Yury Vostretcov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: vost54@mail.ru.
The paper examines the term “adaptation” and its use in the archaeological research conducted in the ecological paradigm. The meaning and correlation of terms related to the study of the adaptation processes in evolutionary ecology and archeology is analysed. It is postulated that not only the changes of material culture but also of behavior reflect human adaptation processes. The following features are analyzed: the processes, levels, criteria, and adaptation indicators in an archaeological context, such as changes in social and demographic structures of social units (family, community), mobility, settlement system and area, life support system, population density and a number of inhabitants, social stratification, power of a cultural level, a set and diversity of material culture and art. The paper analyzes the factors of environmental pressure on the population at three levels: the individual settlements, a locallychronological group, and the area of archaeological culture in general. The examples of the survey of various behavioral adaptation aspects of the Neolithic population in Bojsman Bay on the west coast of the Peter the Great Bay in Primorye are done based on the archaeological materials of the settlements of the Atlantic period of the Holocene.

The author concludes that in order to study the behavioral adaptation of the ancient population as a part of the evolutionary process it is necessary to use specific methods of archaeological excavations and multilevel environment reconstruction as a resource base of the ancient population.

Keywords: human behavioral ecology, behavioral adaptation, archaeology of East Asia, maritime adaptation, Neolithic period in Primorye.

Igor Sleptsov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: igorslep@yandex.ru.
Nikolai Kliuyev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: kluyev2006@yandex.ru.
For the first time in the literature of the Far East, the paper analyses the results of archaeological studies conducted on two islands that belong to the Lazovsky State Nature Reserve — Petrov Island and Beltsov Island.

Petrov Island is a unique object not only of natural but also of cultural heritage. It was demonstrated by the excavations in the 1960s, done by the unit of the Far East archeological expedition, and it was also confirmed by researches of the IHAE FEB RAS in the 2000s, when the full integrated survey of the island was originally conducted and all archeological objects were registered. These objects included a stone bank of 470 metres long, terraces with about 100 pits of ancient constructions, five water sources (wells), remains of several stone constructions, two of which possibly belonged to the early medieval period.

During the exploration of detected archaeological objects (collection of relics on the surface, drilling), a representative archaeological collection was obtained. This collection indicated that Petrov Island was populated more than once and permanent settlements existed here in the Paleometal Age and in the early medieval period.

Two sites of the Paleometal Age and the early medieval period were found on Beltsov Island. Besides archaeological materials, quite a large amount of bones of marine mammals, seals was found there. Probably, they were one of the main targets of the ancient man’s hunting on this island.

Keywords: Primorye, Lazovsky State Nature Reserve, Petrov Island, Beltsov Island, archaeological sites, Paleometal Age, Early Medieval period.

Alexander Krupyanko, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: krup1964@mail.ru.
Yana Piskareva, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: 7yana7@mail.ru.
Vladimir Rakov, Pacific Institute of Oceanology named after V.I. Ilichev, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: vladimir.rakov@mail.ru.
Anton Gluhov, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: anton—gluhov@mail.ru.
Shell mounds are known in Primory eat the places of ancient settlements located on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Shell mounds, accumulation of shells of edible molluscs, including a variety of other household waste, are a valuable source of information. Their sediments preserve well eco facts, contain fragments of the household tools and dishes that allow reconstructing the various aspects of the life support system. Most of the currently known shell mounds sitesbelong to the Yankovskaya archaeological culture of the early Iron Age. Such objects of a later period have not been met until recently. The shell mound of the early Middle Ages referring to the Mokheskaya culture was first discovered by M.A. Yakupov in Lomonosov Bay in 2013. In 2014, the archeological team of FEFU under the direction of A.A. Krupyanko explored a shell mound of the Mokheskaya culture in the Novik Bay on Russky Island. The results of these surveys are the focus of this article. The analysis of the ceramics found in the shell midden deposits showed the presence of two ceramic groups. Both, in our opinion, belong to the Mokheskaya culture of the Early Middle Ages and mark two stages of the settlement of this territory by the Mokhe people. The study of the species composition of malacofauna found in the shell midden deposits made it evident that fishing specialization of the inhabitants of this settlement was quite narrow; their main attention was focused on the oyster fishery.
Keywords: Primorye Region, Russky Island, Mokhe archeology, shell mound.

