Issue 4 (89)
| REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CHUKCHI ETHNICITY: FROM A SOVIET ANECDOTE TO MODERN ONLINE CULTURE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2025 | Number | 4 (89) |
| Pages | 6-16 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 39(=947.121) | BBK | 63.529(255) |
| Authors | Belorussova Svetlana Yu. Chernyaeva Natalia À. |
Topic | ETHNICITY IN THE DIGITAL SPACE |
| Summary | The article explores the evolution of representations of the Chukchi ethnicity from Soviet culture to post-Soviet online media. In the USSR, the Chukchi were among the most frequently referenced indigenous peoples of the North. However, their image in popular culture was largely reduced to the comic stereotype of a naïve northern “simpleton,” reinforced through jokes and anecdotes. This oversimplified construct displaced more nuanced portrayals created by the Chukchi authors and became deeply embedded in the public consciousness. With the rise of the Internet and digital communication, ethnic communities have gained new tools for self-representation. Analysis of the memes, ethnoblogs, hashtags, and online communities shows that while the comic image of the Chukchi endures, it is increasingly subject to critique and reinterpretation. At the same time, older narratives, such as the pre-Soviet depiction of the “warlike Chukchi,” are being revisited. Modern digital practices enable the Chukchi community to construct new representations grounded in agency and creative reimagining of identity. Virtual media thus serve as a key platform for dismantling Soviet-era stereotypes and developing alternative perspectives | ||
| Keywords | Chukchi, representation, Chukchi anecdotes, ethnographic imaginary, ethnonetwork culture, memes, ethnoblogging | ||
| References |
Anderson B. Voobrazhaemye soobshchestva: Razmyshleniya ob istokakh i rasprostranenii natsionalizma [Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism]. Moscow: Kanon-Press Publ., 2001. (in Russ.). Averintsev M. M. [Bakhtin, Laughter, Christian Culture]. Bakhtin kak filosof [Bakhtin as a Philosopher]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1992, pp. 7–19. (in Russ.). Belorussova S. Yu. [Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of Russia: Virtual Ethnicity and Network Experiences]. Etnografia [Etnografia], 2022, no. 4 (18), pp. 84–111. DOI: 10.31250/2618-8600-2022-4 (18)-84-111 (in Russ.). Belorussova S. Yu. [Openness and Closedness: Ethnic Strategies of Indigenous Minorities in Virtuality vs Reality]. Vestnik antropologii [Herald of Anthropology], 2025, no. 2, pp.223–240. DOI:10.33876/2311- 0546/2025-2/223-240 (in Russ.). Belorussova S. Yu., Maretina K. A., Komova E. A. Cyberfield: Theory, Methodology, and Practice. Changing. Societies and Personalities, 2025, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 11–28. DOI: 10.15826/csp.2025.9.1.315 (in English). Bogdanov K. A. [Oddball, Dude, and Chukchi: A Historical and Philological Commentary on a Joke]. Russkii politicheskii fol’klor: issledovaniia i publikatsii [Russian Political Folklore: Research and Publications]. Moscow: Novoe izdatel’stvo Publ., 2013, pp. 133–146. (in Russ.). Brachun T. A. [Anecdotes about the Chukchi People as Modern Culture Phenomenon]. Gumanitarnye i sotsial’noekonomicheskie nauki [The Humanities and Social-Economic Sciences], 2011, no. 3 (58), pp. 56–61. (in Russ.). Draitser E. A. Taking Penguins to the Movies: Ethnic Humor in Russia. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998. (in English). Golovnev A. V. [Abazins: Renewal of Ethnicity, or Workshop of New Ethnography]. Etnografia [Etnografia], 2024, no. 3 (25), pp. 6–45. DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2024-3(25)-6-45 (in Russ.). Golovnev A. V. [Ethnicity Drift]. Ural’skij istoriceskij vestnik [Ural Historical Journal], 2009, no. 4 (25), pp. 46–55. (in Russ.). Grekhem S. [The Cycle of the Chukchi Jokes: Where Did They Come From?]. Zhivaya starina [Zhivaya starina], 2007, no. 4, pp. 33–35. (in Russ.). Khimik V. V. [The Joke as a Unique Phenomenon of Russian Speech Culture]. Anekdot kak fenomen kul’tury: materialy kruglogo stola 16 noyabrya 2002 g. SanktPeterburg [The Joke as a Cultural Phenomenon: Proceedings of the Round Table Conference, November 16, 2002, St. Petersburg]. Saint Petersburg: Sankt-Peterburgskoe filosofskoe obshchestvo Publ., 2002, pp. 17–31. (in Russ.). Kratkii illiustrirovannyy slovar’ klishe i stereotipov: k 60letiiu P. A. Klubkova [A Concise Illustrated Dictionary of Clichés and Stereotypes: On the 60th Anniversary of P. A.Klubkov]. Saint Petersburg: Institut logiki Publ., 2009. (in Russ.). Kuznetsov I. Memy. Nauchnyi vzgliad na fenomen popkul’tury, zakhvativshii mir [Memes: A Scientific View at the Pop Culture Phenomenon That Captured the World]. Moscow: Bombora Publ., 2022. (in Russ.). Mel’nichenko M. Sovetskiy anekdot. Ukazatel’ siuzhetov [The Soviet Joke. A Plot Index]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2021. (in Russ.). Mikhailin V. Yu. [The All-Union Indigene: The Chukchi in Soviet Jokes and Cinematography]. Imagologiya i komparativistika [Imagology and Comparative Studies], 2016, no. 2 (6), pp. 146–154. DOI: 10.17223/24099554/6/10 (in Russ.). Shmeleva E. A., Shmelev A. D. Russkiy anekdot: tekst i rechevoi zhanr [The Russian Joke: Text and Speech Genre]. Moscow: Iazyki slavianskoy ku’tury Publ., 2002. (in Russ.). Tishkov V. A. Rekviem po etnosu: issledovaniia po sotsial’nokul’turnoi antropologii [Requiem for an Ethnos: Research in Socio-Cultural Anthropology]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2003. (in Russ.).
|
||
| Download in PDF | |||
