Shohrat Kadyrov " Turkmen-nama. Historical and Ethnographic Album " (Uppsala-Moscow, IFECAS, 2012, 339 p.) is not the first one published in the period from 2000 to 2013, in which the author explores various aspects of the history, culture and socio-political development of Turkmenistan and the Turkmen people. One of them was devoted to the ethnogenesis and ethnopolitical history of the Turkmens, the other - to the historical demography of the Turkmen people, and several subsequent ones - to the Soviet researcher of the ethnography of the Turkmens, the famous scientist G. P. Vasilyeva.

Kadyrov's latest book is, on the one hand, a strictly scientific and, on the other, a colorful publication written in a popular language, which may also interest the general reader. By the way, "Turkmen-nama "means"Book about Turkmens" in Russian.

In the first section - "What is an ethnos" - the author presents his theory of the concept of "ethnos", which differs from the generally accepted, so to speak, "official"one. His theoretical postulates are based on a deep study of the problems of the ethnic group, which are characteristic not only for the Turkmen, but also for other peoples of Asia, as well as Latin America and Oceania, which have not yet fully established themselves in modern society. In short, the author focuses on tribalism, which is politically dominant in these societies. By the way, on the same topic Sh. In 2012-2013, Kadyrov also published a pamphlet, as well as a small monograph, in which his views on the theory of ethnos*were presented at greater length.

The second chapter is called "Oi-kumena". Translated from Greek, it means "human-populated space"or" the space of a house". This chapter focuses on the geographical and climatic features of Turkmenistan. The author writes with deep respect about the people who managed to live in a territory with a pronounced continental climate, where the temperature difference reaches 50 degrees (p. 68). This required the use of special farming techniques, careful selection of varieties of cultivated plants (pp. 78-79). In difficult conditions, animal husbandry also developed here.

Throughout the history of Turkmens, migration - sometimes over very long distances-has been commonplace. Naturally, the ethnic composition of the population of the territory now called the Republic of Turkmenistan has repeatedly changed over the past 5-6 thousand years. But still not radically: the photographs published in the book show that the Indo-Afghan Europoid anthropological type dominates among the Turkmens. It turns out that the Turkic (Mongoloid) influence here affected the language and way of life rather than in anthropological features. As well as in the field of culture (p. 86 et seq.). Who exactly are the Turkmens descended from?

The answer to this question is partly contained in the section "Oguz", which certainly are the ancestors of the Turkmens in linguistic terms. In this regard, there are sources from documents of the first centuries AD, in particular, documents of the VII century. It was during this period that the events that were later called the "great migration of peoples"took place. Based on these sources, Kadyrov finds "Oguz" everywhere: in the Caspian region, Transcaucasia, and Asia Minor. He also discovers Oghuz tribal ethnonyms among modern Turkic peoples (p. 112). However, this is not surprising: after all, Torcs, guzes and black hoods (Karakalpaks) roamed in the Black Sea steppes; after all, the Hungarians took part of the Alans with them when they moved to Central Europe! The great migration of peoples is, first of all, a great mixing of nations and nationalities, as the author writes (p. 115 et seq.).

However, as Sh claims. Kadyrov, the Iranian substratum, as well as the Middle Eastern and Turkic influence, played a certain role in the formation of the Turkmen nation. Which one is stronger? The author believes that it is better for the reader to judge this.

Sh. Kadyrov cites many quotes from the anthropological literature, which is based on the analysis of the shape of the skull of representatives of a particular people. But these data are less reliable than the data of genetic analysis, as mentioned by the author of the book. However, no relevant genetic studies have been conducted in relation to Turkmens. Consequently, an in-depth study of the Turkmen ethnogenesis is still ahead.

The sections of the reviewed work that tell about the interaction of Turkmens with other peoples in the Middle Ages are interesting.

* See: Kadyrov Sh. etc. Ethnos and ethnoses. Ocherki teorii i metodologii [Essays on Theory and Methodology], Moscow, 2012. et al. Matrix of ethnology. Essays on Theory and methodology, Moscow, 2013.

According to the author, it was during this interaction that the consolidation of Turkmen tribes took place, and this process, paradoxically, has not ended until now. In general, Sh. Kadyrov comes to the conclusion that as a people, although consisting of separate tribes, the Turkmens were formed only after the XVI century (p.154-155).

Many pages of the book are devoted to individual tribal groups of Turkmens and their interaction with each other. A map of the current distribution of Turkmen tribes on the territory of the republic is given on page 248 in the section "Ethnodemography".

A significant part of the book is devoted to the annexation of Turkmenistan to the Russian Empire and the position of Turkmens in its composition, and then in the USSR. This process was not without a certain drama. Some of the Turkmen tribes joined Russia voluntarily, while others offered fierce resistance to the Russians.

Interesting sections are devoted to traditional ethnological subjects: descriptions of housing, food, forms of family organization, etc. Modern demographic processes, in particular, negative ones, are analyzed. First of all, a significant decline in the birth rate.

The disadvantages of the work include the fact that Sh. Kadyrov hardly considers the problem of spiritual culture of the Turkmen people in its folklore and religious forms. Although in a very extensive list of references, there are references to publications that deal with this problem in sufficient detail.

A small section of the book is devoted to the current, very difficult situation in Turkmenistan. The author draws a conclusion about the ongoing processes in the country of persistent, one might say, forced return to national traditions, which, however, is typical for many parts of the post-Soviet space. Unfortunately, for reasons of ideological pressure, "modern ethnology in Turkmenistan has long been in a period of prolonged stagnation" (p.294).

Probably, in order not to end his work on such a sad note, Sh. Kadyrov provides a large selection of photos of smiling Turkmen faces in the "Resilient" application. Well, let's smile together with these people...

We must pay tribute to the courage of the author, who chose a completely "unscientific" genre for his scientific work - a historical and ethnographic album. This complex and controversial plan of Sh. Kadyrov managed to bring it to life. After reading the book, readers will get an idea of what an ethnic group is. At least, the ethnic group is Turkmen.

L. S. PEREPELKIN, Candidate of Historical Sciences

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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