Folk Art of the Russians of the Mezen'

The distinctive features of the traditional culture of the Russians of the Mezen' have in many respects been determined by the history of the settlement of this area by various groups of Slavs. According to historical evidence, the Mezen' was settled in two currents—from the north by the descendants of people from Novgorod and from the south by a mixed Komi-Russian population.¹ Contacts with the Komi-Zyrians, who had settled in the upper reaches of this river and its principal tributary, the Bashka, played a considerable role in the development of the intellectual and material culture of the Russians of the Mezen'. Trade routes linking the basins of the Mezen', Pinega, Northern Dvina, and Pechora rivers, and relations with the Russian population living in the basins of these rivers, were of special importance for this region.