Zhanna Bazhenova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East (Far Eastern branch of Russian Academy of Sciences), Vladivostok. E-mail: bjannam@mail.ru.
The article on the basis of the foreign scientists’ research explores the main features of early occupation and adaptation of the Ryukyu Islands. Many islands of the world were indeed firstly colonized by agriculturalists during the Holocene. The Ryukyu archipelago was successfully colonized by hunter-fisher-gatherers. The archipelago is made up of three areas: Northern (Amami Islands), Central (Okinawa with surrounding islands), Southern (Sakishima Islands). Initial occupation all of the Ryukyu Islands occurred in the Pleistocene. Paleolithic settlement does not show continuity with the subsequent stages. The next stage of the colonization of the Northern and Southern Ryukyu is associated with the arrival of human groups from Kyushu approx. 8000 B.Р. The colonization of the Sakishima Islands occurred by other human groups from Taiwan and the Philippines. Here the ceramic phase changed by the non-ceramic period after the gap of absence of the human population. During several thousands of years the Ryukyu archipelago inhabitance supported hunter-fisher-gatherers subsistence. The effective utilization of the coral reef resources and plants could have been one of the important factors in enabling the continuous occupation of Ryukyu. Social networks also played the crucial role in promoting the resilience of hunter-gatherers.
Keywords: Ryukyu archipelago, hunter-fisher-gatherers adaptation, Minatogawa people, coral reefs resources, Shellmidden period, social networks, shell trade.

Kirill Ganzei, Pacific Geographical Institute FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: geo2005.84@mail.ru.
Ruslan Borisov, Pacific Geographical Institute FEB RAS, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: rborisov2016@gmail.com.
The paper analyzes the dynamics of land use of the Russky, Popov, Reyneke, and Rikord islands from 1975 until 2015. The changes of the land use structure over the past 40 years are revealed due to the quantitative analysis. It is discovered that during this period the lands which were not involved in economic use prevailed. The most active economic development of the Russky, Popov, Reyneke, and Rikord islands happened in 1991; afterwards, there was reduction of territories occupied by the objects of public institutions and services, and agricultural lands. By 2007, the improvement of the socio-economic conditions contributed to the development of recreational activity; this tendency maintained until 2015. The peculiarities of the changes of the land use structure on the Russky Island are examined after the implementation of major infrastructure projects for the APEC summit in 2012.

The influence of anthropogenic activity on the landscape structure is studied. It is shown that due to the increase of anthropogenic pressure the values of landscape diversity decrease; this fact is related to the violation of the real-energy flows in the landscape catenae.

The assessment of ecological and economic balance of the territory is presented and shows that the degree of natural protection of the islands remains very high despite the negative impact of anthropogenic activity on geosystems. The most intense ecological and economic status was in 1991.

The indicators of the landscape structure and ecological and economic balance reflected a high degree of the correlation. On the basis of the correlation matrix the dynamics of landscape diversity values on the islands in 1975—2015 was analyzed depending on the intensity of the economic use of the territory.

Keywords: Russky Island, Popov Island, Reyneke Island, Rikord Island, land use dynamics, anthropogenic transformation of geosystems, landscape diversity, ecological and economic balance, sustainable development of insular territories.

Viktor Krivonogov, Institute of Humanities of Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia. E-mail: victor950@yandex.ru.
The paper introduces the results of the ethnographic trip to Easter Island in summer 2013. The aim was to determine the current ethnic situation among indigenous peoples of the island. First of all, attention was paid to demographic processes, the dynamics of the Aboriginal population, a modern national structure of the island and its development in recent decades. The article focuses on the dynamics of the national mixed marriage rate because in the context of a complex national structure of the population mixed marriages can significantly influence the course of ethnic processes. Besides, such marriages affect the anthropological type of population. The changes can be judged from the data about nationality of closest ancestors of each respondent. Additionally, the task was to study the language situation — the correlation of using two languages of the island by indigenous peoples (native language and Spanish).

