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Cultural Borrowings of Russians from the Natives of Alaska in the 18th and 19th Centuries

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International Journal of Cultural Studies

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Abstract

This article is dedicated to an analysis of Russian cultural borrowings from the Natives of Alaska and Aleutian Islands during the second half of the 18th century until 1867, when these territories were sold to the USA. As this research shows, the Russians, in the process of their colonization of the New World, borrowed objects of a predominantly utilitarian character in the sphere of material culture. Most of these borrowings took place in the 18th century, when the Russians had weak connections with the metropolis and there was a scarcity of European goods. The spiritual culture of the Natives, with the exception of some linguistic borrowings, chiefly of a toponymic character, remained outside the cultural circle of the immigrants from Russia.