Shearer D.R. [Review:] Dmitriev S.V. Fond etnograficheskogo otdela Russkogo muzeia po kul’ture narodov zarubezhnogo Vostoka: Istoriia formirovaniia i sud'ba (1901–1930-e gg.). St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University, 2012 // Written Monuments of the Orient. 2(2), 2015. P. 108–110.
At first glance, the subject of this volume seems a little arcane, the history of a particular collection within a single museum, the more so, since the tome runs to 829 pages. Moreover, the subject of the book also appears puzzling. Why would a museum dedicated to the cultures of the Russian Empire, the Russian Muzeum incorporate a collection of materials and artifacts about Asian peoples specifically outside the borders of the Empire? Explaining how this came about is one of the purposes of the work, but does that warrant such a lengthy exposition?..