Apart from the study of written sources, a method of mass survey with special questioning was used in order to get information about demography, linguistic processes, ethnically mixed marriages of the indigenous peoples of Easter Island. Interviewing was conducted in Spanish, which is known by all Rapa Nui people, by random sampling of families; the sheets were filled during the conversation not only for adults but also for children according to parents’ answers. The survey covered 10% of the population of indigenous peoples taking into consideration gender, age, and proportion of monoethnic and interracial families appropriate to general population. The method of the interview with informants and experts was also used and allowed to clarify and specify many questions. In particular, this method helped to gather information about implementation of the Rapanui language and writing in the local school program. As a result, quite a complete picture of contemporary ethnic processes by Rapa Nui people which number threefold in the last decades was received. Currently, due to the massive influx of the Chileans whose number is close to the half the national structure of the island has become more complicated. Despite sustained ethnical identity and positive demographic dynamics, the Rapa Nui people go through significant transformation in language and culture from the Chileans. Adult population is bilingual and children are mostly Hispanic. The growth of mixed marriages reaching half of all marriages of the Rapa Nui people, leads to a rapid change of the anthropological aspect. Nowadays, the vast majority of the Rapa Nui people are mestizos.

Keywords: Rapa Nui, natives, ethnic processes, demographic processes, language processes, bilingualism, assimilation, endogamy, crossbreeding.

Natalia Tatarenkova, Federal State Budgetary Institution “Komandorsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve named after S.V. Makarov”, village Nikol’skoe, Russia. E-mail: Nata_Bering_island@mail.ru.
Nikolay Grebnitsky was a governor of the Commander Islands from 1877 until 1907. He went down in history as a farsighted administrator who managed to organize competently and to regulate fur-producing animal hunt. Grebnitsky participated repeatedly in the diplomatic negotiations with the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom concerning exploitation of biological resources and protection of Pacific waters. The collections of the scientist are kept in different museums of the world, and his name is immortalized in the specific names of a number of species of fish.

A detailed study of Grebnitsky’s biography began on the initiative of his great-granddaughter, Olga Kulikova in 2010. The expedition to the place of his supposed burial place in Okulovsky district of Novgorod region was organized by the group of the inhabitants of the Commander Islands in July 2013. The old cemetery was plundered, but the burial complex was found and identified. In 2014 and 2015, it was partially restored and preserved for future restoration.

The field survey and archive search works allowed to set exact dates of birth and death of Grebnitsky and some facts of his biography. The official parents of the boy were bonded peasants of Prince Alexander Suvorov, but the available information suggests the extramarital origin of the child. Nikolay was married twice: to Ekaterina Pisareva and to Elizaveta Girs. Seven children were born in the second marriage; the family also brought up an extramarital Aleut girl Maria. In December 1899, Grebnitsky was awarded the title of a hereditary nobleman for merit to the Fatherland.

Keywords: Commander Islands, governor, biography, nobility, estate, burial, Novgorod governorate, Nikolay Grebnitsky.

Ivan Stavrov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: stavivan@mail.ru.
The article analyses a current situation of the Eluosizu — Russian ethnic minority of China, which was formed in PRC in the second half of the twentieth century. Eluosizu is studied through the lens of China’s ethnic minorities policy. The paper identifies the relationships of this policy with the demographic processes of this ethnic minority, studies special features of policy implementations of regional national autonomy and changes of the traditional culture of the Chinese Russians.

The situation of Eluosizu and official attitude towards them underwent significant changes during different periods of China’s existence. The peculiarities of the national policy as well as the role of the Communist Party of China reflected on the life of the descendants of our compatriots. Russian people were firstly recognized as an official national minority, then went through the period of the Cultural Revolution and finally were allowed to establish their national territorial unit. Despite the significant assimilation, for more than half a century, Eluosizu didn’t dissolve completely among the dominant nation.

The period of destruction (1958—1976) had discrepant results. On the one hand, a serious damage was done to the development of Russian culture and the preservation of the Russian language; on the other hand, discrimination of Eluosizu helped to develop their Russian ethnic identity. During next period, due to the state national policy, it was possible to maintain Russian identity among the Chinese Russians. Eluosizu were able to realize the right to arrange an ethnic territorial unit — the Enkhe-Russian ethnic district (?????????, Enhe-Eluosizu minzuxiang) that became the impulse for the preservation of Russian culture here. However, the question of the revival of Orthodoxy wasn’t solved because of the alerted attitude of the Chinese authorities as well as the problem of the development of the Russian language. The main tendencies of the last fifteen years have been commercialization of Russian culture, the formation of a special tourist brand that is considered to be an important factor for the preservation of Russian traditional culture in China.

