DOI 10.30792/2949-5768-2025-11-79-96
TIBETAN STUDIES COLLABORATION BETWEEN A EUROPEAN RESEARCHER AND FORMER TIBETAN MONKS FROM THE DIASPORA IN INDIA: THE CASE OF G. ROERICH
Turley Egor Vladimirovich – Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Scientific Secretary of the Scientific Council of the Interregional Public Organization «National Roerich Committee» (Moscow, Russia).
E-mail: yegr@mail.ru.
The article explores the forms and content of scholarly interaction between a European orientalist and Tibetan intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century, using the collaboration of George Roerich with representatives of Tibetan religious culture residing in India as a case study. The purpose of the study is to identify the specific features of cultural and academic exchange and to reconsider the role of Tibetan participants in the formation of academic Tibetology. The main objectives include the analysis of biographical, epistolary, and historiographical evidence, the reconstruction of the context of Roerich’s cooperation with Gendun Chopel and Lobzang Mingyur Dorje, as well as an examination of interpretations of their contributions to the research projects of the Urusvati Institute. The materials used comprise archival documents, memoirs of contemporaries, Orientalist publications, and modern critical interpretations. The methodological framework is based on comparative-historical and source analysis, complemented by postcolonial approaches that make it possible to assess the balance of power and knowledge in scholarly collaborations of the colonial era. The study demonstrates that Roerich’s interaction with Tibetan scholars went beyond the conventional “Western researcher – Eastern informant” model and represented a form of mutual intellectual exchange. The article discusses the debates surrounding authorship and the recognition of Tibetan colleagues’ contributions and identifies factors that influenced the perception and reassessment of their role in the research process. It concludes that such cases offer new insights into the nature of intercultural cooperation in the history of Oriental studies and contribute to the development of a more reflexive approach to the study of academic heritage.
