What does it mean “to lie” in an “honest village”?

• Published in: Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines
• Main Author: Tutorskiy, Andrey V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Centre d'Etudes Mongoles & Sibériennes / École Pratique des Hautes Études 2017
• Subjects: Russie; mentir; identité culturelle; post-socialisme; pêche; Russia; lying; cultural identity; post-socialism; fishing; anthro-se; hisphilso; Rupert; Venus; Russian North
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4000/emscat.2937; http://journals.openedition.org/emscat/2937

This study is an exploration of the role that lying plays in the everyday life and identity construction of the dwellers of the Russian North. I conducted fieldwork in the village of Prokopievo, Ustiany district in Arhangel’skaia Oblast’ in summer 2014. Intimacy constitutes the crucial concept around which the article is built. The deepest contradiction of intimacy is that the intimate relationships are seen as “lasting over years” and “having therapeutic function” but, at the same time, they make possible “the unavoidable troubles and disruptions”. Lying in the Russian North is seen as a negative practice, not common for the local people who favour a “culture of honesty”. By contrast, the stranger, coming from the city, and village migrants are predominantly perceived as liars. As a consequence, “not saying the truth” to those kinds of liars (otnekivanie) is acceptable. As Viveiros de Castro and Rupert Stasch have both shown, this sort of small breaches in the communicative order can be used as a means to maintain and consolidate long-lasting close relations in small communities. In the article, I also stress the fact that there are special topics where lying is not just possible but even condoned. Cet article constitue une exploration du rôle joué par le mensonge dans la vie quotidienne et dans la construction identitaire en Russie européenne septentrionale. J’ai réalisé mon travail de terrain dans le village de Prokopiévo, dans le district d’Ustiany dans l’Oblast d’Arkhangelsk durant l’été 2014. L’intimité est le concept crucial sur lequel s’appuie cet article. La contradiction contenue dans ce concept est celle-ci : les relations d’intimité sont souvent perçues comme éternelles ou comme ayant des effets thérapeutiques. Mais, dans le même temps, elles suscitent des problèmes et des perturbations. Le mensonge est une pratique conspuée dans la Russie septentrionale. Les locaux favorisent une « culture de l’honnêteté ». A contrario, les étrangers, venus de la ville ou les migrants ruraux sont généralement ...