The book is a summary of the author's many years of work on the study of religious sites in Buryatia, the Chita Region, Northern Mongolia and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (PRC). It publishes the results of their own field research and analyzes the materials collected by ethnologists, local historians, folklorists, and historians over a long period of time. As can be seen from the list of territories covered by the study, the book is not only about Transbaikalia.

In addition to describing religious objects in their current state and attracting data on their veneration in the past, the monograph focuses on the methodological development of identifying, recording, systematizing and protecting religious objects in the Baikal region. This is its undoubted advantage. The author quite rightly notes that in the current conditions of globalization and westernization, the folk traditions of the nomads of Central Asia are threatened with oblivion, and not least man-made objects of worship and natural ones suffer from this. In this regard, it should be borne in mind that local sanctuaries were destroyed or "repurposed" even in the era of the development of Transbaikalia by Russian explorers, and in the XX century they were declared war by the atheistic authorities. So much has been lost irretrievably, and it is all the more important to preserve what is still available.

The timeliness of such a book is beyond doubt. First, monographic studies on the sacred objects of the Baikal region have not yet appeared, although some places have received special attention, primarily such as Lake Baikal itself-a shrine for many peoples of the region, as well as Alkhana, Tunki healing springs, etc. Secondly, it is important and relevant that the shrines are considered in the book in connection with today's environmental problems, and these problems themselves, as it has become clear in recent years, have a worldview source. Finally, and thirdly, rapid changes are now affecting even those corners where life has flowed slowly for centuries, in particular the lands of Buryatia and Mongolia, as a result of which some traditional objects of nature are at risk of destruction, and the memory of others is erased. The description of these objects in their current state provides an important document that can serve as a starting point for further research.

A red thread through the entire monograph is the idea of preserving the cult significance of the old sacred objects of the peoples of the Baikal region even today. Therefore, many pages are devoted to describing the rituals performed there, the rules of behavior and prohibitions. These holy places still play an important role in the life of the local (and not only) population. They perform an integrating function, serving as centers of attraction for local communities. Some of them have long been considered healing or bringing good luck, offspring, etc. In addition, natural sacred objects (rocks, caves, grottos, lakes, springs, groves, individual trees, etc.) often have a pronounced unusualness, special aesthetic qualities, and sometimes a noticeable therapeutic effect, and on these grounds are included in the category of natural monuments. In the Baikal region, it is difficult to trace the line between a natural monument and a cultural monument. Indeed, such a "symbiosis" of nature and culture is characteristic of Central Asia, to which this region belongs genetically, and it opens up special prospects for preserving this rich heritage for posterity. Moreover, Lake Baikal itself, which is essentially the core of the territory considered in the book, is included in the UNESCO List of Natural and Cultural Heritage, i.e. it is a world heritage site.

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scale. The contradiction is that, being an integral part of the cultural landscape, these objects have the status of natural, but not cultural. According to the author (quite objectively), there is an urgent need to change this state of affairs. Why and how this can be done is discussed in the peer-reviewed monograph.

S.-H. Syrtypova's work consists of five chapters.

The first chapter is devoted to the methodology of identifying, recording and investigating religious objects. It justifies the need to attract knowledge of both the humanities and natural sciences, as well as anthropogeographic methods, since the problem is interdisciplinary in nature. The generally accepted international definition of a cultural monument is not appropriate in this case, as it reflects the view of a settled civilization. The historiography of the question is given. Although the author focuses on the Russian part of the Baikal region, Mongolian materials are also used, which is fully justified by the unity of this ethno-cultural space.

S.-H. Syrtypova suggests identifying a special type of historical and cultural monuments of the nomads of Central Asia - anthropogeographic objects according to the following criteria: a) high social significance, b) an indissoluble connection with nature, c) a combination of the properties of a memorial and a reliquary. At the same time, it is difficult to disagree with the author that "an object of cultural value can be fully preserved only if the environment in which it functions is preserved" (p.25). Indeed, being torn out of the natural and cultural context that has been developing for centuries, such an object turns, in essence, into an open-air museum exhibit.

The author offers a classification of the main types of religious objects in the Baikal region, including various elements of the geographical environment (mountains, caves, trees, etc.), architectural structures (temples, suburgans, obos), as well as Buddhist books as objects of worship. Methods of design of religious objects are shown. The presented author's method of their full-scale survey and description is of particular interest as it takes into account both aspects - natural and cultural-as full-fledged, which, in fact, distinguishes it favorably from similar methods developed for the purpose of fixing natural or cultural monuments. Separately, we are talking about accounting and describing Buddhist manuscripts and woodcuts, of which no more than two percent of the pre-revolutionary number has been preserved in Buryatia so far.

