Boris Smirnov (ethnologist)

Smirnov was born in 1924 in Moscow, USSR. His grandfather was the head of the First Moscow Lyceum. His father Evgeny Smirnov served in forestry, he was reappointed from Samara Oblast to Mordovia in 1930s and Smirnovs moved to Zubova Polyana. Boris was an avid reader From 1942 to 1945, Smirnov served as hospital orderly in Red Army. The war had finished for him in 1945 Far East after Manchurian strategic offensive operation. He became a student of Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. Smirnov witnessed the public humiliation of his professor Pyotr Zhukovsky who was forced to admit his "errors" in the academical work during the Capmpaign against genetics. The professor had admitted his guilt or else he might be sentenced to execution. Smirnov suffered a mental breakdown and quit his studying being the 4th year student of the Academy.

Probably it had been his war experince or aftermath of mental breakdown he suffered but Smirnov was diagnosed schizophrenia. The disease flows very differently in different people, once Boris Smirnov suffered an attack that resulted in his putting the arms under the passing train. He had lost his hands after the incident and later learnt to get by without them. As to the later period no one ever witnessed his attacks, noticed his behavour was strange or threatening to the others. He was busy with his studies and field work. Boris Smirnov was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in Moksha epic tales and an archaeological excavator of enigmatic Kelginino gravefield. His work lent weight to the idea that Moksha epic tales reflect historical events.

Old Moksha Star Map used by travellers and navigators in Middle ages

Among the findings of Boris Smirnov there is a Medieval star chart used in Mokshaland by travellers, wanderers, herders and navigators on Volga trade route. He had been collecting epic tales and legends and then checking the places they narrated about. He had been accumulating information on feasts and everyday life, agriculture and honey hunting. He recorded law and traditional punishment detailes, old crafts pecularities and old children games rules. The rest of his time he spent in the city library reading all scientific journals they received. He led correspondence with scholars who sometimes kept answering him, sometimes were reluctunt to keep the discussion going in spite of the fact he sometimes proposed plausible solutions. The neighbours new that he might be bound three places: post office, where he received tons of books, library or forest if he had a short handle spade with him. He used to wear cheap suits and a cap in summer and fufaika wool jackets, and a soldier's fur hat in winter time. He roamed about Big Moksha Forest and often ran across Dubravlag border lines. Since it was a special territory and trespassing was forbidden he from time to time been detained and questioned but happily always been released after phone calls and enquiries sent to Zubova Polyana. Except for ethnology and archeological artefacts he was a botanist and collected full herbarium of Zubovo-Polyansky Aimak. He had a small garden and grew Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica) in it, as well as he always had lots of perfect vegetables and various flowers. "He had been treated with compassion by his friends Valerian Ryabov, Adolf Prokhorov and some others" writes Sergey Olenin.[1] He didn't bother them much but always gave a short report on his recent work. Boris Smirnov's health conditon had been deteriorated in 1966. He was not able to finish his Book 4 and seems he didn't start Book 5 he mentioned in his works. In 1979 he died. Adolf Prokhorov delievered his diaries and drafts to the Mordvoia Republic Government Institute For Humanities. Most of his field work had remained unpublished in the Institute For Humanities archives for years. First two books were published posthumously in 2012[2]

The most striking findings were the Carolingian sword and Vladimir the Great's and his son Novgorodian prince Vysheslav's symbols of power. They date back to 1010.[4] The latter became the proof for declaring the historical unity of Russian and Mordva peoples that can be traced back 1000 years. Later the government stopped supporting the archeological studies.[5]

Due to a deep internal culture and intuition he was able to see the importance and give the right value to separate folk tradition facts. Lack of his knowledge in the field of ethnology, ethnography and folklore had been compensated by diligence, painstaking and consistent work on collecting field materials.

Boris Kevbrin, Vladimir Rogachev, and Dmitry Shulyaev (Books 1, 2, and 4 introduction)[6]

Boris Smirnov had two brothers and a sister. One of his brothers became a forester after his father. His sister married a Navy engineer who later became Deputy Minister of USSR Navy.

• Book 1. Middle Partsa and Chiush [rivers]. 1963
• Book 2. Middle Vad and Lundan [rivers]. 1964
• Book 3. Low Vad [river]. 1965
• Book 4.

• Gardariki
• Kelginino Gravefield