The author investigates Shamanism of the Altai Region in a broad sense, i.e. Shamanism of contemporary Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia, more precisely, of the the Altai-Sayan Mountain system, genetically related to the ancient Turkic Central Asian Shamanism, on the basis of which it was formed and developed. Signs and traits of Altai Shamanism are found among Yakuts, Buryats, and other Siberian peoples.

P. criticizes the theory of M. Eliade, who argued that Shamanism is not a religion, but only an ‘archaic technique of ecstasy’, and a Shaman is a master of ecstasy. According to P., such conception of M. Eliade reduce Shamanism to the technique of ecstasy and lacks both research argumentation and simple realism. P. considers that theory an eclectic set of isolated facts, taken out of the context of the traditional, stable religious beliefs of this or that people or tribe, which is unable to withstand either the pressure of evidence or serious research analysis.

The book is written on the base of ethnographic materials collected directly from Altai-Sayan peoples and presented in various publications over the past two centuries, as well as on the base of archival materials and field research by the author himself for over 50 years. Some of these materials were obtained from Shamans, with whom the author happened to work.

P. believes that Shamanism is an early form of religion, which is based on an archaic worldview, personification and veneration of nature. It was widespread among the nomads of Central Asia as early as the beginning of the first millennium CE. The book examines the theology of Altai Shamanism and its rituals, paying special attention to the symbolism of the ritual vestments and Shamans’ drums.