Nikolay Kradin
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Nikolaevich Kradin (born in Onokhoy, Buryatia, USSR on April 17, 1962) is a Russian anthropologist and archaeologist. Since 1985 he has been a Research Fellow of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology
, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
in Vladivostok
. He is also (since 1999) Head and Professor of the Department of Social Anthropology
in the Far-Eastern National Technical University.
Among other things Kradin has demonstrated that an alternative to the state seems to be represented by the supercomplex chiefdom
s created by some nomads of Eurasia – the number of the structural levels within such chiefdom
s appear to be equal, or even to exceed those within the average state, but they have an entirely different type of political organization and political leadership; such type of political entities do not appear to have been ever created by the agriculturists.
Kradin has written over 8 books and 300 articles dealing with his research interests. These include Nomadic Societies (1992 in Russian), The Xiongnu Empire (1966, 2001, 2002 in Russian), Political Anthropology (2001, 2004, 2010 in Russian), Chinggis Khan Empire (in co-authorship
with T.Skrynnikova, 2006 in Russian), Nomads of Eurasia (2007 in Russian).
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, Far East Branch 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....
in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
. He is also (since 1999) Head and Professor of the Department of Social Anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
in the Far-Eastern National Technical University.
Education
- B.A., M.A. IrkutskIrkutskIrkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
State University, 1985
- Ph.D., Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Vladivostok, 1990
- Dr.Sc., Institute of Oriental Studies (St.Petersburg Branch), Russian Academy of Sciences, 1999
Major contributions
Nikolay Kradin's major contributions belong to three fields:- (1) anthropology and social history of the Eurasian nomads;
- (2) political anthropology and theory of the state formation;
Among other things Kradin has demonstrated that an alternative to the state seems to be represented by the supercomplex chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
s created by some nomads of Eurasia – the number of the structural levels within such chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
s appear to be equal, or even to exceed those within the average state, but they have an entirely different type of political organization and political leadership; such type of political entities do not appear to have been ever created by the agriculturists.
- (3) social archaeology of the nomadic empires.
Kradin has written over 8 books and 300 articles dealing with his research interests. These include Nomadic Societies (1992 in Russian), The Xiongnu Empire (1966, 2001, 2002 in Russian), Political Anthropology (2001, 2004, 2010 in Russian), Chinggis Khan Empire (in co-authorship
with T.Skrynnikova, 2006 in Russian), Nomads of Eurasia (2007 in Russian).
Selected recent publications in English
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2000. Nomadic Empires in Evolutionary Perspective. In Alternatives of Social Evolution. Ed. by N.N. Kradin, A.V. Korotayev, Dmitri BondarenkoDmitri BondarenkoDmitri Bondarenko , born 1968 in Moscow, is a Russian anthropologist, historian, and africanist. He has conducted field research in a number of African countries and in Russia...
, V. de Munck, and P.K. Wason (p. 274-288). VladivostokVladivostokThe city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; reprinted in: The Early State, its Alternatives and Analogues. Ed. by Leonid GrininLeonid GrininLeonid Grinin is a philosopher of history and sociologist.Born in Kamyshin , Grinin attended Volgograd Pedagogical University, where he got an M.A. in 1980. He got his Ph.D. from Moscow State University in 1996...
et al. (р. 501-524). Volgograd: Uchitel', 2004.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2002. Nomadism, Evolution, and World-Systems: Pastoral Societies in Theories of Historical Development. Journal of World-System Research 8: 368-388.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2003. Nomadic Empires: Origins, Rise, Decline. In Nomadic Pathways in Social Evolution. Ed. by N.N. Kradin, Dmitri BondarenkoDmitri BondarenkoDmitri Bondarenko , born 1968 in Moscow, is a Russian anthropologist, historian, and africanist. He has conducted field research in a number of African countries and in Russia...
, and T. Barfield (p. 73-87). Moscow: Center for Civilizational Studies, Russian Academy of SciencesRussian Academy of SciencesThe 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....
.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2006. Archaeological Criteria of Civilization. Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
5: 89-108.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2006. Cultural Complexity of Pastoral Nomads. World Cultures 15: 171-189.
- Kradin, Nikolay N., Skrynnikova Tatiana D. 2006. Why do we call Chinggis Khan's Polity 'an Empire'. Ab Imperio 2006 (1): 89-118.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2008. Structure of Power in Nomadic Empires of Inner Asia: Anthropological Approach. In: Hierarchy and Power in the History of Civilizations: Ancient and Medieval Cultures. Ed. By L.E.Grinin, D.D.Beliaev, and A.V.Korotayev. Moscow: URSS, 2008, p. 98-124.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2008. Early State Theory and the Evolution of Pastoral Nomads. Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
7 (1): 107-130.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2009. State Origins in Anthropological Thought. Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
8 (1): 25-51.
- Kradin, Nikolay N., Skrynnikova Tatiana D. 2009. "Stateless Head": Notes on Revisionism in the Studies of Nomadic Societies. Ab Imperio 2009 (4): 117-128.
- Kradin, Nikolay N. 2010. Between Khans and Presidents. Anthropology of Politics in Post-Soviet Central Asia. Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
9 (1): 150-172.
Publications about Nikolay Kradin
- Dmitri BondarenkoDmitri BondarenkoDmitri Bondarenko , born 1968 in Moscow, is a Russian anthropologist, historian, and africanist. He has conducted field research in a number of African countries and in Russia...
, Leonid GrininLeonid GrininLeonid Grinin is a philosopher of history and sociologist.Born in Kamyshin , Grinin attended Volgograd Pedagogical University, where he got an M.A. in 1980. He got his Ph.D. from Moscow State University in 1996...
, and Andrey KorotayevAndrey KorotayevAndrey Korotayev is an anthropologist, economic historian, and sociologist, with major contributions to world-systems theory, cross-cultural studies, Near Eastern history, and mathematical modeling of social and economic macrodynamics.Education and career=Born in Moscow, Andrey Korotayev attended...
. Alternative Pathways of Social Evolution. Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
1/1: 63-66 (assessment of Kradin's findings).
External links
- Nikolay Kradin
- Nikolay Kradin is a member of Editorial Board of Social Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & HistorySocial Evolution & History is a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the development of human societies in the past, present and future. In addition to original research articles, Social Evolution & History includes critical notes and a book review section. It is published in English twice a...
journal