Keywords: “Russian world”, Russian Diaspora, Russian ethnic minority, Eluosizu, PRC, ethnic minority’s policies.

Oleg Sergeev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: history37@mail.ru.
In the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, Japan, during the development of new lands, its own (Hokkaido) and occupied as a result of aggression against China (the puppet state Manchukuo), successfully used the experience of Russian Cossacks for settlement, economic and defense arrangement of the “pioneer” territories. It was necessary to explore these areas with minimum financial costs using a single population group for accomplishment of a variety of objectives. In Russia, it was done by the Cossacks, in Japan — by the soldier-farmers (tondenkhey). The Japanese authorities organized numerous trips of significant people to Russia in order to study the experience of the Cossacks, analyzed it deeply and used successfully in practice under the conditions of the island of Hokkaido. As for the colonization of Northeast China (Manchukuo) by Japan, there was also an attempt to use the experience of the Cossacks emigrants which happened to be often successful. But on the whole, such approach was historically doomed to failure. For the first time in historiography, the paper compares and analyzes the events of different periods and geographical scopes from the point of view of the Russian Cossack experience and its usage by Japan. The article is based on both archive materials and on the works of Russian and foreign (mainly Japanese) authors.
Keywords: Russia, Japan development of pioneer territories, Cossacks, soldiers-farmers (tondenkhey).

Sergei Smirnov, Institute of Humanities and Arts Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg. E-mail: smirnov_sergei@mail.ru.
The article is devoted to one of the youth organizations in Russian Manchuria. The Order of the Crusaders, emerged in the mid-1920s in Harbin during the period when emigrant youth resisted the spread of Soviet influence in the right of way of the Chinese Eastern railway, originally had the nature of a scout association with its own laws governing the life of the Crusader, symbols, and paraphernalia. Unlike other youth emigrant organizations, the Order of the Crusaders wasn’t committed to the fist method of discussion between the “white” and the “red” youth in the initial period of its existence. However, after the change of leadership, the organization announced itself as a monarchist organisation and stood for radical positions introducing many adult participants among the supporters of the White movement and collaborating with the leaders of the White guerrilla teams which acted in border areas. In the second half of the 1920s, the structural units of the crusaders appeared in some settlements in Manchuria and in Shanghai. The leadership of the Order of the Crusaders made attempts for participation in the Soviet-Chinese conflict on the Chinese Eastern railway and welcomed the introduction of the Japanese troops in Manchuria in 1931. In the 1930s, the change of the situation in Manchuria led to the extinction of the Order as well as of a number of other emigrant organizations which didn’t coincide with the plans of Japanese supervisors of the Russian emigration to Manchukuo.
Keywords: Order of the Crusaders, Russian emigration, youth organizations, guerrilla movement, Harbin, Manchuria, China.

Dmitry Potashov, Primorsky Regional Bar Association, Vladivostok, Russia. Email: vasgen@bk.ru.
The aim of the paper is to study political, socioeconomic conditions, and legal aspects of counteraction of Russia against modern international terrorism. The nature of modern international terrorism is analyzed and briefly described, main factors, sources, forms, methods, and potential threats to Russia and the Far East are revealed (taking into account the specific features of this territory, its geopolitical, border situation, economic downfall of the region). The dynamics of development and improvement of the Russian legal field of counterterrorism is studied.

Currently, the Russian Federation as well as entire world community, facing modern international terrorism, is forced to develop strategies, tactics, and various forms and methods of struggle against it including the legislative and legal sphere. Modern international terrorism as an extreme example of political, social, ethnic and religious radicalism and extremism in the globalized world is an immediate security threat to the most countries in the world and human survival. Terrorist attacks which are inherently international crimes cause irreparable damage to the international law and order. This requires political, economic, ideological and military consolidation of the efforts on the international scale as well as in certain criminal regions. Modern Russian and international law elaborated a number of legal global and regional documents which on the basis of clear criteria set multifaceted mutual cooperation and interaction of countries in the fight against international terrorism as a subject of legal regulation.

Keywords: modern international terrorism, Russia, socioeconomic conditions, legal aspects, opposition.

