A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990 [Paperback]

James Forsyth (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521477719 | ISBN-13: 978-0521477710 | Publication Date: October 28, 1994

This is the first ethnohistory of Siberia to appear in English, and presents to an anglophone audience a vast corpus of previously inaccessible ethnographic and linguistic material. It covers from the early history of Siberia after the Russian conquest to collectivization and conscription during World War II and to the 1980s movement ror native rights. In this, the first substantive "post-Glasnost" account to appear, James Forsyth compares the Siberian experience with that of Indians and Eskimos in North America.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...performs a vital task by synthesizing multivolume ethnographic and historical works of German, imperial Russian, and Soviet scholars in one volume." Choice

"James Forsyth's monumental undertaking helps correct the absence of information on the native Siberians, their culture and politics, and the points at which the Russian and Soviet government met the native Siberian peoples. Forsyth's work is most enlightening when he describes the dynamics of internal Siberian politics and the effect of those dynamics on the Russian Empire. His superb, clearly presented information on Siberian native languages, ethnic connections between peoples, and Siberian religions becomes even more valuable in the presentation of this data in its integrated forum...Forsyth's study provides that additional information necessary to understand the peoples of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the post-Soviet Union, and the battles they fought and continue to fight." The Historian

"Forsyth's book on the history of the original peoples of Siberia under Russian rule is therefore not only timely but indispensable....[T]hroughout the work Forsyth makes comparative references to the social histories of the Native peoples of Canada and the United States....both compelling and insightful....[A] major contribution to the scholarship on the original peoples of Siberia. It is an indispensable text for both those who are interested in the nationalities question in Russia and those who are concerned with the past, present, and future of the indigenous peoples of our world." Greg Poelzer, Canadian Slavonic Papers

"...an ambitious volume tracing the history of what were in 1989 some one and a half million people, divided into some thirty major groups, comprising as many languages, from the earliest period of Russian conquest to communism and beyond." Bruce Grant, Slavic Review

"In this ambitious synthetic effort Forsyth has drawn together an impressive array of material hitherto unavailable in English, revising the picture of Siberia as an empty land inhabited by only thinly scattered natives. Combining very closely detailed yet engaging narration, and occassional ventures into comparative history and interdisciplinary studies, he offers us a splendidly comprehensive account of the ethnohistory of Siberia...The sixteen illustrations included here are superb and add an important dimension to the history...While Forsyth's narrative and interpretation are unparalleled in English, the illustrations, detailed table of contents, and comprehensive index and bibliography alone make the work an essential reference for Siberian history." Nationalities Paper

Book Description

Comparing the Siberian experience with that of Indians and Eskimos in North America, this first substantive "post-Glasnost" account covers the early history of Siberia after the Russian conquest to collectivization and conscription during World War II and the 1980s movement for native rights.

Product Details

• Paperback: 476 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521477719
• ISBN-13: 978-0521477710
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #887,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forsyth narrates the stages of Soviet exploitation of Siberi, January 1, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Clemson University, Clemson, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990 (Paperback)

