Stefan Kirovich Kuznetsov - ethnographer, archaeologist and bibliophile: the Tomsk years

In the history of Russian ethnographic science, as well as archeology and related disciplines, many historiographic gaps remain to this day. The reason for this can be called the priority attention of researchers to the scientists of the “first plan”, whose discoveries for decades to come have outlined the main paths for the development of vast areas of knowledge. At the same time, the works of numerous workers of science of the “second plan” often remained in the shadows, despite the significant value of their searches for one or another area of scientific activity. Without trying to find out the motives and circumstances of why Stefan Kirovich Kuznetsov (1859-1913), recognized in the professional community, did not become one of the leaders of Russian ethnography or archeology, we will focus on studying one of the key episodes of his scientific biography related to his service as a senior librarian of the Imperial Tomsk University in 1885-1903. Having arrived in Western Siberia as an already established scientist, the author of numerous publications on ethnography and archeology of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Kama-Vyatka Territory, S.K. Kuznetsov nonetheless focused on his commitment to compiling the university library. Despite some contradictions with the initiator of the creation of the university, he managed to organize an exemplary order in the book depository, cataloging and organizing the collection, which by that time numbered about one hundred thousand volumes. Simultaneously with scrupulous work in the library, Stefan Kirovich conducted field research, continued to study the features of the traditional beliefs of the Finno-Ugric peoples, and actively published in leading scientific journals. During his Tomsk years, there are numerous contacts of S.K. Kuznetsov with the leading ethnographers of that time, as well as famous Western Finno-Ugric scholars -W.T. Sirelius and J. Yanko, who later recalled the meetings that had taken place and thanked him for his help in getting acquainted with the vast ethnographic literature and museum exhibits on the subject of interest. A special event in his life was his introduction to the notorious Multan trial, which became for him a kind of test for civic maturity and professional integrity. During the Moscow period of his scientific path, Stefan Kirovich repeatedly fondly recalled the years he spent in Siberia, and continued to research the vast ethnographic material presented to him by a distant land.

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