Inhabitants of Siberia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as viewed by Feliks Kon

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the remarks and reflections of the Polish socialist activist, writer, journalist Feliks Kon (1864–1941) on some Siberian communities that he met while in exile at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite the fact that before his arrival in Siberia, he had not been professionally involved in scientific research, F. Kon made efforts to collect materials and information on the everyday life, customs and rituals of the inhabitants of this land. He can be described as self-taught, but the results of his work in the field of physical and social anthropology as well as the folklore and ethnography of the peoples of Siberia were in no way inferior to the research achievements of the then full-time employees of Russian scientific societies. The inhabitants of Siberia, both indigenous (Tuvians, Yakuts, Buryats) and immigrants (Russians, Jews), appear in F. Kon’s view as “flesh and blood” people, with flaws, problems and dilemmas, but also enjoying small pleasures, joys of life.