Vladimir Arseniev’s collections

The Russian Ethnographic Museum has a unique collection of traditional Udege culture, revealing the idea of the creation of the universe, shamanic rituals, travel from the world of people to the world of spirits, communication with the spirits of nature, earth, sky, the underworld. Special attention is paid to the attributes and symbols of the Bear Festival and the cult of snakes.

The indigenous peoples of Primorye and the Ussuri Territory trusted Arseniev with images of sevokhi - assistants in hunting and curing illnesses, assistants in communicating with the masters of water and forest worlds, amulets, elements of shamanic vestments. The collections and expeditionary information collected by Arseniev allow preserving the meanings of the unique cultural monuments of the peoples of the Far East.

Vladimir Arseniev (1872-1930), a major researcher of the Far East, sent portrait photographs of the aboriginal peoples of Primorye to the Russian Ethnographic Museum to create mannequin sculptures that reflect the features of their appearance, group photographs, camps, and migration scenes.