"The III International Scientific Conference 'Ryabinin Readings-99' devoted to the study of the traditional culture of Russian North was held 20-24 September 1999 in Petrozavodsk. The conference was organized by the Kizhi State Open-air Museum of History, Architecture and Ethnography, The topic of the discussion was 'Creator and the folk art tradition of Russian North'. Representatives of 32 scientific organizations from Russia and other countries made reports in the fields of folklore, history, cultural history, linguistics, ethnomusicology, architecture, art criticism of museum business by most of the reports are published in this collection. The articles are united into three parts according to the themes of discussion: 'Folklore traditions of Russian North', 'Folk art and crafts Russian North', 'Christian culture of Russian North'".