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An examination of the theories of ruins and their applicability to Russian history and culture reveals that Russian ruins bear witness to the arbitrariness of worldly power, evoke an imperialistic mind-set articulating a sense of time, history, statehood and subjectivity. The ruins acquire a distinctive meaning in Russian culture, be it that they occur as a result of political will, that they reveal the vulnerability of Russia's identity between east and west or are a token of the magnitude of historical devastation.

This article discusses the economy of the Volosovo culture which existed from 2500-1800 BC in the forest zone of central Eurasia. The author, analyzing data from archaeological excavations, maintains the Volosovo culture had a very sophisticated economy based on farming and herding, and argues their technology demonstrates an interconnection between steppe, forest, and sea.

This article discusses archaeological research conducted in the steppe region of Kalmykia, Russia with a focus to uncover information regarding the activities of ancient herders. The author explores the Ymnaya culture, which developed during the 3rd millennium, through analysis of burial mounds and finds evidence of long-distance trade and social interaction from regions to the north and south.

Colchis is situated in the modern Soviet Republic of Georgia on the shores of the Black Sea, and this article describes archaeological evidence of Greek trading centers in starting in the mid-sixth century BC. Jason's mythical Argonauts may have journeyed here, and the area's abundant natural resources interested Mediterranean traders.

In 1996, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Masterov Kliuch site, located east of Lake Baikal, Siberia. Three archaeological components were uncovered, all occurring in colluvial deposits. The two lower components (I and II) are Palaeolithic in age and character. Component I is an early Upper Palaeolithic industry dated to 32,500-30,000 years ago (B.P.), and is in a primary context. Component II is undated but is also assignable to the early Upper Palaeolithic based on typology, although it appears to have been redeposited. Artifact assemblages from these two components are blade-based and include retouched blades and flakes, knives, denticulates, end scrapers, gravers, and burins. Component III represents a Bronze Age occupation dated to around 2900 B.P. The Palaeolithic industries at Masterov Kliuch are technologically/typologically similar to other initial Upper Palaeolithic industries in Siberia, and appear to represent some of the easternmost manifestations of an early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplex that spanned inner Asia from Uzbekistan to the Transbaikal between about 42,000 and 30,000 B.P. Our findings have further implications for Upper Palaeolithic research in northern Asia, especially regarding site formation processes and hunter-gatherer raw material procurement. First, like Masterov Kliuch, most early Upper Palaeolithic sites across northern Asia lie in colluvial settings and may not be in pristine, primary contexts, so that interpretations of stone features such as hearths or dwellings may be suspect. Second, study of the Masterov Kliuch lithic industries indicates that hunter-gatherers exclusively utilized local lithic resources in the manufacture of tools, and that raw material procurement strategies were embedded within other subsistence pursuits. This pattern of local, embedded raw material procurement is seen in virtually all other early Upper Palaeolithic sites in Siberia, while 'logistical,' long-distance procurement strategies, characteristic of the early Upper Palaeolithic of western Eurasia, did not appear in Siberia until much later in time, after about 25,000 B.P. KEYWORDS: Siberia, early Upper Palaeolithic, geoarchaeology, lithic technology, raw material procurement., RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES IN SIBERIA AND CENTRAL ASIA have led to the recognition of a widespread early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplex that extended from Uzbekistan in the west to southeast Siberia [...]

Recent archaeological excavations at more than 20 significant sites have shed new light on the history of the city of Moscow, Russia. Some sites provide indications of settlement before 1147, the traditional founding date given in chronicles. The Moscow Department for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments, headed by Alexander G. Veksler, is overseeing most of the archaeological activity in the city, including a rescue excavation of Manege Square. Over 50 treasure hoards have also been recovered, including a cache at the Old Gostiny Dvor with more than 95,000 coins from the 15th-17th centuries.

The site of Sungir (alternatively Sounghir) lies east of the town of Vladimir, about 200 km northeast of Moscow. It is a large mid Upper Palaeolithic (`Eastern Gravettian' sensu lato) [...]

The excation of a 4,000-year-old kurgan in southern Russia whichh revealed prehistoric human remains is described. These burials came with numerous offerings, including stone carvings, jewelry, and ceramic vessels.

This article describes Aztec scholar Zelia Nuttall's trip to Russia in 1896, acting as a representative of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, to establish artifact and publication exchanges and to offer financial assistance to Russian excavations in exchange for a share of that country's discoveries.

Twelve years ago, while excavating in northern Siberia, archeologists Yuri A. Mochanov and his wife, Svetlana Fedoseeva of the Russian Academy of Sciences, came upon a few unprepossessing rocks. That [...]

For most Europeans and Americans, the name Siberia conjures up prison camps, inhospitable landscapes, and unspeakable cold. Certainly archaeologists have considered Siberia to be one of the last places on [...]