Folklore at Home and on Stage
The village of Polyanskoye is nestled amongst foothills and fields at the edge of the Bukhtarma Reservoir. The waves of the reservoir now rise and fall over the farming commune founded by Petrograd plant workers in the fall of 1917, who left their home and traveled south and east to the East Kazakhstan Region on the eve of the Russian Civil War. When construction of the Bukhtarma Reservoir began in 1960, the original village of the Petrograd workers was engulfed in water, and their residents were forced to move to the site of today’s Polyanskoye.
Polyanksoye is also home to the descendants of two other groups of settlers in the region, whose villages were also submerged under the reservoir; Old Believers, who have found refuge from religious persecution in East Kazakhstan since the 18th century, and Ukrainians, who resettled in the region as part of the Stolypin agrarian reforms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, the residents of Polyanskoye continue to actively engage in the cultural revival of the region.
The expedition team will document the songs of folk ensembles in Polyanskoye and in the nearby city of Altai. They will also document family histories, local architecture, holiday customs, life-cycle rituals, and traditional beliefs. Along the way, our team will participate in the arts and cultural festival Zolotoy Turgusun, which brings together regional poets, writers, singers, folklore collectives, artists, and photographers every year.
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Dates:
July 5, 2025 to July 17, 2026Start/End Location:
Ust Kamenogorsk / Oskemen, KazakhstanExpedition Languages:
English, Russian, Kazakh -
Expected Fee Range:
(Price varies depending on the number of volunteers.)
$3545 - $2658Team Size:
3-8 -
Apply By:
May 2, 2026Submit your application. We’ll review and respond with your acceptance status.
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Expedition Leaders
Alevtina Tsvetkova, professor of folklore, Pavlodar State University
Dr.Yelena Minyonok, folklore researcher and author of over 100 academic papers.
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Email:
info@preeef.orgMailing Address:
Partnership for Russian, East European & Eurasian Folklore11544 23rd Ave. NE
Seattle WA 98125
