Ethnogenesis of the Chuvash in the works of N.I. Vorobyev: peculiarities of interpretation

The article examines the contribution of Professor N.I. Vorobyev to the scientific study of complex aspects of the ethnogenesis of the Chuvash people. The scientist is rightfully considered one of the prominent researchers of the problem of the origin of the Chuvash. Being one of the leaders and authors of the first volume of the collective monograph “The Chuvash. Ethnographic research. Part One” (1956), N.I. Vorobyev outlined in it his so-called "autochthonous theory" of the ethnogenesis of the Chuvash, as a people based on Finno-Ugric, but with the Turkic Bulgarian language. The article highlights the scientist's not always unambiguous views on the origin of the Chuvash, as set out by him in publications of 1930, 1950, 1953. It is noted that while many scientists at the beginning of scientific research adhered to the concept of the Finno-Ugric origin of the Chuvash, and subsequently took the position of N.I. Ashmarin, N.I. Vorobyev initially rather inclined to the Bulgarian theory, and only later became an autochthoniste. It is pointed out that one of the weak points in the scientist's interpretation of the issues of ethnogenesis was the ignoring of the factor of their Bulgarian-type language. For N.I. Vorobyev, the main basis for judgments about the origin of the Chuvash was the material and partly spiritual culture, which had a lot in common with the Mari. The article also points to the fact that the scientist did not pay attention to the factor of pagan religion in the ethnic history of the Chuvash. At the same time, it should be noted that in search of the origins of the Chuvash people, he quite widely attracted materials from famous archaeological sites of the Chuvash region. Special attention is paid in the article to the coverage of critical assessments of N.I. Vorobyev’s views by Chuvash historians V.F. Kakhovsky and V.D. Dimitriev.