Kuftin B. Kirghiz-Cossacks. Culture and life. Ethnological essays No. 2.

Kuftin B. Kirghiz-Cossacks. Culture and life. Ethnological essays No. 2.
Cover art by A. Kravchenko.

Moscow Edition of the Central Museum of folk studies. One thousand nine hundred twenty six Circulation of 3000 copies. 48 p., Fig. Softcover, size 13 x 17 cm. A fragment of the title was torn off, with a library stamp on the back of it. Otherwise excellent condition.

Bibliographic rarity. Departmental publication of the 1920s. the Author analyzes the results of previous researchers and presents his own scientific conclusions on rather complicated issues of the history and ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz-Cossacks. The tribal composition of the Kirghiz-Cossack people is given, the issues of their culture and life are highlighted, traditional occupations, crafts and individual production and craft processes, customs, the structure of dwellings and their interior, traditional utensils, the time and order of migrations are described. Special names and terminology are given and explained. The author's work is distinguished by thoroughness and pedantry of the description, scientific approach when presenting valuable ethnographic material, but despite this, the circulation of the book, as it does not correspond to historical reality, was withdrawn. It is not known how many of the designated 3000 copies remain.

Boris Alekseyevich Kuftin (January 21 [February 2] 1892, Samara — August 2, 1953, Lielupe (part of Jurmala)) - Soviet archaeologist and ethnographer, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR (since 1946).

Since 1919-lecturer at Moscow University. Kuftin taught courses on Ethnography and almost all regions of the USSR, as well as lectures on theoretical Ethnography, methods of Museum work, conducts a field workshop, etc. In the spring of 1919, D. N. Anuchin suggested that Kuftin, who had passed the master's exams, take courses in"folk studies". After Anuchin's death, he was assigned to head the entire folk studies cycle at the Department.

On September 27, 1930, he was arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary activities and sent to the North for a period of three years, serving his exile in Vologda.

From 1933 to the end of his life, he worked at the State Museum of Georgia.

For the first time, he identified and described the two most important cultures of the Caucasus — Trialeti and KURO-Arak. In 1952, while working as a member of the South Turkmen complex archaeological expedition, he received important data for covering the ancient history of Central Asia (Anau, Namazga-Tepe, AK-Tepe, etc.).

he Was in friendly relations with many figures of Soviet culture, in particular with S. T. Richter and N. L. Dorliak

His wife was a famous Ukrainian Soviet pianist, teacher, folklorist, and musical figure Valentina Steshenko-Kuftina (1904-1953).