Uuno Taavi Sirelius

Born May 5, 1872, in Jääski, now Lesogorskii, Leningrad Oblast, RSFSR; died Aug. 24, 1929, in Helsinki. One of the founders of Finno-Ugric ethnology in Finland.

Sirelius became a professor at the University of Helsinki in 1921. Originally influenced by A. Bastian’s evolutionary method, he later came to support the German ethnologist F. Ratzel, emphasizing the role of cultural borrowing and the effect of urban life. Sirelius’ works were based on materials which he collected in Russia between 1900 and 1910 from the Ostyaks, Komi, Udmurts, Tatars, Karelians, and other groups.