Conclusion and Epilogue

Abstract

In Russia, the Great War ended with the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, which sparked an empire-wide civil war that continued until 1922. The chaos and devastation wreaked havoc on institutions as well as lives, and several of the leading archeologists could not physically survive. Therefore, an epilogue recounts the human fatalities, the loss of personalities who had exercised a major impact on the profession. In concert with this, other important figures emigrated, albeit with the ambition of returning, even though unclear about the nature of the political aftermath. However, the establishment of a Marxist-inspired new regime applied a materialist ideology to the Imperial Archeological Commission, with ripple effects throughout the profession. Some archeologists welcomed what they interpreted as an opening of doors to fresh ideas as well as personalities. In Ukraine, archeologists played significant roles in the short-lived independent republic, even helping to draw historical boundaries. By 1929, though, the “Great Break” of Stalinism turned archeology into “studies based in historical materialism and taking into account the current problems of our times.” Perhaps ironically, the overt politicization of Soviet archeology also made it possible to perceive how misguided were the claims to political neutrality made by those of the late imperial era. The major conclusion that can be drawn affirms the extent to which archeology had become a staple, both in academia and the popular imagination, across the 1917 divide.