Alexander Bernshtam and Crimean Studies

This article for the first time generalizes the known historiographical facts and introduces previously unpublished archival documents discovered by the author, pertaining to the contribution of the prominent Soviet archaeologist, ethnographer, and orientalist, Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Natanovich Bernshtam (1910–1956) to the development of historical Crimean studies. It examines his role in the activities of the Sevastopol Museum of Local Lore (later the Sevastopol Museum Association) and the Yevpatoria Museum of Local Lore. The article also highlights the participation of the young scholar in the Eski-Kermen archaeological expedition, where, as an ethnographer, he collected material on the ethnography of the Crimean peoples, in particular on the dwelling of the Crimean Tatars.