1911, Novgorod, 15th
Theme: Ethnography
1887, Iaroslavl, 7th
1890, Moscow, 8th
Established in 1876 under the initial direction of A. I. Kirpichnikov, an active participant in numerous archeological congresses, other prominent members included D. I. Bagalei, the Efimenkos, and N. F. Sumtsov. The society played a crucial role in maintaining the unique historical identity of the region despite the rigors of de-Ukrainization. It established an archive in 1880 to accumulate records and manuscripts about the Cossack Hetmanate, or Zaporizhian Host that had governed from 1648 until it was absorbed into the Little Russian Collegium in 1781. Bagalei in particular was an activist in consolidating the various document collections in Kharkov as in establishing an ethnographic museum in conjunction with the 12th Congress held there. He and Sumtsov, himself of Cossack heritage and an archeologist , participated in the 1905 Revolution by pressing to end the proscription of Ukrainian publications. Their demands resulted in the Ministry of Education allowing university courses on the history and literature of Ukraine, taught in the native language.
Founded at Moscow University in 1863 originally as the Society of Natural Scientists, in the next year A. P. Bogdanov, Professor of Zoology and Anthropology at Moscow University and the empire’s foremost anthropologist, added the “anthropology” section. In 1868 it sponsored the famous expedition to Turkestan led by Alexei Fedchenko and his wife Rosa, a respected botanist; they made two more such trips. In 1871 it established a museum, sponsored by Grand Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich. Its most prominent member, D. N. Anuchin, served as president 1890-1923, and was also prominently connected to Praskovia Uvarova and the archeological congresses.
Discovered in 1900 by local school teacher-amateur archeologist V. A. Babenko, this turned out to be a fabulously rich site of Khazar culture. Khazaria, located on the Eurasian steppes circa 650-950 AD, was archeologically important to the Russian empire because, in an age when theory argued that the transition from nomads to settlements was a sign of advancing civilization, the Khazars appeared to have done just that. Babenko presented a history of Saltovo at the 12th Archeological Congress in Kharkov, but focused on its later history as an important city in Sloboda Ukraine, only to lose its status under Catherine the Great. Although Babenko had made the discovery, initially more seasoned archeologists, A. M. Pokrovskii and Praskovia Uvarova excavated the first graves, 45 in all.