The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire. Margus Kolga
entailing no open display of hostility.
The national policy of the Soviet government can be divided into two major phases. The first phase began with the establishment of Soviet power (the time differed from place to place) and ended in the midle 1930s. The second phase last ed until very recently. The nature of the first phase is somewhat contradictory as the recognition of small nations and a certain encouragement of their self-consciousness proceeded in parallel with collectivization and the heavy repressions known as “class struggle”. For most of the Red Book peoples collectivization meant forced settlement. In addition, former economic systems were dissolved by a liquidation of small villages and households. Economy being an inseparable part of culture, this was an initial step in the ruination of national cultures. Collectivization was accompanied by a centralization of the economy which began alienating people from their work and environment, separated them from nature, and made them dependent on centrally apportioned supplies. At the same time it should be appreciated what was done for the development of literacy among small peoples. Many languages received their own newly devised writing systems. These were based on the Latin alphabet as pending “World Revolution” even Russian was intended to be transferred to Roman letters.
Towards the end of the 1930s the situation changed radically. The Stalinist regime abandoned the least pretences of adherence to the principles of freedom and equality, and embarked on a course of blatant russification. National writing systems were either replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet or cast into disuse. Local intellectuals were dispersed and killed. For many nations the final blow was dealt by World War II. In the postwar period, most of the minor nations suffered from the lack of vernacular schooling and letters. Their habitats were flooded with (mostly Russian) migrants. At the same time, official propaganda constantly intensified its efforts to depict Russians as the chosen people who would lead the whole world into Communism. This, together with the obvious political supremacy of the Russians, led several minor peoples to develop inferiority complexes to the extent that they denied their own nationality.
The migrant influx was resisted only by those peoples protected by forbidding (mostly Caucasian) mountains and a traditionally militant mentality. The insufficiency of a severe climate as sole protector is proved by the sad fate of the Nganasans.
Surpassing both alphabetic somersaults and ideological hammering, it was the destruction of local economies that had the most destructive effect on Soviet minority peoples. Wasteful exploitation has ruined the frail tundra environment of the North as well as the orchards of the South, it has forced hundreds of thousands of people to engage in work that suits neither their abilities nor habits, nor even their understanding of the world. It has forced some nomadic tribes to settle, and, vice versa, it has led hordes of migrants to previously rationally tended tundra, forests and valleys. In Central Asia people suffocate on cotton, the northerners are plagued by the mineral resources discovered on their lands (cf diamond prospecting in Kimberley or rubber plantations on the Amazon). Public concern has been aroused by the condition of the rain forests but it is high time to begin paying some attention to the tundra of northern Eurasia, too. The preservation of minor nations is not a mere caprice of nostalgically-minded scholars, it is a vital issue. What is meant is not a formal preservation, where a nation is termed ‘alive’ when there are about 20,000 speakers of the language left. Rather, a nation is alive when the national economy, social organization and culture constitute a whole. This in its turn means that all the manifestations and forms of national life are in compliance or, at least, in the process of adaptation with the imperatives inherent in that particular culture. Viewed in those terms almost all the peoples in this book have ceased to be nations and have instead become just groups of people sharing some ethnic peculiarities — be they linguistic, anthropological or customary. The Chukchi are no longer Chukchi if some force other than nature should cut them off from whale and walrus hunting. Divorced from their natural mode of life, their traditional dress, (fairy) tales and (traditional) wisdom lose much of their meaning.
To a certain extent a mutilated culture can be cured. Limited damage sustained over a short period may be healed by the culture itself if the conditions are favourable. There are possibly several nations that would find their feet again if they were immediately allowed to resume their as yet unforgotten tradition al lifestyle. In a number of cases, however, this would require the departure of migrants from their lands, the shut-down of derricks and an end to pollution. Obviously this is not going to happen in a day and much special attention would be required. However, it is conceivable that even oil-wells could be operated without causing too much pollution and without creating impassable obstacles to the path of reindeer.
This is not to say that the sole path for small nations is straight back to the 19th century or earlier. A modem snowmobile fits the Arctic way of life just fine. However, the nations must be given a chance. Unfortunately, it is also quite evident that for many minor nations the capacity for cultural reintegration has been exhausted. Instead of assimilating new phenomena within their own traditions they have to take them over as they come. This breeds tension, conflicts, hopelessness and indifference towards oneself as well as towards the environment. Those are the bitter, yet unavoidable, fruits of the Soviet national policy.
This book is the result of a joint effort between historians and linguists. The differences in the academic backgrounds of the authors are reflected in slight differences in emphasis between the entries. As there was no strict or uniform format the entries also differ slightly in length, factual density and style. Nevertheless, the authors have sought to provide for every included people, characteristic data on their population, native language status, and the proportion they form among the inhabitants of their own territory. Unfortunately, it has proved extremely difficult in most cases to discover the present-day situation. Where possible the percentage of those competent in their mother tongue is given, not the total number of the speakers of the language. The number of speakers of Nenets, for example, has long surpassed the number of the Nenets people, whereas the number of Liv speakers has always been smaller than that of the Livonians.
The articles are arranged alphabetically notwithstanding the possible close linguistic or territorial proximity of the peoples in question. In highlighting the damaged spheres of life and the imminent dangers the authors’ aim has not been to merely form a catalogue of destruction, rather, the aim has been to provide a comprehensive picture of every single ethnic group and its typical lifestyle. There is an article on each nation, plus a general section on the peoples of the Pamirs. A general survey was considered for the Dagestan peoples, but the idea was abandoned, because Dagestan is also home to many nationalities whose existence is not in jeopardy, unlike the Pamir region where all native peoples are in danger.
WHAT TO DO WITH PEOPLES
There are more than 5,000 peoples in the world. The number of states is much smaller — only more than 200, whereas not all of them have international recognition.
Although there exist state institutions with limited sovereignty and autonomies within one state the general situation is depressing — most peoples are forced to live in the territory of states that have been established by other nations, though in many cases it is their ancient homeland.
It is obvious that they have not surrendered their independence voluntarily. Destiny of nations has greatly been determined by conquests, collusive agreements, individual interests of the persons involved, unethical diplomacy, corruption of leaders and other measures.
At the present age absence of independent statehood brings along decay of the nation because language and culture which are the main factors that guarantee its survival can not develop without restraint under conditions of a foreign power.
It is possible to prolong the process of gradual perishing but the main precondition of an alternative solution can only be independence.
Besides its benefits, globalisation that characterises the contemporary world is a new challenge for nations. According to the most pessimistic prediction, in a hundred years there will be three essential languages remaining in the World — Chinese, Spanish and English. Even French, German, Japanese, Arabian and Russian will be regressed to the level of local usage. Evolution of this tendency is relatively easy to notice.
Disappearance of cultural variety would be a great loss for culture of the