Academic Presence in the Russian Arctic: the Relevance of Historical Experience. Book review by A. Suleimanov «Akademiya nauk SSSR i issledovanie arkticheskikh raionov Yakutii v kontse 1940-kh – 1991 gg»

Abstract

The article deals with the organization of scientific research in the Arctic regions of the USSR/Russia through the focus of the academic presence in the second half of the twentieth century. The experience of activity in the field of socio-humanitarian research is analyzed, which is summarized in detail and presented in the monograph by A. A. Suleimanov “The Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the study of the Arctic regions of Yakutia in the late 1940s – 1991”. The author of the monograph showed the complex and sometimes contradictory process of the gradual increasing of academic forces in the region, which have gone through stages of development from individual expeditionary groups and permanent establishments to specialized academic institutions. The book reveals the features of the organization of research in the Arctic regions and the results of the selfless work of scientists in almost the entire spectrum of socio-humanitarian areas – in the field of economics, sociology, history, archeology, ethnography, philology, linguistics. The final part of the article substantiates the relevance of the study conducted by the author of the monograph in the context of a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the Arctic.