Far Eastern Insularity in Light of Frontier Theory

The aim of the study is to determine the specificity of insularity as a conceptual category in light of the Far Eastern frontier theory. The object of the research is insularity as a complex conceptual category that defines the structural and substantive characteristics of the Far Eastern frontier. The subject of the study comprises the conceptual content of insularity, which reflects the features of Far Eastern frontier characteristics. Based on historiographical sources from Russian and foreign authors (A. I. Krushanov, M. S. Vysokov, G. F. Miller, J. F. Lapérouse, T. Morris-Suzuki), the characteristics of insularity were analyzed in both diachronic and synchronic representations. A historical-genetic analysis was conducted regarding the development of island territories in the Far East, particularly Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands, identifying historical prerequisites for the geographical and cultural heterogeneity of the islands, which manifest, in particular, in the varied representations of these islands in the linguistic worldviews of different ethnic groups. The conceptual analysis of T. Morris-Suzuki's work «On the Frontiers of History» enabled to highlight the features of Far Eastern frontierness and to determine the essential characteristics of Far Eastern insularity, including multiculturalism and multilingualism, the mobility of borders, the presence of multiple nominations, a distinct sense of identity, the existence of a civilizational divide, and more. The novelty of the research consists in the fact that the analysis conducted allowed for a description of insularity in the multifaceted aspects of its geographical, cultural, and political content. Far Eastern insularity represents a special type of identity composed of individual insular communities that are territorially united. An important conclusion is the ambivalence of insularity within the structure of the Far Eastern frontier, which defines the multipolarity of the axiological content of the category, encompassing both positive and negative traits. The study concluded that insularity is an immanent characteristic of the Far Eastern frontier, forming its conceptual foundation.