Soviet and Russian Regimes of Spatial Inscription: A Critical Analysis of Indigenous versus Official Place Names on Maps in Siberia, 1920s–2000s

This article discusses Indigenous Evenki place names (hydronyms) on official topographic maps and handwritten sketches in a broader context of Soviet and Russian regimes of spatial inscription and toponymic policies and their legacies. The early Soviet policy of korenizatsia (indigenization) facilitated the incorporation of Indigenous place names into official nomenclature. As a result, a large number of Indigenous toponyms appeared on official maps. The aim of this article is to examine the evolving relationships between Indigenous place names and official place names of Indigenous origin across three historical periods (the 1920s, the 1950s, and the contemporary era) and in two politically distinct settings, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Amur region. The data sets for this research were extracted from official maps and Evenki archival sketch maps collected by Glafira Vasilevich in Siberia between the 1920s and the 1960s. Using Quantum GIS in conjunction with ethnographic fieldwork, statistical analysis, and qualitative linguistic assessment, this research further investigates the evolution of Indigenous names on maps, focusing on the most characteristic changes in their inscription over the past century. This article concludes by highlighting the power dynamics between different Indigenous place-naming traditions in Siberia, where various Indigenous communities have historically distinct opportunities to influence toponymic policies.