Biography:Natalya Romanovna Guseva

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Short description: Russian ethnographer and Indologist (1914–2010)
Natalya Romanovna Guseva
Наталья Романовна Гусева
Born
Natalya Romanovna Chetyrkina

(1914-03-21)March 21, 1914
Rubezhovka, Kiev Governorate
DiedApril 21, 2010(2010-04-21) (aged 96)
CitizenshipRussian Empire
Soviet Union
Russia
OccupationEthnographer
Historian
Indologist
Known forResearch on the ethnography and religions of peoples of India
Spouse(s)V. N. Gusev (1st)
Svyatoslav Igorevich Potabenko (2nd)
AwardsJawaharlal Nehru Award
Academic background
Alma materLeningrad State University
Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union
ThesisЭтнический состав населения Южной Индии (Kandidat Nauk)
Индуизм: История формирования. Культовая практика (Doctor of Sciences)
Academic work
DisciplineEthnography
History
Indology
InstitutionsFormer "Senior Scientific Worker", Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union[1]
Main interestsHistory and ethnography of the peoples of India[2]

Natalya Romanovna Guseva (Russian: Наталья Романовна Гусева, romanized: Natalya Romanovna Guseva; March 21, 1914 – April 21, 2010) was a Russian ethnographer, historian, Indologist and writer.[3]

Born at a village in the Kiev Governorate, she did her Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences from the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in 1951 and 1978, respectively. She worked at the Institute of Ethnography from 1952 until her retirement in 1998, however from 1963 to 1964, she had worked at the House of Soviet Culture in Delhi. She died at the age of nearly 96 years.

Early life and family

Guseva was born as Natalya Romanovna Chetyrkina on 21 March 1914[4] at Rubezhovka village in the Kiev Governorate.[5] She was orphaned at an early age. After her schooling, she worked in a tire factory and simultaneously studied in a technical school for rubber industry. She first married V. N. Gusev, an engineer, and later married Svyatoslav Igorevich Potabenko who was also an Indologist.[5]

Education, career and research

Guseva developed interest in the eastern world, and in 1940, completed her graduation from the Leningrad State University with a specialty in Indology. Later, she worked at the Institute of Ethnography in Moscow as an employee, but in 1946, she joined the institute as a student for further studies. From 1950 to 1952, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. In 1951, she came to Moscow and completed her Kandidat Nauk at the Institute of Ethnography with the defense of her thesis titled "Этнический состав населения Южной Индии" (The Ethnic Composition of the Population of South India). Later in 1952, she left Uzbekistan and on the invitation of Sergey Pavlovich Tolstov, she started working again at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union where she worked until her retirement in 1998. However, from 1963 to 1964, she had worked as the senior methodologist of the Russian language at the House of Soviet Culture in Delhi. In 1978, she completed her Doctor of Sciences at the institute with the defense of her thesis titled "Индуизм: история формирования. Культовая практика" (Hinduism: The History of Formation. Cultic Practice).[5] Sergei Aleksandrovich Tokarev evaluated Guseva's dissertation for the Doctor of Sciences and its defense by her. He rated her dissertation as "dilettantish", but viewed her defense of it as brilliant.[6]

In her research, she worked to identify common features between the Hindu and Slavic mythologies.[2] In the later part of her life, she fixated on the idea of a common ancestral homeland of the Indians and Slavs. She authored a book on this subject in 2003, titled "Русский Север – прародина индославов" (The Russian North — The Ancestral Home of the Indo–Slavs[note 1]), a second edition of which was published in 2010.[8]

She was a member of the Union of Soviet Writers, and later became a member of the Union of Russian Writers.[2] She delivered a number of lectures for the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.[5]

Jainism

Guseva was a Jainologist.[9] Along with a number of her contemporary researchers, Guseva also suggested that Jainism originated long before 500 BCE.[10] According to Guseva, Jainism is very different from Brahmanism and the Vedic religion and it does not believe in the Varna system, rejects the concept that Veda is holy, and opposes the concept of gods being the center of worship.[11] Tokarev termed Guseva's claim of Jainism being the most ancient, and even pre-median, religion of India as doubtful.[12]