Anna Simonenok, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: asimonenok@yandex.ru.
This paper analyzes the relations of Pacific Russia and Southeast Asia at the present stage. In the twenty-first century, Southeast Asia has changed into one of the main centers of world policy and economy. The neighborhood with its fastest growing countries offers great opportunities for the Russian Far East. The purpose of the research is to determine the nature of existing relations and to identify the most promising areas of communication. A significant advantage allowing the Far Eastern territories to contact actively with Asian partners is the geographic proximity, but the Far Eastern Federal District has the weakest relations with the countries of Southeast Asia among all regions of our country. The article presents the analysis of the causes of this situation and describes the main factors that influenced the formation of the relations between Pacific Russia and Southeast Asia — historical, geopolitical, geo-economic, and administrative.

The research allows concluding that the Russian Far East and the countries of Southeast Asia have a limited range of effective cooperation and the parties have a significant untapped capacity. The analysis of the Asian markets demands, the dynamics of development of Southeast Asia, and the Far Eastern economic opportunities revealed: the most promising areas of cooperation are fuel and energy, and military technical sectors; the least favourable interaction is in the agricultural sector.

Keywords: Far East, Southeast Asia, ASEAN, economic cooperation, fuel-power complex, military-technical contacts.

Anna Zakolodnaja, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: zakolodnay@mail.ru.
The article deals with the settlement projects of the South-Ussuri region and their implementation. The focus is on the analysis of sea transportation launch and its realization in the first five years. The reasons which forced the government to begin active settlement of the South-Ussuri region are specified. The state considered sea transportation a way of solving military-strategic and political goals at the expense of increasing the number of residents in the province. The necessity to strengthen positions in the Far East was caused by the actions of China in border territories with intense move to neighboring Manchuria. In 1879, the first official who suggested the launch of sea transportation of peasants was governor-general of Eastern Siberia D.G. Anuchin. The initial variant of the resettlement plan presented in a note by military governor of the Primorye region M.P. Tikhmenev in 1880 meant that for problem solving a number of inhabitants of the region should have been increased up to forty thousand families. The state had to assume responsibility for the costs of transportation of the peasants, their luggage and of providing everything necessary in the new location. In the final version, the number of families which were supposed to be relocated at public expense was reduced to 250. The first obtained results of the settlement were positive. Within five years years from the moment of the opening of sea transportation1403 families arrived (754 kazennokoshtnye families and 649 svoekoshtnye families) that fully met the requirements of the government about systematic settlement of the South-Ussury region.
Keywords: resettlement, South-Ussuri region, sea transportation, kazennokoshtnye (supported by the state), svoekoshtnye (not supported by the state; to live on one’s own expense).

Igor Shmonin, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the peoples of the Far East, Vladivostok. E-mail: shmonin_igor@mail.ru.
Dmitry Shmonin, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok. E-mail: tridents@yandex.ru.
The paper examines the problems associated with the organization of the administration of boundary commissioners in the South Ussuri region of the Russian Empire. The period of study is from the establishment of the administration in 1869 to its abolition in 1922. In the difficult military and political, and socioeconomic conditions of the Far East region the boundary commissioners of the South Ussuri region solved important tasks of protecting the national interests of the Russian Empire. First of all, it was crucial to ensure Russia’s national security in the area. During this period, the successive boundary commissioners Matyunin N.G., Smirnov E.T., and Kuzmin N.D. made a significant contribution to the consolidation of Russia at the Far East boundaries and improvement of the security system of national border control. Structurally, being a part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, boundary commissioners performed administrative and law enforcement functions. In addition, they had authority in the field of diplomacy, performed council, intelligence and counterintelligence activities. The administration of boundary commissioners in the South Ussuri region became a unique state institution which is likely without equals in terms of the solved tasks. In a brief historiographical review it is pointed out that this issue hasn’t been studied sufficiently. At the same time, the expansion of Russian relations with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the constant search of new forms and methods of solutions of border policy issues make the topic of the activity of boundary commissioners of the South Ussuri Region relevant today. The main source base of the paper consists of works of contemporary Russian researchers Buyakov A.M., Smirnov A.G., Sokolenko A.V., Avilov R.S., previously unpublished materials from the collections of the Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East and normative legal documents published by RGIA of the Far East in a collection of official documents “the Russian Far East in the legislative materials.” According to these sources, the authors attempted to summarize the accumulated knowledge and to introduce new information about the activity of the administration of boundary commissioners in the South Ussuri region for the protection of national interests of the Russian Empire.

