"A gift to Joseph Stalin from the 'toiling masses' of Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Republic on occasion of the republic’s twenty-fifth anniversary in 1948 was a traditional Buryat costume with a wide belt in the form of a chain of silver buckles. Each buckle depicts an achievement of Soviet modernity: industry, agriculture—and enlightenment, as on one buckle a lamp is hammered casting light over an open book and musical instruments. It is as if the very body of the Buryat nation is a traditionally dressed male fi gure
whose silhouette is emphasized by modernity. Melissa Chakars’ insightful, concise and clearly written book is a historical account of such Soviet framing of twentieth century Buryat society."
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