The Bylina Tradition and its Existence on the Territory of the Saratov Near-Volga Region

The article is dedicated to an overview of publications of musical compositions of the epic genre – bylinas. The period of the activity of collection of specimens of the bylinas begins in the first third of the 19th century, continuing up through the second half of the 20th century, due to the extensive work of representatives of regional folklore studies – philologists and ethnographers. Analysis of published and unpublished material shows that the main hotbed of dissemination of the genre is concentrated in the north-eastern districts of the Saratov gubernia (region). This territory is a zone of repopulation. The basic process of migration took shape in the second half of the 16th century and finally ended towards the second half of the 19th century. Notwithstanding the heterogeneous migrating processes, during the course of several centuries on the territory of the Saratov region the researched areal was highlighted by a single stratum of population according to both temporal and ethnic factors. Still back in the beginning of the previous century the well-known Saratov researcher, director and organizer of numerous ethnographic expeditions on the territory of the boundary of the Lower and the Middle Volga Boris Sokolov remarked that the Saratov bylina tradition presents a link between the Upper and the Lower Volga, and there is no doubt that the bylinas arrived to the area along the Volga from the northern Russian settlements. Keywords: the Saratov bylinas, musical folklore, the Saratov Near-Volga Region, Boris Sokolov, publications of bylinas, ethnography.