Vladimir Jochelson
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Ilyich Jochelson (January 14 (N.S. January 26), 1855, Vilnius
- November 2, 1937, New York
) was a Russia
n ethnographer
and researcher of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North
.
, where he participated in the socialist, revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya
. Compelled to leave Russia in 1875, he went first to Berlin and then in 1879 to Switzerland, where he remained four years, studying at Zurich and then teaching at a school on the Lake of Geneva, while keeping in touch with the revolutionary movement as editor of the Vyestnik Narodnoi Voli, which had a clandestine circulation in Russia. On his return to Russia in 1884 he was recognised, arrested and confined for three years in the Petro-Pavlovsk fortress in St. Petersburg, and in 1887 was sentenced by order of the czar to exile for ten years in northern Siberia, in the province of Yakutsk
.
In Siberia Jochelson made a special study of the language, manners, and folk-lore of the aboriginal inhabitants, especially that of the Tungus, Yakuts
, and the fast-disappearing Yukaghirs. His articles on those subjects began to attract attention, and in 1894 he and a fellow exile, Vladimir Bogoraz
("Tan", also of Jewish descent), were by special permission attached to the first expedition of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1894–97), which had been sent to that part of Siberia at the expense of a wealthy Russian promoter of art and science named Sibiryakov
. On that expedition Jochelson discovered among the natives in the outlying regions two Yukaghir dialects then considered as extinct. The Imperial Geographical Society published his discoveries in the field of ethnology, while the linguistic reports of his investigation were acquired for publication by the Imperial Academy of Science.
When the Jesup expedition
to north Asia was being fitted out by the American Museum of Natural History
(New York), the Russian Imperial Academy of Science, in answer to a request, recommended Jochelson and Bogoraz as the men best fitted to contribute to its success by knowledge of the country and of the native languages. For the expedition Jochelson spent two and a half years in the distant north, studying primarily the Koryaks
, Yukaghir, and Sakha (Yakut), accompanied by his wife Dina Brodskaya, a qualified doctor, who took care of all the anthropometric and medical work, and most of the photography. The expedition was intended to create a comprehensive record of the peoples being studied, and a very wide range of artefacts and material objects were collected, as well as the final ethnographies and written field-notes of the participants. Jochelson returned with the expedition to the United States, studying there the material which he and his wife, who accompanied him in the last journey, had collected.
In 1909–11 Jochelson led the Riaboushinsky Expedition of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society to Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, and then from 1912 to 1922 he was a divisional curator of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences
in St. Petersburg, and lectured at the university there. He emigrated to New York in 1922 and spent the rest of his life in the United States, where he renewed his association with the American Museum of Natural History, and later with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
Jochelson contributed extensively to scientific journals in Russian, German and English. In English his best-known full works are his volumes The Koryaks (1908) and The Yukaghir and Yukaghirized Tungus (1926) for the Jesup Expedition; his handbook Peoples of Asiatic Russia (1928) for the American Museum of Natural History; and Archeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands (1925) and Archeological Investigations in Kamchatka (1928), both for the Carnegie Institution. His final work focussed on refining his work on the Aleut
language, and preparing a study of the Kamchadal people.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
- November 2, 1937, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n ethnographer
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
and researcher of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North
Indigenous peoples of the Russian North
The following peoples are officially recognized as Small-numbered Indigenous Peoples of Russia. They are included into the Common List of Indigenous Small-numbered Peoples of Russia approved by the government of Russia on March 24, 2000....
.
Biography
Jochelson came from a wealthy, religious Jewish family. He attended the Vilna Rabbinical SeminaryVilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary
The Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary was a controversial Russian state-sponsored institution to train Jewish teachers and rabbis, located in Vilna, Russia. The school opened in 1847 with two divisions: a rabbinical school and a teachers' seminary. The Rabbinical School was closed in...
, where he participated in the socialist, revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya was aRussian left-wing terrorist organization, best known for the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It created a centralized and well disguised organization in a time of diverse liberation movements in Russia...
