Colleagues, friends and students speak about Eleonora Lvovna

Eleonora Lvovna Lvova was born in Tomsk in 1940. In 1957 she graduated from the high school # 8 and entered the Department of History and Language Studies at Tomsk State University (TSU). In 1961–1962 she stayed in Cuba. There she collected materials for her graduation thesis on the Indians of Cuba which she successfully defended in 1964 (her research supervisor was G.I. Pelikh). After graduation from the university Eleonora Lvovna continued to work as an assistant at the TSU Department of Pre-Revolutionary Soviet History. In 1978 at the Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology n.a. N.N. Miklukho-Maklay of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Moscow) she defended her thesis titled, “The Turkic people of Chulym (Historical and Ethnographic Essays” (research supervisor - S.I. Weinstein), to be conferred a ‘Candidate of Sciences’ degree.

Starting from 1982, Eleonora Lvova had been working as an associate professor at TSU Department of Russian History. She was a lead lecturer in ethnology at TSU. For many years, she had been conducting ethnographic expeditions and practical training events (over 30, in total) in different regions of Siberia – Altay, Yakutiya, Khakasiya, and Tyumen region. Thanks to her efforts, the history and culture of the Tomsk region’s indigenous peoples were studied such as of the Turkic people of Chulym, Evenks, Tatars of Tomsk, and of other ethnic groups –Russians, the Chuvash people, Estonians, and Germans – residents of both the countryside and cities.

Under Eleonora Lvova’s research supervision, 6 ‘Candidate of Sciences’ degree theses have been defended in the field of ‘ethnography, ethnology and anthropology’ and in Russian history as well. She acted as an adviser during the preparation of such ethnographic video-films as ‘The Eushtins’ (1996), ‘The Kalmaks’ (1998), ‘The Blue Well’ (1998), ‘Neighbours’ (2006) and was involved in creating and advising a radio-programme for inter-ethnic communication ‘Hello, Neighbours’ which was broadcast by TV and radio company ‘Tomsk’ (1995-2006, author and editor E.Sh. Safiullina).

E.L. Lvova’s research and public activities were closely connected with urban anthropology; she actively advocated for the protection of the indigenous population and national minorities’ legal status. In 1996, Eleonora Lvovna was a member of the State Committee group that carried out a small-scale census of the population of Teguldet area. Largely thanks to her efforts, in 2000 the Chulym people acquired the status of an indigenous people of the North. Since 2003, E.L. Lvova had been a member of the Council of inter-regional public movement ‘Siberian people’s assembly’. Since 2005, she had been sitting on the Tomsk Governor’s Council for the preservation of wooden architecture being a member of a board of the Department of Culture of Tomsk oblast and a member of the Commission on toponymy in the Tomsk city administration as well. She had also been sitting on advisory councils of Tomsk oblast for national and cultural autonomies affairs and ethno-cultural education. In 2007 E.L. Lvova became the winner of a competition of Tomsk oblast in education, science, healthcare and culture.

One of the important objectives of Eleonora Lvovna’s pedagogical work was the launch and development of a ‘social anthropology’ programme at the TSU Department of History. In 2005 at her initiative the Student Scientific Research Laboratory for Social Anthropology (SNIL) has been established, and in 2013 the programme in social anthropology has been launched. In 2014 Eleonora Lvovna contributed to the development of educational programmes in ‘Anthropology and ethnology’ (code 032400, at both bachelor and master’s levels) which have successfully passed the licensing procedures. In 2015, for the first time ever, 22 students have started to study in a bachelor and master’s programmes in anthropology (15 and 7 respectively) at the Department of History.

There is no doubt that Eleonora Lvovna was one of those individuals who feel happy not about their own achievements which she had always perceived very calmly but about her students’ success. And this is exactly how she thought of her mission that is ‘to think through, articulate and share’ (V. Kostin, A. Sagalaev. Viva, Eleonora! // Tomskie novosti, 2000. #3. April 21^st. P.12). This is why all who were lucky to be in a fruitful dialogue with her, consider themselves, to one extent or another, her mentees and have kept a piece of her kindness, advertence and spiritual power in their hearts. In response to a request to share memories of this wonderful person and Teacher, two dozens of messages have been received from Eleonora Lvovna’s students and colleagues. All of the memories have been with gratitude posted on the website of the TSU Laboratory for Social and Anthropological Research. Two texts about Eleonora Lvovna as a scholar have been published in Siberian Historical Research journal (2015, issue #2).

I.V. Nam

Memories of colleagues, friends and students of Eleonora Lvovna Lvova (in Russian).

A report by E.L. Lvova at a roundtable meeting at the Tomsk regional unit of State Statistics Service

A slide film about Eleonora Lvovna Lvova