Mikhail Konstantinovich Kudryavtsev (russian: Михаил Константинович Кудрявцев, translit=Mikhail Konstantinovich Kudryavtsev; January 12, 1911 – March 4, 1992) was a Soviet

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

and

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

. He began his studies in the topography stream, but later focused on the fields of history and ethnography. After graduating from the

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

in history, he studied at the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

till the completion of his

Doktor Nauk Doctor of Sciences ( rus, доктор наук, p=ˈdoktər nɐˈuk, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; uk, доктор наук; bg, доктор на науките; be, доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the Russi ...

in historical sciences. However, there was a break of several years in his post–graduate studies because of his commission in the

Soviet military The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

's technical forces during the second world war. From July 1941 to September 1945, he served at various ranks on several fronts. He had also been the head of the topographic command of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

's military. He recommenced his studies in 1946. Later, he worked as a senior researcher at the academy and also lead its Indological studies. He conducted ethnographical research on several ethnic groups of India, and also studied India's social structure in the ancient and medieval times. He died at the age of 81 years and was buried at Saint Petersburg's .

Education

From 1929 to 1932, Kudryavtsev studied at the Leningrad Topographical Technical School, and worked as a

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...

after the completion of the academic program. In June 1939, he completed his graduation in history at the Leningrad State University, with a recommendation for post–graduation at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He started his studies at the institute, but later in 1941, his studies were halted because of his dis-enrollment from the institute due to his appointment in the Soviet Military. However, in 1946, he was re–enrolled for the postgraduate studies at the institute with a specialty in the ethnography of India after an order from the

presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presid ...

of the academy. He completed the ''Doktor Nauk in Historical Sciences'' at the academy in 1952, with the thesis titled ''"Происхождение Мусульманского Населения Северной Индии" (The Origin of the Muslim Population of Northern India)''. He had also studied the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, Marathi, and

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

World War II

During the second world war, Kudryavtsev had served in the Soviet Military. From 1 July 1941, he worked as a topographer, and from February 1942, as a senior topographer on the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. ...

. From February to December 1942, he served as the platoon commander and deputy battery commander in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. He also headed the divisions of the Red Army at the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...

. After December 1942, he resumed his services as a topographer. Between December 1942 and September 1945, he was the head of the topographic services, first on the Volkhov front, and later on the second and the first Ukrainian fronts. From September to December 1945, he taught topography to the infantry officers in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

(Ukraine). The Soviet military units had benefited in some of their onerous combat tasks from his knowledge as a topographer. He had also been the chief of the "military topographic administration" and served as a Lieutenant–general in the "technical forces" of the USSR. He was awarded the ''

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

'' "for the defense of Leningrad". He also received the

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military dec ...

. During his service years in the Soviet Military, he visited Romania, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.

Academic career and research

Kudryavtsev was a "senior scientific worker" at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. He headed the Indological research at the institute, and contributed in the development of monographic ethnic research in Russia. He had also worked as a researcher at the

Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography The Kunstkamera (russian: Кунсткамера) or Kunstkammer (German language, German for "Culture Room" (literally) or "Art Chamber", typically used for a "cabinet of curiosities") is a public museum located on the Universitetskaya Embankme ...

. His main area of study was India's ethnography and northern India's ethnology. The

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the ...

views him as one of the "fathers of Indian Ethnography in Russia". He visited India five times between 1957 and 1974. In 1966, the Anthropological Survey of India had invited him and Nikolai Cheboxarov in India for a study on the anthropological data gathered in 1964 on Asurs, Korkus, Gondas, Pradhans,

Khasis The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...

and the Hindustanis of the Lucknow region. They studied these people with the assistance of P. Gupta. Earlier, he did an ethnographic study on the

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

of India. He also studied the social history of India, including the structure of society in ancient and medieval India. He concurred with

M. N. Srinivas Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas (1916–1999) was an Indian sociologist and social anthropologist. He is mostly known for his work on caste and caste systems, social stratification, Sanskritisation and Westernisation in southern India and the ...

's categorization of relationships in the Indian society in two categories — vertical (inter-caste) and horizontal (intra-caste). He was of the view that the seeds of the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

were sown nearly two millenniums ago in India. According to Kudryavtsev, "the core of the caste system, in the form of the '' varnas'', took shape over 2,000 years ago — almost in the

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...

. The caste system became increasingly sophisticated with the development of technology, the growing division of labor, and the emergence of new occupations. It thus survived through the colonial period, the expansion of capitalism, and the establishment of the Republic". He also inquired into the jajmani system as a mechanism of interaction between the communities and castes in India.

Death

Kudryavtsev died at the age of 81 years on 4 March 1992. He was buried at the Shuvalov cemetery in Saint Petersburg.

Works

Books

* *

Selected papers

* * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kudryavtsev, Mikhail 1911 births Topographers Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet ethnographers Soviet ethnologists Soviet Indologists Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences 1992 deaths 20th-century cartographers