identified the people depicted in them. The result is an extensive photo gallery of expedition images, from the first to this year's. Looking at these images, the participants of the first expeditions reminisced about their student years and eagerly shared their memories with current humanities students.
In the 1960s, our lives were completely steeped in romanticism. Romance was the key word of our youth. We even dedicated our entrance essays to it, on a free topic, in which we wrote about our understanding of romance. So, for us, romance wasn't about waiting on the pier for a beautiful frigate with scarlet sails. We were enchanted by the romance of difficult journeys. For us, it was hiking, the taiga, scientific research, and overcoming difficulties. And there were plenty of them on expeditions! On our first expedition, Elena Ivanovna and I set off on a large motor ship called the "Maria Ulyanova" to the north of the Tomsk region. We disembarked in the village of Molchanovo, where we were put up in a large room. I think it was a hotel. And then we hit the taiga trails. I remember a funny incident: I was paralyzed with fear when I came across three snakes. So much so that I couldn't go any further. Elena Ivanovna asked a local we met to give me a ride in a cart to the pier. On the way, he asked me who we were. I proudly replied, "Philologists." He said, "Looking for oil? What, without a compass?" Indeed, many geologists worked in those areas, searching for minerals, and the locals were accustomed to encountering them in the taiga, shared Irina Alexandrovna Guzner.
A participant in the first archaeographic expedition recounted that Elena Ivanovna Dergacheva-Skop provided all the necessary living arrangements. She handled issues with accommodation, travel, and food. The latter presented some challenges. Canned goods and cereals were available in local stores, but eggs and milk had to be ordered from the state farm. Elena Ivanovna handled this task successfully.
"Our group was assigned two people for this purpose, and Elena Ivanovna was given a sarafan—a blue one with white polka dots. She would dress up, one girl would do her makeup, the other would do her hair, and then, dressed like that, she would go to the management, who couldn't resist the charm of a young, beautiful woman. So, we were given plenty of food, and we ate well," recalled Irina Alexandrovna Guzner.
The expedition's romance also lay in the unpredictability of events and overcoming difficulties in unfamiliar conditions. Irina Alexandrovna recalled how, in the village of Lysaya Gora, which no longer exists, they had to live in a greenhouse, from which they removed the seedlings and, as best they could, adapted them for temporary housing.
"Thanks to these expeditions, I suddenly discovered that another life is possible. It turned out that there are people who live for completely different values. And that was, of course, simply amazing," said Oleg Albertovich Donskikh.
At the photo exhibition, a photograph of a young girl with a long braid caught everyone's attention. Elena Edmundovna Voytishek recognized herself in the photo and shared a funny story from her expedition past.
It was 1980, in a remote village. I'd just finished my first year. In one of the houses, an Old Believer named Paramon Kalinovich approached me and tugged my braid: "Isn't that a towed braid, girl?" I was hurt and offended. But after my partner, fifth-year student Mikhail Chirkin, and I helped around the house, fetched water, weeded the garden beds, and talked about the harvest, they began to consider us one of their own and took our work on the expedition seriously. And then, frankly, it was a test worse than any we'd ever taken in university classrooms! They immediately laid out the Chetyi-Minei, the Hexameron, and the Psalter for us to read, no matter which page the book opened to. And we read. That's how our hosts tested us. Then they opened the books of Znamenny Chant for us, either by salts or by hooks. Here, my musical education really helped me—I had attended music school and played two instruments. Somehow, I managed, because I had to read the lyrics, sing them without the familiar staff, and discern those hooks. It was a wonderful experience, a kind of parallel reality. There are events in life that you experience and realize: you'll never see anything like this again, and you'll never relive that moment anywhere else. Our expeditions consisted of such moments," said Elena Edmundovna Voytishek.
Over the years, expedition participants brought back approximately 2,000 handwritten and early printed books from the 15th to early 20th centuries. Finding these precious artifacts wasn't always easy. Only persistence and dedication helped the expedition members achieve their goal.
— One of the participants in our expedition, Gennady Pavlovich Enin, worked for the family that kept this handwritten book of the 16th century in order to obtain the valuable Four Gospels with marvelous miniatures on a gold lining. For three years, every vacation she went to her owners and did various housework for them, so that she could later receive this book of extraordinary beauty for her labors. In the third year, the owners agreed to give it away, but also asked for a portable tape recorder – the family was very musical. Gennady Pavlovich was quite happy with this option. What about my story? I had the opportunity to visit a real Old Believer monastery once. Then I was still a student and went on a trip with a girl from Leningrad University. We were sent to the Asinovsky district of the Tomsk region. But how to find that very monastery? Having arrived at our destination, we went to the village administration. There we were advised to contact the foresters – they know exactly where this monastery is, and even go there from time to time, patrolling the forest. We went to the forestry enterprise. It turned out that the foresters were just getting ready to go in that direction the next morning. We stocked up on food and were already at the appointed place at 6 am. We walked for a long time through the taiga along an old overgrown clearing along which timber was transported 15 years ago. Well, we walk along this clearing for an hour, two, three… A short halt and again we hit the road. The foresters were surprised when they looked at us: they were city dwellers, and they didn’t complain or whine… At rest stops, they treated us to tea, and we shared our supplies with them. We reached the monastery in 10 hours. It wasn’t far there—“only” 40 kilometers. At the monastery we met an amazing person – Mother Melania. She lived in a tiny house. Several other people lived in the large house next door, and real treasures were kept here – old books. She told me about her difficult fate, about the persecution of Old Believers, about life in the taiga, about a recent meeting with a bear at the fence separating the estate from the taiga. Such moments are not forgotten, and they can only be experienced on an expedition,” said Tatyana Nikolaevna Apsit.
The romance of expeditions hasn't gone away, and today more and more students from the NSU Humanities Institute are embarking on office-based practical training, which is part of the Philology curriculum and mandatory for all students.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.