Keywords: state border, national security, boundary commissioner, frontier post, Cossacks, agents, smuggling, Honghuzi.

Galina Tkacheva, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: tkacheva@bmail.ru.
Due to the archive materials firstly introduced into scientific discourse, a process of women’s mobilization in the units of the Pacific Fleet and the Amur military flotilla is examined, a sociodemographic characteristic of women volunteers, their number, and distribution in the units of the Navy are presented. The use of statistical data allowed to reveal that the main indicators of mobilization of people liable for military service and volunteers to the Pacific Fleet and the Amur military flotilla depended on the military and political situation, economic and demographic opportunities of the country and were defined by the changes in the troop dispositions, the reorganization of the rifle and motorized rifle forces, armored and artillery forces, air and anti-aircraft forces, and naval forces. Women’s mobilization, conducted in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, corresponded to the military strategic view according to which their participation in the defense of the motherland was limited to the service in the auxiliary and rear troops, the work at manufacture. Involvement of women in the military service required reorganization of the mobilization system and military training, material and technical supply, and also increased the possibilities of military hazing. Female soldiers performed their official duties established by combined arms and disciplinary regulations of the Workers ‘ and Peasants’ Red Army and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Navy in accordance with the laws, orders, and directives of wartime. Voluntary service of women in the army was caused by objective necessity. Amplification of the organizational structure of military units, increase of military registered specialties which did not require participation in combat operation and great physical strength, exhaustion of mobilization resources of the country were the main reasons for calling the Soviet women up for the military service in the Navy.
Keywords: Great Patriotic War, Navy, Pacific Fleet, Amur military flotilla, mobilization, sociodemographic characteristics of female soldiers.

Erika Osipova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: eossipova@yandex.ru.
The article focuses on manifestation of theatrical criticism in the Far East of Russia during the “transitional” period. It is shown how peculiarities of the substantial activity of critics changed: a degree of proficiency which determines depth and objectivity of judgments and necessity of personal engagement in a theatrical process. The author believes that the question of reviewing stage performances began to be perceived differently. Apart from reflecting current theatrical events like artistic developments of a theatre, particular problems of theatre arts, reviews, profiles of actors and stage directors, etc., the Soviet theatrical criticism defined global objectives which were put forward by the Communist Party and the government and controlled their implementation. Counting themselves as “political writers and chroniclers of culture”, regional critics hardly accepted the changes in theatrical life in the late 1980s. Theatres explored unconventional organizational and creative approaches while critics kept adhering to outdated dogmas.

In general, by the early 1990s, professional theatre criticism decreased in Far Eastern press. The articles devoted to theatre tend to be rather descriptive than analytical. Many professionals with theatre education left the region and stopped working in this sphere.

Theatrical criticism must reflect the aesthetic idea of the epoch. How is it possible now? Is a provincial journalist ready to perform this task in his/her theatre reviews? A set of aspects related to this topic are analyzed in the article.

Keywords: theatre, Perestroika, theatre criticism, review, performance, repertoire.

Ljudmila Galljamova, Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: ludagal@mail.ru.
The article analyzes the role of Vladivostok in the development of theatre arts on the outskirts of the Far East. It is emphasized that at the turn of the twentieth century, Vladivostok became the largest settlement of the Amur governor-generalship, the most important economic, trade and transportation hub, the center of Russian and foreign migration. These factors gave a significant boost to the social, political, and cultural life of not only the city but the whole Far East. The author considers that it is necessary to point out the successful formation of performance arts in the city as the members of society judge their lives, are aware of their interests, conflicts, and social problems. The historical development of theatre arts is inseparable from the development of the society, the level of culture in general, and the predominance of various artistic trends. Such features of Vladivostok development as the capital inflow, immigrants, and economic upturn contributed to the creation of professional theatre generating public demand for the cultural pastime. On the other hand, Vladivostok being a major center of various migrations attracted not only groups of entrepreneurs, workers, foreign migrant workers but also a variety of guest artists and actor’s groups. The creation of well-prepared actors was encouraged by the influx of Russian guest artists who influenced on theatre arts in the province, by the formation of specially equipped theatre buildings, etc. As a result, at the turn of the twentieth century, Vladivostok was of a particular importance in the development of theatre in the Far East. The article highlights such features of Vladivostok performance arts as its genre diversity (drama and music), the existence of different national forms (Russian, Ukrainian, and Chinese Theatre).
Keywords: Far East, Amur Governor-General, Vladivostok, theatre, theatre arts, development characteristics, creation of professional theatre, genre diversity, national forms (Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese Theatre).