Chapter two tells about the sacred places of the Baikal region within the framework of the regional ecological system. First of all, the traditional marking of sacred and memorable places is described. This is the custom of erecting obo on mountain peaks, passes and other culturally significant places, which are, in the simplest case, a pile of stones; installing hitching posts-serge; tying colored ribbons (zuram, or samelge) on trees and shrubs; drawing certain, more often Buddhist, signs and symbols on rocks or giving sacred meaning to objects with tamgami - signs of land surveying applied in the past; construction of suburgans. A brief overview of ritual texts in the Tibetan language about the rules for creating and honoring oboo (labjie tib) is given. Territories marked with these structures or signs define the area of" ritual behavior " of people.

It should be emphasized that "ritual behavior" has a number of significant features that allow, in particular, to qualify it as "ecophilic" (from the Greek. oikos - "home", fileo - "love", where the house means the natural environment, i.e. e. human habitation). In ethnology, "ecophilic" refers to those features of the culture of an ethnic group that contribute to the conservation of nature, careful handling of natural resources. These traits can manifest themselves in people's daily economic activities, but more often they can be seen when performing certain ritual actions or in the process of preparing for them. A place consecrated by the presence of a deity is excluded from economic development and becomes a prototype of a nature reserve. "Ritual behavior" not only does not allow any use of natural resources in the area of a sacred object or in a sacred area, but also prescribes the need to comply with certain rules: observe silence, do not litter, do not take anything from there except a very limited range of permitted items (for example, water from a sacred spring), do not move and even more so do not split stones, do not tear the grass, do not knock down trees, do not frighten wild animals, etc. Sometimes in the research literature these rules apply to the behavior of medieval nomads-

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the Central Asian hunter in the wild in general, but if there is a rational grain in this view, it should still be recognized as not quite correct. Concern for their own survival and the well-being of their kind dominated the minds of representatives of so-called traditional societies much more strongly than the idea of selfless service to the environment. That is why the network of sacred sites served in the Baikal region (and not only there) as a kind of ecological framework for vast territories where people and wildlife more or less coexisted without conflict for centuries. The data collected in S.-H. Syrtypova's monograph confirms this once again.

One of the factors of sacralization of geographical space in Central Asia and Southern Siberia was the cult of mountains. The author shows on representative material that the cult of mountains is a more complex phenomenon than is often imagined. The dominant peak in a particular area is considered the lord of this area, therefore, the master of all creatures living there, and is marked by the presence of an appellative-khan in its name. It is revered not by any one clan, but by a fairly large community of people. As a rule, it is higher than other mountains, and from it you can see other cult objects of lower rank, forming a subordinate hierarchy.

S. - H. Syrtypova examines the etymology of the names of some well - known shrines (Alkhana, Borjigitai, etc.). Since very often the names of natural objects of worship were tabooed and replaced with epithets (for example, khairkhan - "merciful", khan, ezen - "lord, master", baabai - "lord, master").father"), there is a real danger of losing the names of parts of the landscape of the Baikal region consecrated by folk tradition. This is also facilitated by the current radical changes in the lifestyle and mentality of the local population and the weak knowledge of the microtoponymy of the region. I believe that a peer-reviewed monograph will not only help clarify the localization of some part of microtoponyms, but also attract the attention of specialists to this problem.

Speaking about the "ecology of space and society" in the nomadic world, the author exposes the ritualistic roots of the ecological behavior of the peoples of the Baikal region. Being subordinate to the natural course of things, the economic activity of nomads practically left no traces in nature. But in addition to the long-established "environmental friendliness" of their material culture, we must not forget about the" environmental friendliness " of their spiritual culture. Cults of Chthonic deities, or "masters of localities", have come down to us from the depths of time. It is believed that if a person does good deeds and is full of good intentions, helper spirits are strengthened; evil deeds and thoughts, on the contrary, feed evil disembodied entities. Violation of natural harmony by a person does not remain without a reaction from its supernatural patrons. Therefore, S.-Kh. Syrtypova writes, "mythological realities, so universal for different world cultures, can become a source for solving modern problems, especially where ancient myths are still socially significant" (p.107). The Baikal region is precisely the region of the Earth in respect of which the quoted remark is absolutely true.

