Historical Folklore Prose of the Russian Metallurgical Traditions of the Komi Republic
Historical Folklore Prose of the Russian Metallurgical Traditions of the Komi Republic

Summary/Abstract: The article introduces folklore materials collected in the twenty-first century from the Russian population of the mining villages in the Komi Republic, founded when iron mining started in the area in the middle of the eighteenth century. The folklore traditions originated from the Russian settlers coming from the northern, north-eastern, and central provinces of the European part of the Russian Empire. The author studies the stories of oral historical prose, reflecting the values of the settlers, events in the course of settling and reclaiming the territory, the beginning and development of pig iron and iron production, local dynasties, and information about actual historical prototypes. She also considers the procedure of forming a folklore repertory in a certain local tradition. By using historical sources and mass media publications and comparing them to folklore materials, the author concludes that in the twentieth century, the collective historical memory was ‘designed’, among others, by resources, the mass media, and book culture, and that local intellectuals were directly involved in the process.

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