Natalia Zhukovskaia
Encyclopedia
Natalia L’vovna Zhukovskaia (Наталья Львовна Жуковская) is one of the foremost scholars working on Buryat
history, culture, and religious life in Russia.
Professor Zhukovskaya completed graduate work at Moscow State University (МГУ) in the History Faculty in 1961. After graduating, she began work at the Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
(РАН), the most prestigious academic institute in the Soviet Union. In 1996, she became the head of the Division of Asian and Pacific Oceanic Research (Отдел азиатских и тихоокеанских исследований). From 1957 to 2004, she led no less than forty five expeditions to Mongolia
and Buryatia to conduct fieldwork. She has authored or co-authored more than 230 scholarly works, including at least 12 books.
Dr. Zhukovskaya's work focuses primary on the Buryats living in southern Siberia. Her works on Buryat history are concerned largely with the process of conversion to Tibetan Buddhism
that began in the eighteenth-century and the relations between shamanic
and Buddhist practice. She has also published extensively on Buryat-Mongol folklore, holidays, and ritual. Since 1991, she has expanded her research to include the current Buddhist revival
in Buryatia, post-Soviet reappropriations of Buryat historical figures, and the increasing influence of Buddhist communities from outside of Russia on post-Soviet Buryat life.
As a prominent scholar of Buddhism in Russia and of Buryatia, Dr. Zhukovskaya has been active in the Buddhist revivals of the 1990s and early 2000s. While she claims to remain a neutral scholar, her work demonstrates a clear bias in favor of the increased role of Buddhism in daily life, as well as towards the Buddhist «modernizers» of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...
history, culture, and religious life in Russia.
Professor Zhukovskaya completed graduate work at Moscow State University (МГУ) in the History Faculty in 1961. After graduating, she began work at the Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
(РАН), the most prestigious academic institute in the Soviet Union. In 1996, she became the head of the Division of Asian and Pacific Oceanic Research (Отдел азиатских и тихоокеанских исследований). From 1957 to 2004, she led no less than forty five expeditions to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and Buryatia to conduct fieldwork. She has authored or co-authored more than 230 scholarly works, including at least 12 books.
Dr. Zhukovskaya's work focuses primary on the Buryats living in southern Siberia. Her works on Buryat history are concerned largely with the process of conversion to Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
that began in the eighteenth-century and the relations between shamanic
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
and Buddhist practice. She has also published extensively on Buryat-Mongol folklore, holidays, and ritual. Since 1991, she has expanded her research to include the current Buddhist revival
Buddhism in Russia
Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Russian lands in the early 17th century, when Kalmyk people traveled to and settled in Siberia and what is now the Russian Far East. Buddhism is considered as one of Russia’s traditional religions, legally a part of Russian historical heritage.The main...
in Buryatia, post-Soviet reappropriations of Buryat historical figures, and the increasing influence of Buddhist communities from outside of Russia on post-Soviet Buryat life.
As a prominent scholar of Buddhism in Russia and of Buryatia, Dr. Zhukovskaya has been active in the Buddhist revivals of the 1990s and early 2000s. While she claims to remain a neutral scholar, her work demonstrates a clear bias in favor of the increased role of Buddhism in daily life, as well as towards the Buddhist «modernizers» of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Major works
- М.А. Кроль. Страницы моей жизни (мемуары). – Подготовка к изданию, предисловие, аннотированный указатель и комментарий. Москва – Иерусалим: Гешарим / Мосты культуры, 2008.
- Религия в истории и культуре монголоязычных народов России. – Составитель, отв. редактор и автор одной главы. М.: Восточная литература, 2008.
- Editor, BuryatBuryatBuryat or Buriat may refer to:*Buryat people, a Mongol people*Buryat language, a Mongolic language*Republic of Buryatia, also known as the "Buryat Republic", a federal subject of Russia...
y. Moskva: Nauka, 2004. - Историко-культурный атлас Бурятии. М.: ДИК, 2001, 2-ое издание 2002 – Отв. редактор.
- Кочевники Монголии: Культура. Традиции. Символика. Учебное пособие. Kochevniki Mongolii: Kultura, Tradit's'ii, simvoika: uchoebnoe posobie. Moskva: Восточная литература Vostochaia Literatura, 2002.
- Мир традиционной монгольской культуры. USA; Lewinston, Queenston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. 305 с.
- Editor, Shamanskii Dar: k 80 letiiu doktora istoricheskikh nauk Anny Vasil'evny Smoli'a'k. Moskva: Rossiiskaia akademiia nauk, Int. etnologii I antropologii imeni N.N. Miklikho Maklaia, 2000.
- От Карелии до Урала. Книга для чтения. Ot Karelii do Urala: Rasskazy o narodakh Rossii: Kniga dlia cheteniia po kursam «Istoriia rodnaia kraia. Moskva: Nauka, 1998.
- Vozrozhdenie buddhizma v Buriatii: problemi i perspektivy. Moskva: Rossiiskaia akademiia nauk, Int. etnologii i antropolii, 1997.
- Respublika Buriatia: etonoreligioznai situatsiia, 1991-1993. Moskva: Rossiiskaia akademiia nauk, Int. etnologii i antropolii, 1994.
- Editor, Buddizm: slovar'. Moskva: Izd-vo «Respublika», 1992.
- Судьба кочевой культуры. Рассказы о Монголии и монголах. Sud'ba kochevoi kul'tury: rasskazy o Mongolii i Mongolakh. Moskva: Nauka, 1990.
- Категории и символика традиционной культуры монголов Kategorii I simvolika tradit's'ionnoi kul'tury Mongolov. Moskva: Izd-vo «Nauka», 1988.
- Editor, Voprosy istorii lamaizma v Kalmykii. Elista: Kalmutskii nauch. Issl. Int. istorii, filologii i ekonomiki pri Sovete Ministrov Kalmytskoi ASSR, 1987.
- Святые реликвии: миф и действительность. М.: Политиздат, 1987 (в соавт. с С.А. Арутюновым). 119 с.
- Editor, Mify, kul'ty, obriady narodov zarubezhnoi Azii. Moskva: Izd-vo «Nauka», 1986.
- Ламаизм и ранние формы религии. Lamaizm: rannie formy religii. Moskva: Nauka, 1977.