The Concept “Taiga” in the Siberian Discourse of the 19th Century and Its Interpretations (Article Two)

This article is a continuation of the study of the history of the concept “taiga” in the Siberian discourse of the 19th century. Its aim is to identify the key images associated with this concept and the key sociocultural, political, and economic factors influencing the transformation of the concept in the last third of the 19th century. During this period, the relevance of the “Siberian theme” is growing in the social thought of Russia. This happens due to the beginning of mass migration to the region and the acceleration of its economic development, which led to the growth of regional self-awareness, the further development of the Siberian theme in fiction, the intensification of the activities of various social and political forces, etc. The questions of what place the concept of taiga occupies in Siberian discourse in connection with the growth of colonization and public attention to Siberia at the end of the 19th century are investigated. What is the peculiarity of the perception of Russian and Siberian forests? In turn, how can the perception of nature explain the peculiarities of the colonization of Siberia? Finally, what place does the taiga occupy in the search for identity in Russian society, and how did competing discourses influence the perception of the taiga? The material is journalistic texts, reports of travelers and Siberian officials, forestry literature, and fiction of this period. The research methods are the tools of humanitarian geography, the history of concepts, and the sociology of nature. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the concept of taiga during this period is interpreted as the antithesis of the Russian forest. The concept is used to substantiate the reasons for the existence of regional differences in Siberians. The taiga forms the basis of the Siberian landscape: the forest in central Russia is embedded in the existing landscape, makes up only a part of it and seems conquered, while the taiga is the Siberian landscape, which includes everything else, including the Siberian forest and settlements. The concept develops in numerous works of the last third of the 19th century and becomes central to the understanding of the isolated society, closed from and for the rest of the world by nature itself: the world of Siberian workers, exiles, fugitive prisoners, migrants, and old-time peasants, representatives of indigenous peoples. By the end of the century and the beginning of the mass agricultural development of the region, the taiga forms a natureconquering discourse. The mythologem about the infinity of the taiga and the impossibility of its development is rethought. This discourse becomes fundamental in the following decades and acquires an official status.

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