Geographical Imagination, Anthropology, and Political Exiles

Abstract

In the second half of the nineteenth century Russian society acquired a durable image of Siberia, formulated through geography and history textbooks, fiction and travelogues, and actively disseminated by the periodical press.1 The works of Anton Chekhov, Vlas Doroshevich, and Vladimir Korolenko were instrumental in creating this image. Political exiles, notably Populists and Social Democrats, also made a contribution to shaping the image of Siberia, dedicating to it substantial space in their memoirs and in so doing continuing a tradition set by the Decembrists.2 In the second half of the nineteenth century Siberia became the subject of numerous scholarly inquiries, and the results of geographic, ethnographic and other expeditions were reflected in the publications of socio-political and specialized journals3, as well as in the many museums and exhibitions.