Rosalia Bravina, Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Yakutsk, Russia. E-mail: bravinari@bk.ru.
Victor Dyakonov, Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Yakutsk, Russia. E-mail: dyakonov_vm@rambler.ru.
Viacheslav Zaytsev, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. E-mail: sldr76@gmail.com.
Masumoto Tetsu, Cultural Property Preservation Division, Osaka Prefectural Board of Education, Osaka, Japan. E-mail: tet-ma@kg8.so-net.ne.jp.
This paper describes and analyzes Chinese objects found in Yakutia, such as coins, bronze mirrors, bells, etc. In the vast majority of cases they are accidental finds by individuals and are not widely known to researchers. The goals of this paper are: the attribution of artifacts of Chinese origin, the identification of the place and time of their production, and possible pathways to Yakutia, understanding the ways and methods of their adaptation to the traditional culture of the Yakuts of 17th — beginning of 20th century. Taking as an example religious paraphernalia which have Chinese origins, the authors try to address the problem of cultural borrowings, which were carried out in the territory of Yakutia, in the context of the formation of local cultural traditions, as well as their subsequent simulation in the ritual practice of Yakuts.

Judging by the form, ornamental decor and semantics of Yakut metal discs (kun), the Yakuts have inherited in their culture ancient Chinese traditions, probably taken over by their ancestors long before the development of the Lena area. This is also confirmed by studies of the history of the origin of the Yakut choron ritual vessels, which are similar in shape to Chinese Bronze Age tripods known in the archaeological literature as li. The northern area was not merely a consumer of imported goods, and did not blindly copy ready-made models, but creatively reworked them, filling them with new religious and mythological content, according to their ancestral traditions. This can be well illustrated by the example of Chinese coins, the so-called dom coins, which were used in the magic-ritual actions of Yakut shamans.

The penetration of Chinese imported goods to Yakutia increased due to the opening of the fair at Nerchinsk (1689) and trade settlement at Kyakhta (1728), as is evidenced by the grave goods accompanying Yakut burials of the 18th century.

Keywords: Yakutia, ceremonial culture, religious paraphernalia, archaeological sites, Chinese coins, bronze mirrors, bells, tripods.

Anatoliy Starcev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS. Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: starcev.42@mail.ru.
The paper deals with the problem that has never been studied before — social relations of the Taz people. The main purpose of this work is to examine various relations of the Taz people through the analysis of the territorial legislation and its correlation with the life of this and other indigenous peoples of the region.

The Taz people didn’t have a clan and, as a result, tribal relations. Instead, there was a kind of territorial community of the local population; it consisted not only of the Taz people but also of people of other ethnic groups — the Chinese, the Udege people, the Golds, the Oroch people and others who were building their relations on the basis of the local legislation in a Chinese way. In the second half of the nineteenth century, each valley was like a separate little state with its own laws. Even in the 1950s, the old Taz people remembered the norm which regulated the relations between hunters and fishermen in the community: for example, there was a fine for a theft of an animal from a trap. However, this punishment was relatively “harmless”; people were stricter punished for thefts from barns or houses. For violation of valley laws, guilty people were caned half to death or buried alive. The author concludes that the Chinese influenced world view and social relations of the Taz people, the Golds, and other indigenous peoples of Primorye until the early twentieth century. Many laws were exclusively focused on Chinese migrant workers and took into consideration their social and economic interests.
Keywords: territorial community, social relations, Chinese, Taz, Orochs, Udeges, law, judges, subordinate, fault, punishment, caning, death penalty.

