Yard complex of Semeyskie of Trans-Baikal region: construction culture and terminological variability

In the second half of the 17th century, after Russian Orthodox Church splitting, groups of Old Believers from the European part of Russia, moved to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, created places of compact accommodation at Polesia. After incorporation of these territories in the 18th century into the Russian Empire these Old Believers began to move to Siberia. Their representatives who have founded settlements in the second half of the 18th century in the Trans-Baikal region have received a new ethnonym - "Semeyskie". This research is devoted to generalization of results of the ethnographic expeditions conducted by authors in 2014-2016 years in places of compact accommodation of Semeyskie on the area of Tarbagatayskiy and Mukhorshibirskiy districts of Republic of Buryatia, and also Krasnochikoysky district of Zabaykalsky Krai. During the research, the national architecture and the related household traditions of Semeyskie have been compared with their prototypes of the ethnic environment. In the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in its role mainly had been Belarusians. In the Trans-Baikal region the basis of ethnic environment of Semeyskie had been the Russian old residents - "Siberians" and Buryats. As a result of the research it is established that in the second half of the 17th century the ancestors of Semeyskie introduced in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth construction traditions of the Russian Middle Ages. Further, as a result of contacts with local population, they have adopted at it some of construction receptions and terms. Within two and a half centuries of residence in the Trans-Baikal region Semeyskie have created their own architectural and economic complex different from the one of the Russian old residents - "Siberians". The originality of planning of the yard the Semeyskie consists in orientation of the house relatively the street and the yard. Houses of "Siberians" were constructed only with a narrow facade to the street, and all construction situated in yard depth. The yards were mainly "venochnaya" (wreath looking) planning. In architecture of Semeyskie prevails an arrangement of houses with the wide party along the street. During accommodation of Semeyskie in the Trans-Baikal region their construction culture has undergone a number of the modernizations connected with the general tendencies of development of construction technologies, as well as with some loans from ethnic environment. National terminological variability in names of some constructions has influences by the Middle, South and North dialects of the Russian language. Today the national architecture of Semeyskie can be considered as an example of the synthesis of construction culture of different groups of East Slavs which has gained the original development caused by climatic conditions of the Trans-Baikal region as well by some social and cultural features of life of the Russian Old Believers.

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