Today marks 106 years from the birth of Leonid Potapov - Soviet ethnographer, doctor of history, professor, aureate of State(Stalin's) prize of USSR, Merited Scholar of RF, Merited scholar of Tuvinian ASSR. L. P. Potapov was a strong researcher of the history and culture of Altai, Shors, Khakass people, of Tuvans and some other people of South Siberia religious beliefs of non-Russian populations of South Siberia receive special attention in all his works.
He formulated the question about the relatively late origin of shamanism among people of South Siberia, evolving on the substrate of ancient local nature cults and folk understanding of humans.
In the sphere of spiritual culture, Potapov turned a special attention to pre-Islamic beliefs of people of Central Asia.
