Glubokovskii district, East Kazakhstan | June 21 - July 2, 2024

Centuries ago, this was a Cossack military outpost, part of Imperial Russia’s project to expand its influence in east Asia.

Pavlodar province, Republic of Kazakhstan | August 18 - 30, 2023

The village of Uspenka, on the Kulundinskaja steppe, was settled by Ukrainian migrants who came here in search of land and a better life during the Russian Empire’s Stolypin land reforms (1906-1914). Our team will document family history, songs, stories of the supernatural, beliefs, rituals, and material culture, with an aim to understanding the mechanism by which Ukrainian language and traditions adapted to the new location and to close contact with Russian- and Kazakh-speaking populations.

Ust-Kamenogorsk province, Kazakhstan | July 5 - 17, 2023

Since the days of Imperial Russia, remote river valleys of the Altai mountains have sheltered runaway serfs, escaped prisoners and Old Believer religious dissidents. On the banks of the Cheremshanka River you can find villages founded by Old Believers in the eighteenth century. Some of their descendents still live here, with memories of the rituals, songs, beliefs and customs of their grandparents’ day.

Katon-Karagai district | August 10 - 23, 2022

In the days of Imperial Russia, in these borderlands, villages along the Bukhtarma river sheltered runaway serfs, escaped prisoners, Old Believer religious dissidents and other refugees from the Russian government. Despite the persecutions of Imperial and Soviet times, many unique cultural and religious traditions have been documented here by past expeditions — funeral customs, wedding rituals, tales of bears and mythological beings, and oral histories of well-remembered ancestors.

Smolensk Province, Russia | February 19 - March 3, 2020

The season of Maslenitsa (aka Butter Week, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrovetide) is a great time to be in Russia. Everywhere people celebrate the end of winter and the promise of spring with music, merriment and a festive procession led by an effigy of Lady Maslenitsa (who is later burned up on a grand bonfire). It is also a good time to meet with the excellent traditional singers in the Yelnya district of Smolensk province. These singers learned their repertoire directly from previous generations, preserving the songs’ archaic language, vocal production and musical style. This expedition will concentrate on recording songs and old tales of local spirits and other mythological beings, as well as documenting the Maslenitsa festivities.

Altai Republic, Russia | July 1 - 14, 2019

The remote village of Shebalino is populated by both indigenous Altains and descendants of Russian settlers who arrived in the 1800s. These very different cultures have lived side by side for 150 years. How has this affected local folklore?  Team members will interview residents about holidays and  ritual occasions like weddings and funerals, and collect local stories about the supernatural, all with an eye towards understanding the expression of Altain and Russian folklore in local traditions.

Chelyabinsk province, Russia | July 15 - 27, 2019

Soon after  archaeologists uncovered the the Bronze Age city of Arkaim in 1987, an array of prophets, mystics and pilgrims heralded the site as the Aryan homeland, a model of the universe, an astronomical instrument,  Odin’s Asgard and Zarathrusta’s birthplace.   To the local people, Arkaim is just one of many “places of power”  around here, including other buried cities, stone-age megaliths, and the lake where a meteor landed in 2013.  Local legends, stories and beliefs about these places abound, some of them new and some passed down for generations.

Altai Republic, Russia | July 15 - 27, 2019

The city  of Gorno Altaisk is your jumping off point for Uimon Valley in the Altai mountains.  Here your team will visit the descendants of popovtsy and bezpopovtsy Orthodox Christian Old Believers who fled Russia to escape persecution under the Tsars.  Despite repression during the Soviet era, these religious refugees today preserve both religious traditions (an active church, spiritual poetry and songs) and  cultural traditions such as folk beliefs about holy springs, special trees,  and house and forest spirits, along with traditional maternity, funeral and wedding ceremonies. Expect to record lots of songs,  collect lots of stories, and drink in the spectacular Altai scenery.

Irkutsk province, Siberia | August 20 - September 2, 2019

Meet your team in lovely Irkutsk,  then travel by bus to the village of Blagodatnaya, founded over 100 years ago by Belarusian settlers seeking land and a new life.  Interview the residents about local customs and beliefs, record their songs, hear the family stories about leaving Belarus for the untamed  East.  While you’re at it, ask for the secrets of distilling vodka from birch sap. Your team will enjoy a stay at scenic Lake Baikal before riding the fabled Trans-Siberian railroad to Moscow.