Criticism

Victor Schnirelmann claimed that Guseva and Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin augmented and propagated "the Slavicized version of the German 'Aryan Myth'".[citation needed] According to Schnirelmann, the myth states that the Russians are the "most ancient" people, whose first homeland was the Arctic, which was also the Pagan gods' "native land", and where once existed subtropical environmental conditions. With time, "rapid glaciation" occurred in the area, as a result of which, the Russian people headed towards south where they "established a high civilisation" (according to some writers, in the Southern Urals region). It also claims that, in the Arctic, the Russians had "developed an early system of Vedaic knowledge and, in some versions, even invented the earliest writing". Later on, the Russian people who migrated to Eurasia, carried with them knowledge and an "advanced culture" in the region. In the opinion of Schnirelmann, "it is impossible to confirm this view with archaeological or historical evidence".[13] Schnirelmann highlighted that the works authored by Guseva were "cited by many contemporary ultra-nationalists of the Aryan pursuasion". In 1999, he noted that lately Guseva "distanced herself from Neo-Nazi and racist constructions" and that she had appealed for "a more sober evaluation of Arkaim".[14]

Death

Guseva died on 21 April 2010 at the age of 96 years, and honoring her request, her family members scattered her ashes in the Ganges in India.[5]

Works

Guseva published around 200 articles in various scientific journals and wrote 16 monographs. She translated Indological literature from the English language to the Russian language. She wrote a play titled "Ramayana" that was based on the ancient Indian epic of the same name, which was performed at various theaters in Russia, and one of the performances was attended by Jawaharlal Nehru.[5] In 2000, she translated the book "The Arctic Home in the Vedas" written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1903.[15]

The Government of India gave her the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for her contributions towards the development of Russia–India relations.[5]

Books

  • Guseva, N. R. (2010) (in ru). Арии и древнеиндийские традиции. Moscow, Russia: Белые Альвы [Belye Al'vy]. ISBN 978-5914640351. OCLC 667878768. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (2008) (in ru). Легенды и мифы Древней Индии. [5]
  • Guseva, N. R. (1998) (in ru). Русские сквозь тысячелетия: арктическая теория. Moscow, Russia: Белые Альвы [Belye Al'vy]. ISBN 978-5761900660. OCLC 41231657. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (1989) (in ru). Раджастханцы: народ и проблемы. Moscow, Russia: Nauka. ISBN 978-5020164994. OCLC 1002883108. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (1987) (in ru). Многоликая Индия (3rd, revised ed.). Moscow: Nauka. OCLC 18833218. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (1971) (in ru). Индия: тысячелетия и современность. Moscow, Russia: Nauka. OCLC 19746613. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (1968) (in ru). Джайнизм. Moscow, Russia: Nauka. OCLC 613961428. 

Books edited

  • Guseva, N. R., ed (1996) (in ru). Древность: Арьи. Славяне (2nd ed.). Moscow, Russia: Палея [Paleya]. OCLC 36371028. 

Selected papers

  • Guseva, N. R. (2004). Chanchreek, K. L.; Jain, Mahesh. eds. Jainism and Western Thinkers: Classic Essays on Jainism by Western Orientalists. New Delhi, India: Shree. pp. 334–341. ISBN 978-8188658282. OCLC 255081660. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (1975). Jain, Akshaya Kumar. ed. Lord Mahavira in the Eyes of Foreigners (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Meena Bharati. pp. 156–162. OCLC 2119130. 
  • Guseva, N. R. (2004). Sharma, Suresh K.; Sharma, Usha. eds. Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Jainism. Cultural and Religious Heritage of India, Volume 2. New Delhi, India: Mittal. pp. 285–294. ISBN 978-8170999577. OCLC 255310797. 

See also

  • Mikhail Konstantinovich Kudryavtsev

Notes

  1. ↑ The term Indo–Slav refers to "the remote ancestors of the Aryans and the Slavs".[7]

