One of the career pages of G.N. Potanin the statistician

Practical work of regional statisticaldepartments which started in the middle of the 60-s of the XIX century is defined in domestic historiography as the beginning of a new periodof practically oriented work, including both statistical and local historical activity. A particular attention should be given to the impact ofindividuals on the formation and development of the regional system of statistical organizations. It is especially true of secretaries of thestatistical department at the beginning of the second half of the XIX century. The work of the secretary influenced a lot of aspects: compilingannual reports, forming summary data of the province, developing themes of local history directions. One of the outstanding names belongingto this group of secretaries is the name of G.N. Potanin. The life, activities, socio-political struggle of G.N. Potanin the regionalist hasbeen researched from different angles. The heritage of G.N. Potanin, as a writer, scholar, public figure, contains more than 300 papers. Oneof the periods of his career, in particular, his service as the secretary of the Tomsk provincial statistical department, arouses a special interest.Being an activist of the statistical department, G.N. Potanin worked hard on the organization of new documentary historical sources and theirpublication. One can trace his activity in the sphere of geography, folklore studies, and ethnography with respect to the regional thematicarea. By means of his activity, Grigory Nickolayevich initiated a genuine interest and a problematic area for further optional work of theTomsk provincial statistical department. Regardless of his short service as the secretary of the Tomsk provincial statistical department, Potaninspeculiar views left a profound impact on the socio-cultural study of the region.

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