Reviewed by Johanna Granville, Clemson University, Clemson, SC USA

James Forsyth's History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony, 1581-1990 is a much needed addition to the extant literature on Soviet history. The policies of glasnost and end of censorship after the 1991 Soviet collapse have led to greater interest in the history of non-Russian nationalities. The dearth of reliable historical information on Russia east of the Urals is becoming increasingly clear as Siberia and the Russian Pacific littoral develop into a significant geopolitical and economic entity. Russia's expansion eastward may have been as defining for Russian society as was the United States' advance westward for American society. Thus, it is surprising that historians are just beginning to concentrate on this vast landscape. This is not to say that Western scholarship has completely overlooked Asiatic Russia, but there is still much work to do. In this ethnohistory of Siberia, Forsyth attempts to "narrate and interpret the stages in the conquest and exploitation of Siberia" (defined as "everything lying east of 60 degrees E and 50 degrees N") and "the place of this process in Russian and world history." Forsyth's narrative tends to emphasize the role of ordinary people--the inhabitants of Siberia--rather than of prominent decision makers. He raises several questions about the indigenous peoples of Siberia (e.g. Buryat Mongols, Yakuts, Tatars, Samoyeds, Tunguses, and Chukchis). What was the role of the native peoples, who up to the 18th century, inhabited Siberia? Who were they, and how did they live before the Russian invasion? How did the Russian invasion affect their lives? Has the fate of the Siberian natives been similar to that of the Indians and Eskimos of North America? Forsyth's main argument is fairly simple: despite the Leninist rhetoric that the Russian occupation of Siberia was a peaceful process and that it brought the indigenous peoples into contact with a "higher culture," the Siberian peoples in reality suffered a great deal from collectivization, "denomadisation," and the consequent destruction of their traditional cultures and occupations. The book is particularly strong on the early Russian conquest of Siberia after 1456 and the folk heroes like Yermak Timofeyevich who emerged in the process. Forsyth attributes the Russian success in subjugating the indigenous tribes to a number of factors: demanding tribute, trading ruthlessly for furs, dominating by superior numbers, spreading disease (especially smallpox), exploiting intra-tribal conflict, and employing superior firepower. For centuries after taking control of a certain Siberian tribes' land, the Russians would exploit that tribe by requiring them to pay "yasak" (a Turkic word meaning tribute). Yasak was often collected in the form of furs, such as sable, fox, and marten---as precious to the Russians as gold to the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico and Peru. Russian Marxist historians have made Yermak and the Cossacks into folk heroes comparable to the pioneers of the American West. (Just as the Soviet media routinely sanitized news about Soviet society, so historians also self-servingly rewrote history.) However, the actual record of the Cossacks and "voyevodys" may be closer to the genocidal campaigns of the Nazis in the occupied regions of Belarus and the Ukraine. According to Forsyth, these interlopers were "courageous but ruthless men-of-action, mainly belonging to the petty nobility." Both tsarist and Soviet regimes abused the Siberian territory and its aborigines. Whereas the tsarist regimes extracted yasak, furs, and minerals, the Soviet regimes built vast projects in the region that disrupted the environment and local way of life. Gold dredging threatened rivers, industrial pollution affected Lake Baikal, and projects such as the Baikal/Amur railway (BAM) caused ecological damage, while the KGB harrassed local people who complained. Overall, the book is grim on the future of Siberia. The native ethnic groups are still minorities in their own land. Forsyth believes that some communities may resort to creating reservations akin to the ones for Indians in Canada and the United States. The book is solid, but not flawless. Although it synthesizes multivolume ethnographic and historical works of German, imperial Russian, and Soviet scholars in one volume, the extensive bibliography will not benefit those who read neither Russian nor German. Moreover, Forsyth apparently has not worked with recently declassified archival documents, and his balance is skewed a bit toward the seventeenth century. Readers may also find the beginning section on geography extremely dry, and the multitude of ethnic groups confusing. Nevertheless, since the scope of this finely produced book is vast, and its subject very timely, it will indeed benefit both nonspecialists and general readers. It contains twelve useful historical maps of the Siberian region and fifteen illustrations.

Johanna Granville, Clemson University

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sad Story, April 16, 2005

By 

Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990 (Paperback)

This book may well be the very best history of the native peoples of Siberia and their conquest by the Russians in the past centuries.
Though the title is exaggrating a bit - with Siberia today having an overwhelmingly Russian majority population I don't find it more of a "colony" than the USA, Canada, or Australia, where natives have been even more outnumbered by European settlers - the book itself is very thoroughly-researched, amazingly up to date and is even fair enough to compare the current situation of the Siberian peoples to that of Northern minorities elsewhere.
No doubt, it is a somewhat disturbing read - but then so is the situation of these often diminishing ethinc groups even today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough Survey of Siberia, December 7, 2008

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Benjamin Trovato (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990 (Paperback)

Since he is mainly interested in the native peoples, he must cover geography and ethnography as well as history. The Russians are by no means neglected. This is a good source for any aspect of Siberia or any of its numerous peoples. It is quite difficult to cover such a mass of data. Forsyth makes it look easy