References

  1. ↑ Guseva, N. R. (1971). Jainism. Mumbai, India: Sindhu. p. iii. OCLC 211997. https://books.google.com/books?id=rXkIAQAAIAAJ&q=Senior+Scientific+Worker. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Гусева Наталья Романовна" (in ru). http://ethnographica.kunstkamera.ru/w/index.php?title=Гусева_Наталья_Романовна. Retrieved July 13, 2020. 
  3. ↑ Александр Стрекалов [Alexandr Strekalov] (2020) (in ru). Современная математика. Исток. Проблемы. Перспективы. Russia: ЛитРес [Litres]. p. 231. ISBN 978-5041807368. https://books.google.com/books?id=5smiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA231. 
  4. ↑ "Наталья Романовна Гусева (Четыркина)". http://www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/index.php?option=com_personalities&Itemid=74&person=1557. Retrieved August 23, 2020. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Гусева Наталья Романовна (1914–2010)" (in ru). http://iea-ras.ru/index.php?go=Afisha&in=view&id=54. Retrieved July 13, 2020. 
  6. ↑ Сергей Александрович Токарев [Sergei Aleksandrovich Tokarev] (2005). "Дневники (окончание)". Религиоведение – № 4 [Religious Studies – № 4]: 142. 
  7. ↑ Zharnikova, Svetlana Vasilyevna (2013). Vinogradov, A. G.. ed. Cultural Traditions and Origin Indo–Europeans (Collection of Article Published by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Association for the Study of the Cultures of Central Asia (from 1984 to 2004)). WP IPGEB. ISBN 978-1492100386. "As for the book by R.Sankrityatyana, which was published in the middle of the XX-th century, N. Guseva emphasizes in the preface to her translation of this work that the author for the first time in the history of science has introduced into scientific circulation a completely new term Indo-Slavs referring to the remote ancestors of the Aryans and the Slavs; this term was never used in scientific works before." 
  8. ↑ "Гусева Наталья Романовна (1914–2010)" (in ru). http://iea-ras.ru/index.php?go=Afisha&in=view&id=54. Retrieved July 13, 2020. "В последние годы Наталья Романовна увлеклась идеей единой прародины индийцев и славян, опубликовав на эту тему книгу «Русский Север – прародина индославов» (2003, 2-е изд. – 2010)." 
  9. ↑ Metha, C. L. (1976). "Mahaveer Nirvana Twenty Fifth Centenary Celebrations & Mahaveer's Centenary College". Jain Directory: Who is Who & Jain Contribution in Tamil Nadu (1st ed.). Madras, India: Dhanraj Baid Jain College. pp. 243–299. OCLC 164946122. https://books.google.com/books?id=rd8cAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Jainologists%22+%22Guseva%22. "Jainologists In Foreign countries 1. Dr. (Mrs.) N. R. Guseva, Research Associate, Institute of Ethnography of The Academy of Sciences, 19, Dm. Ulyanov Street, MOSCOW (USSR)." 
  10. ↑ Pandian, Soorian Kasi (1996). "Jainism – A Prevedic Religion: Antiquity of Jainism". India, That Is, Sidd. New Delhi, India: Allied. pp. 101–114. ISBN 978-8170235613. OCLC 312766829. https://books.google.com/books?id=B90uj14NHjMC&pg=PA104. "As Mrs. N.R. Guseva explanis : "Many cotemporary research scholars have also come to the conclusion that the roots of Jainism are significantly more ancient than the middle of the first millenium B.C." [..] As a further evidence of the antiquity of Jainism, Mrs. Guseva explains..." 
  11. ↑ Guseva, N. R. (2004). Sharma, Suresh K.; Sharma, Usha. eds. Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Jainism. Cultural and Religious Heritage of India, Volume 2. New Delhi, India: Mittal. pp. 55–78. ISBN 978-8170999577. OCLC 255310797. 
  12. ↑ Сергей Александрович Токарев [Sergei Aleksandrovich Tokarev] (2005). "Дневники (продолжение)". Религиоведение – № 3 [Religious Studies – № 3]: 130. 
  13. ↑ Shnirelman, Victor A. (1999–2000). "Perun, Svarog and Others: Russian Neo-Paganism in Search of Itself". The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology (Berghahn) 21 (3): 19–20. 
  14. ↑ Shnirelman, V. A. (1999). Humphrey, Caroline; Bulag, Uradyn E.; Sneath, David et al.. eds. "Passions about Arkaim: Russian Nationalism, the Aryans, and the Politics of Archaeology". Inner Asia (Brill) 1 (2): 279. doi:10.1163/146481799793648040. 
  15. ↑ Zharnikova, Svetlana Vasilyevna (2010). "Northern Ancestral Home of the Aryans". Meru Mountains: Hyperborea and Aryan Ancestral Homeland (Collection of Scientific Papers by S. V. Zharnikova). WP IPGEB. pp. 129–132. https://books.google.com/books?id=MyjNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA129. "In 1903, an outstanding cultural researcher of his people and politician Bal Gangadhar Tilak published his book "The Arctic Homeland in the Vedas". It would seem where, if not in Russia, this text needs to be translated, because the European Arctic is us and Norway. And yet, for the first time, this book was translated into Russian by Natalya Romanovna Guseva in 2000 and was published in Moscow in 2001, that is, almost a hundred years after its birth." 



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