Pavel Grebenyuk, North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute FEB RAS, Magadan. E-mail: grebenyuk.pavel@gmail.com.
The paper analyzes the main stages of the process of involvement of the Rassokha nomadic group of the Evens in the socialist development in the 1950—1970s. The existence of a large nomadic group in the late 1950s was a serious challenge for the authorities of Magadan Region. Thereupon, the main aim of the research is the assessment of the efficiency of policy decision-making. The measures of the administration towards the Rassokha self-employed farmers for joining the socialistic system of economy and attracting their children to the education in national schools are shown in the article. Special attention is devoted to the results of the trips to the nomadic camps realized by the chairman of the Srednekansky district executive committee P.I. Nikonov and to the analysis of his plan of actions. The idea of the organization of collective farms wasn’t realized; the consequences of the decisions were reflected in the administrative troubles of the 1960s when Rassokha groups were firstly added to the sovkhoz “Buksunda” and later to “Omolon”. Target optimization control and profitable economic production became possible only in the middle of the 1970s with the appearance of the new sovkhoz “Rassokhinskiy” in 1971. The lack of analytical discussion of the problem led to the situation that the decisions made at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s didn’t take into consideration the forecasts about effectiveness of the group. The process of involvement of the Rassokha self-employed farmers was protracted for many years but allowed the authorities to report about introducing the last large nomadic group of the North-East of Russia into the system of socialist economy in the late 1960s.
Keywords: governance, North-East of Russia, Magadan region, socialist development, Rassokha group of the Evens, deer-raising, kulaks, sovkhoz, P.I. Nikonov.

Galina Popovkina, Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: galina.popovkina@gmail.com.
Andrey Popovkin, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: andrey.popovkin@gmail.com.
The study of traditional medicine and its aspects based on sacred traditions received a new impetus for the development in national science. Soviet ethnography being under the oppression of ideology often reduced magic acts of quacks, sorcerers, shamans to hypnosis or trite hoax of patients. It would be wrong to deny the facts of charlatanry in traditional medicine although it is not possible to put these two phenomena on the same level that is corroborated by foreign anthropology and recent domestic research. Thereby, there is a number of complex issues at the level of description and typologization of practices of traditional medicine, especially its mystical and magical aspects. This is primarily due to the fact that understanding of the actions by the adepts doesn’t fit within the scope of what modern science knows about the nature. On the other hand, such traditions as quackery and shamanism don’t possess clear notions for description of its own practice. At the same time, it is evident that the scientific study of the mystical practices of traditional medicine is not possible without adequate description and its classification. This paper proposes a typology within the framework of the phenomenological approach taking into consideration perception of the mystical practices by quacks, shamans, sorcerers, adherents of oriental medicine, etc., as well as necessity of expression of this practice in a language acceptable for modern anthropology.
Keywords: traditional medicine, quackery, shamanism, sorcery, mystical practices, sacred tradition.

Sergej Zolotuhin, Khabarovsk Branch of Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries Center (KhvTINRO), Khabarovsk, Russia. E-mail: sergchum2009@yandex.ru.
Nina Leshhenko, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: nina8.56@mail.ru.
Viktor Lebedyuk, LLC “Region Avtomatika”, Khabarovsk, Russia. E-mail: lebedyuk66@yandex.ru.
The paper highlights for the first time a new type of fishing gears from the Amur River basin. Based on the archaeological findings from several sites of this region (the Middle Ages, the 9th — the 13th centuries), the area of this fishing device expands. The research includes materials of previously unknown in Russia studies of Japanese scientists on the history and culture of the Ainu as well as on the ancient stone tools for fishing found in the north of the Kuril Islands and in Hokkaido. A hypothesis was expressed with the idea of the appearance of the rotary harpoon with a hook Marek in the Amur River basin at archaeological sites with the economic and cultural tradition of fishermen and hunters, who maintained household with appropriated or mixed, i.e. with productive elements, form of economy. The possibility of introduction of this type of fishing gear and hunting industry in the Okhotsk culture by tribes migrated to Sakhalin from the Lower Amur is examined. The authors believe that rotary harpoon Marek was improved by the Nivkhs. This autochthonous paleo-Asiatic group used several types of toggling harpoons, a floating spear, a harpoon, and other tools for catching fish that indicates the antiquity of fishing traditions. Four different techniques of the Marek hooks manufacture are presented. The latest archeological sources from the medieval monuments of the Amur River basin are introduced into scientific discourse.
Keywords: Amur River basin, rotary harpoon with a hook — “Marek”, archaeological sites (9—13th centuries), fishermen, hunters, appropriated form of economy.