Leonid P. Potapov

Leonid Pavlovich Potapov (Russian: Леони́д Па́влович Пота́пов; 1905–2000) was a 20th-century ethnographer specialising in the study of peoples of southern Siberia.

Leonid Potapov was born in the Altai city of Barnaul. From his early years Potapov showed interest to ethnography of his native land, travelling to study the culture of Altaians with a known Altaist Andrey V. Anokhin. He visited Alatai in 1925 to gather ethnographic material on behalf of the Russian Geographical Society. He graduated from the geographical department of the Leningrad State University with a major in ethnography in 1928. Here he had studied with Lev Sternberg, Vladimir Bogoraz, Dmitrii Zelenin, Sergei Rudenko. Alexander Samoylovich, and Sergey Malov tutored him in Türkic languages.

Following his graduation Potapov was appointed a head of scientific department in an Uzbek research institute, leading ethnographic expeditions to various areas of Uzbekistan.

Doctor of Historical sciences, professor, "Tuva ASSR Honored Worker of Science", an outstanding researcher of history and culture of Altaians, Shors, Khakases, Tuvinians and other peoples of southern Siberia. He continued to collect material, publishing his first major text Essays on Shoria history in 1931 and continued with his post graduate work at the USSR Academy of Sciences. He accepted Marxism-Leninism and its application to ethnography. After completing his postgraduate study, Potapov headed the Siberia and ethnography department of the State Ethnographical Museum of the USSR peoples in the Kunstkamera and conducted research work at the USSR Academy of Science's History of Material Culture Institute.

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