. Compelled to leave Russia in 1875, he went first to Berlin and then in 1879 to Switzerland, where he remained four years, studying at Zurich and then teaching at a school on the Lake of Geneva, while keeping in touch with the revolutionary movement as editor of the Vyestnik Narodnoi Voli, which had a clandestine circulation in Russia. On his return to Russia in 1884 he was recognised, arrested and confined for three years in the Petro-Pavlovsk fortress in St. Petersburg, and in 1887 was sentenced by order of the czar to exile for ten years in northern Siberia, in the province of Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
.
In Siberia Jochelson made a special study of the language, manners, and folk-lore of the aboriginal inhabitants, especially that of the Tungus, Yakuts
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
, and the fast-disappearing Yukaghirs. His articles on those subjects began to attract attention, and in 1894 he and a fellow exile, Vladimir Bogoraz
Vladimir Bogoraz
Vladimir Germanovich Bogoraz , best known under literary pseudonym N.A. Tan was a Russian revolutionary, writer and anthropologist, especially known for his studies of the Chukchi people in Siberia....
("Tan", also of Jewish descent), were by special permission attached to the first expedition of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1894–97), which had been sent to that part of Siberia at the expense of a wealthy Russian promoter of art and science named Sibiryakov
Alexander Sibiryakov
Alexander Mikhaylovich Sibiryakov was a Russian gold mine owner and explorer of Siberia....
. On that expedition Jochelson discovered among the natives in the outlying regions two Yukaghir dialects then considered as extinct. The Imperial Geographical Society published his discoveries in the field of ethnology, while the linguistic reports of his investigation were acquired for publication by the Imperial Academy of Science.
When the Jesup expedition
Jesup North Pacific Expedition
The Jesup North Pacific Expedition was a major anthropological expedition to Siberia, Alaska, and the north west coast of Canada. The purpose of the expedition was to investigate the relationships between the peoples at each side of the Bering Strait...
to north Asia was being fitted out by the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
(New York), the Russian Imperial Academy of Science, in answer to a request, recommended Jochelson and Bogoraz as the men best fitted to contribute to its success by knowledge of the country and of the native languages. For the expedition Jochelson spent two and a half years in the distant north, studying primarily the Koryaks
Koryaks
Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
, Yukaghir, and Sakha (Yakut), accompanied by his wife Dina Brodskaya, a qualified doctor, who took care of all the anthropometric and medical work, and most of the photography. The expedition was intended to create a comprehensive record of the peoples being studied, and a very wide range of artefacts and material objects were collected, as well as the final ethnographies and written field-notes of the participants. Jochelson returned with the expedition to the United States, studying there the material which he and his wife, who accompanied him in the last journey, had collected.
In 1909–11 Jochelson led the Riaboushinsky Expedition of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society to Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, and then from 1912 to 1922 he was a divisional curator of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography 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 St. Petersburg, and lectured at the university there. He emigrated to New York in 1922 and spent the rest of his life in the United States, where he renewed his association with the American Museum of Natural History, and later with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
Jochelson contributed extensively to scientific journals in Russian, German and English. In English his best-known full works are his volumes The Koryaks (1908) and The Yukaghir and Yukaghirized Tungus (1926) for the Jesup Expedition; his handbook Peoples of Asiatic Russia (1928) for the American Museum of Natural History; and Archeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands (1925) and Archeological Investigations in Kamchatka (1928), both for the Carnegie Institution. His final work focussed on refining his work on the Aleut
Aleut
Aleut people are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, United States and Kamchatka Krai, Russia.-Name:The name "Aleut" comes from the Aleut word allíthuh, meaning "community." A regional self-denomination is ', Unangan or Unanga, meaning "original people." The name Aleut was...
language, and preparing a study of the Kamchadal people.
Further reading
- Alexia Bloch and Laurel Kendall (2004), The Museum at the End of the World: Encounters in the Russian Far East. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812218787.