Ethnographic Map of Imperial Russia in 1905

Ethnographic Map of Imperial Russia in 1905

Ethnographic Map of Imperial Russia in 1905

This map was created by the Imperial Geographic Society of Russia, and it displays the location of the various ethnic groups within the late Imperial Russia.

The map shows only 60 of the 196 known ethnic groups residing in Russia; it is unknown whether the cartographers decided to impose a limit in resolution to keep the map legible, or their ethnographic knowledge was not yet complete.

Interestingly, the map includes Alaska which was, of course, sold to America in 1867.

This map allows plotting the location of Orthodox Christian monasteries founded in the 19th century to see if there is any correlation between ethnic groups, religions, and monasteries.

One hundred and forty-five monasteries were founded in the final century of Imperial Russia, and, unsurprisingly, the vast majority of these were on lands where ethnic Russians constituted the predominant ethnic group.

What is surprising, however, is that a non-insubstantial minority of these were founded in lands where Muslims (Tartars and Cossacks) formed the majority of the population. In fact, most of these monasteries resumed operation after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the cessation of atheistic persecutions.

This, of course, casts doubts on the widely-held stereotype that all Muslims are fanatically ill-disposed against other religions and incapable of harmonious coexistence.

It also opens a range of interesting questions.

Was there any imperial force used to keep Muslims quiet? The available historical record generally denies this.

On the other hand, how did these Monasteries were able to survive economically in the absence of a large patronage basis? Certainly, wealthy Russian individuals donated liberally, but, generally, monasteries survive on a continuous stream of the widows' mites. Did the local Muslim population provide any financial assistance?

The Imperial Geographic Society of Russia,

Ethnographic