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The article aims at shedding light on the history of the Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Committee: stages of its growth, contributions of its staff members in the organization of research and its implementation. Materials and methods. Both published and unpublished documents kept in the Center for Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia were used as the main sources for the reconstruction of the past events while the data analysis was based on the main scientific principles of historicism, systematicity, and objectivity; the paper’s comprehensive approach was implemented via the method of system analysis, problem-chronological and historical-comparative methods, and local history. Results. The Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Committee (Buruchkom), established in July 1922, was designed to promote the national-cultural construction in Buryat-Mongolia while focusing on research and educational tasks. It had to begin its operation under far from favorable conditions, such as poor funding, illiteracy of the population, a shortage of personnel, and practically non-existent printing and publishing, especially in the Buryat-Mongolian language. Nevertheless, Buruchkom organized the studies of Buryat history, archaeology, spiritual and material culture, language and religion, and started field work as well. A significant portion of its activities was initially directed towards translation of educational and socio-political literature into the Buryat language, related terminological and lexical studies, preparation and publication of teaching materials, such as textbooks and teaching manuals for Buryat-Mongolian schools. The academic environment was enhanced with establishing a library and museum, which were of much relevance for future scientific work. Buruchkom’s final success was due to its fruitful cooperation with the central scientific institutions of the country and the Mongolian Scientific Committee. Conclusion. Despite that its team of researchers was not numerous, Buruchkom managed to organize, as well as conduct research projects in the fields of history, archaeology, ethnography, and linguistics. Having accomplished an important objective of laying the foundations of science in the region, it has now become a leading academic center of the Republic, known for its research in the arts and humanities.

The article aims to analyze the principal directions in the activities of Buryat-Mongolian State Institute of Culture (1929–1936) / Buryat-Mongolian State Institute of Language, Literature and History (1936–1944), the successor of the first scientific organization in Burya­tia — the Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Committee (1922–1929). It focuses on the achievements and problems in the organization and implementation of scientific research in the humanities in the 1930s. Materials. The sources used are unpublished documents of the Center for Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the IMBT SB RAS, such as annual plans and reports on research work, minutes of meetings of the Directorate, expedition reports, presentations, abstracts and minutes of conferences, correspondence with various organizations and offices, and other materials that were instrumental in reconstructing the history of reorganizations of the scientific institute under study, in following the changes in its scientific program, and in showing its effectiveness and efficiency. Results. In the 1930–1940s, the studies in the field of history, language, literature, and arts of the Buryat-Mongolian people were the principal directions of research in the Institute. Archaeological expeditions were useful in drawing a general picture of the ancient history of Buryatia and the first cultural-historical schemes. Historians’ work resulted in publishing a significant number of documents devoted to the history of the Buryat-Mongolian people, the publications included materials on issues of the pre-revolutionary Buryat-Mongolia, the revolutionary movement and the Civil war period, culture, and education, including monographs on the history of Buryatia recognized today as classical scientific works. Within the framework of the established ideological attitudes, there was a discussion on controversial issues of the history of Buryat-Mongolia, which accepted the one-line nature of the historical process in Buryat studies. Thanks to the successes of Buryat linguistics, a reform of the Buryat-Mongolian writing was carried out, first based on the Latin, and then on the Cyrillic alphabet. The linguists of the Institute made a decisive contribution to the elaboration of the literary Buryat language, enriching its lexical resources and standardizing spelling and grammar. Collection, systematization and study of oral folk art and musical folklore, adding to the Manuscript Department of the Institute manuscripts and woodcuts in Tibetan, Mongolian, Buryat-Mongolian languages, as well as uligers, chronicles, and other historical and literary monuments, and translation work — these and other areas of scientific research shaped the development of the humanities in Buryatia in the 1930–1940s. Throughout the period of persecutions and repressions, despite personnel shortage and everyday hardships, the Institute’s team continued their work, conducting large-scale studies of the socio-political and economic history, the culture and art of Buryat-Mongolia.