THE YAKUT PEOPLE SHIFTING FROM TRADITION TO MODERNITY: STAGES OF CULTURAL INNOVATIONS

Abstract

This paper deals with transformations having occurred in Yakut culture from the second half of the 18th century to the 1920s-1930s and concerning both material and spiritual culture. According to the authors, Yakut culture came a long way from traditions to modernity over this extensive period. In the first place, these transformations are associated with reforms carried out in the political order and economy, namely, the provincial reform of 1775 (constitution of the Yakutia Region), the First Yasak (fur tribute) Reform of 1766-1769, agrarian reforms of the 1770s and M. M. Speransky’s Siberian Reform of 1822, among others. This research study used the retrospective and comparative methods. Special attention was given to the modernization of culture, the transformation and disappearance of traditional forms of culture. What is meant by modernization is a shift away from tradition to the formation of mass culture and the establishment of civil society institutions. The authors made for the first time in research history an attempt to identify the critical periods, which were of multi-stage nature, of this process. The first stage relates to the second half of the 18th century when innovations in material and spiritual culture started to penetrate Yakut culture not yet influenced by the Russian expansion. The second stage connected with the reforms implemented in the 1820s introduced into Yakut culture certain elements borrowed from Russian culture and assimilated by the Yakuts. At the turn of the 20th century, the third stage is marked by the widespread modernization of many facets of Yakut culture. Finally, the fourth stage dating back to the first decades of Soviet rule is characterized by intensive modernization which led to the disappearance of a great number of traditions and the emergence of various forms of mass culture. The abovementioned stages highlight the historic milestones in the development of Yakut culture influenced by modernization. The present paper examines for the first-time transformations having taken place in specific areas of Yakut culture such as mundanity and art. The authors conclude that these transformations were evolutionary and unmarked by any regrettable incidents.