09:08, 23 February 2026

Russia Launches Digital Folklore Platform to Preserve Siberian Traditions

An online archive maps authentic village recordings of songs, tales and legends collected during ethnographic expeditions.

Russian folklorist Liliya Dyomina has launched an online platform featuring an archive of Siberian folk art. The interactive map hosts recordings of songs, fairy tales and legends performed by residents of rural communities.

The project, titled Folk-Prostranstvo “Perekrestok Traditsiy” (Folk Space “Crossroads of Traditions”), was implemented with support from a grant provided by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. At its core is a digital archive of field recordings that Dyomina and her colleagues collected over many years during ethnographic expeditions.

Interactive Map

The platform follows a familiar interface logic. Users open a map, select a locality and gain access to a specific recording of a song, tale or other element of folk culture. These are not staged performances or stylized adaptations, but original renditions captured during fieldwork.

The platform includes audio files, musical notation, lyrics and transcripts. Each entry lists performers, authors, the year and the circumstances of the recording. Currently, the map features materials from the Vikulovsky District, including recordings of longtime local residents such as Baba Tanya Grishchenko, Baba Anya Plotnikova and Baba Polya Vorobyeva.

Dyomina emphasizes the importance of systematically preserving such materials.

“We often travel in search of sources without realizing how much has already been found and recorded. These materials need to be preserved professionally and centrally. I believe this should be addressed at the regional government level as well,” she said.

From Expeditions to a Digital Archive

Dyomina’s interest in folklore began during her university years. During an expedition near the border of Belarus and Russia’s Pskov Region, she first heard traditional volochebnye songs.

“At that moment I realized that beyond the bayan and accordion, there was something deeper for my consciousness that I did not yet understand. There it was—the source emerging from the depths of centuries,” she recalled.

Since then, the researcher has traveled across southern Tyumen Region, documenting the traditions of longtime Russian settlers and migrants. In 1990, she founded the ensemble Rosstan, which marked its 35th anniversary in 2025.

The new digital platform extends that work. The archive is now accessible online and can serve as an educational and research resource. For many, it also offers the simple pleasure of listening to authentic folk songs.

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