Scientific Heritage of Purbo B. Baldanzhapov: Documents and Materials on the History of Oriental Cultures Museum

Goals. The purpose of the publication is to introduce into scientific circulation previously unknown documentary sources connected with the organization of the Museum of Oriental Cultures at the Buryat Institute of Social Sciences of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Materials and Methods. A frontal search was carried out in the personal archive fund of Purbo B. Baldanzhapov, kept at the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, SB RAS.The classification and systematization of the identified array of office-work materials was carried out, the types of documents have been identified, their thematic and chronological spectrum was determined. Results. It was determined that the F29 collection contained Purbo Baldanzhapov`s memoranda, reference materials, personal letters to the leaders of the Buryat ASSR about the urgent need to expand the USSR’s ties with the countries of the East, Buddhist organizations and individual figures, about the necessity of formation of a specialized department — the Museum of Oriental Cultures.The article also analyzes the block of administrative office documentation, containing orders of the Buryat Institute of Social Sciences on the formation of the Museum, the Regulations on the Museum, staffing, work reports. Conclusions. As a result of the study, a unique documentary array has been revealed showing, on the one hand the history of one of the stages of the formation of oriental studies in Transbaikalia, on the other — a little-known page in the history of museum affairs in the region.It is emphasized that these materials reflect the mechanisms, forms and methods of organizing scientific and museum activities in the second half of the 1960s. — the period of reforms and reorganizations in Soviet science. The identified sources will become the basis for further research by historians, orientalists, museologists, etc.

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