Ethnography in Literature Studies. I: The Native Tribes (“Inorodtsy”) Question and “Anna Karenina”

Literary texts are undoubtedly a promising historical source, the study of which lies at the intersection of the tasks of historical anthropology and the study of sources. In this respect, it is particularly promising to turn to the texts of Russian classics as historical and ethnographic sources, including “Anna Karenina” — one of the greatest novels of world literature, which has had a huge impact on the world's perception of Russia and Russians. The novel constantly reveals the prototypes of its main characters in comparison with the events of the time. For example, Count Pyotr Valuev (1814—1890), who served as Minister of State Property and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Empire, was the main prototype for Alexei Karenin. Throughout the novel, Karenin, like Valuev in real life, is confronted with problems related to the corrupt buying and selling of “inorodtsy” lands. This led to a series of widely discussed scandals and eventually became a central issue in the programme of the Bashkir national movement on the eve of the Russian Revolution. The historical facts underlying the “inorodtsy settlement case” provide an insight into Valuev's life and work. This sheds new light on the character of Karenin in the novel and its relevance for contemporary readers, as well as on the possibilities of using the text of the novel as a historical and ethnographic source. The article is the first in a series devoted to ethnographic literary studies.