A most important part of the study and popularization of the traditional culture of indigenous peoples of the Far East and Ussuri Land were the archeological and ethnographic collections donated by Arseniev to museums.

The Russian Museum of Ethnography keeps the largest ethnographic collection of V. K. Arseniev. We present in this album a chronicle of Arseniev’s collecting activity as part of his collaboration with Russia’s largest ethnographic museum. It is annotated objects of spiritual and material culture of the Udege, Nanais, Orochi, and Koryaks; it is narratives of notable ethnographers, experts in Siberia, about Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev and the most valuable exhibits of his collection; and it is Arseniev’s autographs, his correspondents, and his descriptions of objects. 

The most important purpose of this resource is digital repatriation of collections to places of their origin, and instant and complete access to artifacts of traditional culture.

Vladimir Arseniev's Basic Principle in Acquisition of Ethnographic Collections

The preservation of the fragile heritage of the spiritual traditional culture of the aboriginal peoples of Primorye and the Ussuri Territory is one of the most important results of the long-term expeditionary work of the researcher of the Far East, local historian-encyclopedist Vladimir Arseniev (1872-1930).

The indigenous peoples of Primorye and the Ussuri Territory trusted Arseniev with images of sevokhi - assistants in hunting and curing illnesses, assistants in communicating with the masters of water and forest worlds, amulets, elements of shamanic vestments. The collections and expeditionary information collected by Arseniev allow preserving the meanings of the unique cultural monuments of the peoples of the Far East.

Sacred Artifacts of Amur Region and Promorye Peoples in Vladimir Arseniev's Collections

Vladimir Arseniev, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Junker Infantry School, arrived in Vladivostok in 1900. Having led a horse-hunting team, Arseniev made long excursions around the Ussuri Territory, studying flora and fauna, topography, and geography. On campaigns, Arsenyev communicated with the indigenous peoples: Udege, Nanai, Oroches; studied language, character traits, rules of communication, housekeeping, thoughtful, rational attitude to nature, rules of interaction with it. His expeditions of 1906-1910 became world famous for the study of the northern regions of Primorye: from the Sikhote-Alin ridge to the Sea of Japan.

Arseniev shared generously his natural history, archaeological and ethnographic collections with museums of scientific and educational centers: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan.

The Russian Ethnographic Museum has a unique collection of traditional Udege culture, revealing the idea of the creation of the universe, shamanic rituals, travel from the world of people to the world of spirits, communication with the spirits of nature, earth, sky, the underworld. Special attention is paid to the attributes and symbols of the Bear Festival and the cult of snakes.

Photo Collections of Vladimir Arseniev in the Russian Museum of Ethnography

The development of technology of photography allowed ethnographers in the late XIX - early XX centuries use this technology in expeditionary research of the country. The Russian Museum of Ethnography had an extensive network of correspondents who studied the traditional culture of the indigenous peoples of the territories remote from research centers. Photography has become part of this study and popularization through museums. Vladimir Arseniev (1872-1930), a major researcher of the Far East, sent portrait photographs of the aboriginal peoples of Primorye to the Russian Ethnographic Museum to create mannequin sculptures that reflect the features of their appearance, group photographs, camps, and migration scenes.

Arseniev's Documents in the Russian Museum of Ethnography Archive

The Russian Ethnographic Museum’s Archive is the same age as the museum itself. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the archive has kept correspondence with the first collectors of the museum, inventories of the first collections, manuscripts of scientific papers and entire funds of ethnographers.

The most valuable part of the fund of the researcher of the Far East, Vladimir Arseniev (1872-1930), is his autographs, correspondence, collecting cards. The manuscripts are distinguished by Arseniev's special authorial style, giving out a vivid artistic temperament in him. Arseniev’s collecting cards attract attention as an example of the aesthetics of a 20th-centurty document. The cards contain sketches, information about the place of collection, and legends. While reading archival documents, we start a kind of dialogue with Vladimir Arseniev himself.