In this chapter, in my opinion, an interesting attempt to explain the ban imposed by the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan, which is often considered a codification of the customary law of the Mongols of that era, on the pollution of water sources, as well as the special, careful attitude of the medieval Mongols to fire and earth-everything that, according to S.-Kh. Syrtypova, was a manifestation of the nomads ' peculiar concern for the primary elements of the material world.

The third chapter, which is the largest in volume and relatively homogeneous in content, presents the results of the author's own field work. After an excursion into the history of administrative divisions and administration in Buryatia, Chita Oblast, and Mongolia, the advantages and disadvantages of which are not discussed in the review, S.-Kh. Syrtypova justifies her choice of key territories for detailed research on the basis of cultural and landscape zoning, which was carried out on the principle of "unity of the information field", i.e. unity of religious and mythological representations focused around a particular dominant cult object. There are three such territories selected: East Sayan mountain region (Oka, Tunka), Barguzin Valley and Onon valley. In other areas, the work was carried out on a point-by-point basis.

Further, these territories are described in detail, the ethnic situation in them, the existing archaeological sites, shrines, features of the cult practice of the population, and the legends associated with sacred objects are described. These materials confirm the well-known law.-

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the degree of sacralization of landscape elements: something that stands out, unusual, or picturesque falls into the category of revered objects. Often they are associated with the cults of deified Genghis Khan, Gesar, but more often-with the cult of some local deity or spirit. The history of some sanctuaries goes back centuries and even millennia. For example, rocks with petroglyphs that may have attracted people back in the Neolithic period are still revered.

In addition to natural objects, the author's field of vision invariably includes man-made objects, primarily oboos and Buddhist structures (datsans, dugans, etc.), as well as places where they were located before their destruction in the fateful 1930s. Therefore, it is safe to say that the book makes a significant contribution to the study of the history of Buddhism in Buryatia. At the same time, much attention is paid to shamanic shrines. The revival of religion in our days is also shown. According to their status, the described shrines are different - there are generic ones, and there are also common Buryat ones.

Also noteworthy were the iconic sites of Mongolia in Dadal Somon on the border with the Chita region, where, according to one version, Genghis Khan was born: Deluun boldog hill, Gurvan-nuur Lake and a monument with a commemorative inscription installed there in 1961. I will add to this list a spring located in the same area, from which Genghis Khan allegedly drank. The information collected by the author allows us to take a fresh look at the phenomenon of cultural unity of Central Asia in time and space. An ecological aspect is added to the well-known concept of continuity of material culture and religious beliefs. There are still few published works in which it would be emphasized. At the same time, S.-H. Syrtypova's monograph is distinguished by a balanced, sober approach - a quality that is sometimes lost by researchers who study the traditional culture of their people in an ecological light.

Chapter four - "Books of Buddhist nomads of Transbaikalia" -is directly related to the author's field of scientific interests, even the style here acquires a certain emotional and enthusiastic tone, which, however, does not make the presentation less objective. The main idea of the chapter is that the Buddhist text can and should be regarded as a specific form of monument of Central Asian nomads. This is more than just an information resource. As a symbol of the word of the Buddha, the book takes on the character of a cult object that deserves veneration. In this regard, the importance of preserving it becomes more clear: "Eastern culture, in particular the Mongol-Tibetan and Buddhist cultures, accepts as a monument only that which retains its religious significance, and therefore is alive functionally, and not only physically and materially. If a thing loses its purpose, it loses its value for society... and the need for careful preservation. This deep rationalism was probably generated by the mobile and harsh life of a nomad, a person in a natural, natural environment " (pp. 222-223).

The chapter describes some state, public and private collections of Buddhist literature in Buryatia and the Chita region, in particular the precious Ganjur of the Tsugol datsan. It should be noted that the word "precious" here is not a simple metaphor. According to the author's calculations, each of his volumes should be estimated at a huge amount, taking into account material costs and cultural value.

Finally, the short fifth chapter is devoted to the consideration of the legislative and legal basis for the protection of religious sites in the Baikal region. The problem is discussed on three levels: international, federal, and regional levels. Since the book focuses on the preservation of the sacred heritage of the peoples of this region, we would expect a more detailed discussion of the adequacy of the articles of the law to the current situation and the possibilities of their revision in order to apply them more effectively in legal practice.

The book is provided with color and black-and-white illustrations and color maps-inserts, which show the location of religious objects. It will undoubtedly benefit local historians, religious scholars, specialists in the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the Baikal region, as well as residents of this region who are interested in learning about memorable and sacred places.

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