Three days at the nomadic reindeer herders of the far north. Nomadic reindeer herders in the tundra of Siberia The story of the lost reindeer

Northern reindeer breeding is the breeding of domesticated reindeer, the most important branch of agriculture in the Far North. Distributed in the northern latitudes of Asia and Europe (from the Chukchi Peninsula in the East to Scandinavia; the indigenous population of North America (Eskimos and Indians) was not known, although wild reindeer was found there in abundance. There is no exact information about the time and place of the appearance of the reindeer: The oldest evidence is considered to be wooden figurines of bridled deer found in the burial ground of the Tashtyk culture (1st century BC - 5th century AD) in Khakassia.The distribution of reindeer in Siberia is apparently associated with the settlement of the peoples of the Samoyed and Tungus language groups, from which it was probably borrowed by other peoples.

Reindeer breeding is the basis of the economy and way of life, the original occupation of the indigenous people of the North, Siberia, and the Far East. The cultural traditions, way of life and economy of reindeer farms are also connected with reindeer herding. Working as a professional reindeer herder requires good health and physical endurance. The average level of salaries of qualified specialists in Russia in Russia reaches a modest 25.5 thousand rubles.

The profession of a reindeer herder is successfully mastered by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation. Reindeer breeding is the most important branch of the traditional economy of the peoples of the North, which is also the main life-supporting branch of employment for more than 52 thousand families of indigenous peoples. Reindeer herding is a peculiar form of human adaptation to extreme conditions of life, and it is so perfect, diverse and comprehensive that scientists speak of "reindeer civilization".

Yakutia belongs to the North-Eastern zone of Russia. The economic use of the deer is different. Among the peoples of the tundra zone of Siberia, the basis of the economy is meat-skin reindeer husbandry, in the more southern taiga regions, where the industry is combined with hunting and fishing, it is, as a rule, transport.

In the tundra, large herds of 1500-1800 or more are grazed by the nomadic method. In spring and summer, reindeer are grazed in the open forest-tundra. To serve herds that roam hundreds of kilometers, shepherd brigades are organized at the rate of 250-350 deer for each member of the brigade. In large reindeer farms, on the way of nomadic herds, settled points are arranged - the so-called. intermediate bases where family members of reindeer herders live seasonally or permanently. Through the bases, reindeer herding brigades are supplied with production equipment, food and manufactured goods. The most promising in the tundra zone is a mechanized brigade equipped with a complex of light mobile houses. Portable power stations and radio stations to provide two-way radio communication between teams and with economic centers. On an increasing scale, off-road vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, self-propelled barges, river boats, motor boats are used in the tundra for the delivery of goods, specialists, correspondence, movies, etc. Helicopters and airplanes are also successfully used for reconnaissance of the state of reindeer pastures and protecting them from fires, searching for animals that have strayed from the herd, exterminating wolves, etc. In the taiga zone, reindeer herds usually reach 600-1200 heads. For deer counting, branding, gadfly treatment vaccinations, portable or stationary pens are built.

For many indigenous peoples of Russia, this animal is:

• food source;
• transport;
• clothes;
• housing.

A.A. Yuzhakov notes that reindeer herding peoples perceive nomadism with reindeer as a naturally established way of life, corresponding to their mentality and traditions passed down through generations. Modern nomads consciously choose nomadism, having as an alternative a settled way of life in a village or city, often having received a general or special education and work experience in other sectors of the national economy.

Reindeer breeding is not only a condition for demographic stability, but also the most important factor in the ethnoecology of the northern peoples. In the cities and towns of the North, where the migrant population is predominant, de-ethnitization of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North is taking place, which is expressed in the loss of national traditions and language, often already within one generation. The language, clothing, footwear, traditions of the indigenous northerners were born among nomadic reindeer herders, hunters and fishermen, and they are not used in a modern sedentary, especially urbanized environment. In addition, it is only in reindeer herding that indigenous people have not yet experienced professional competition for jobs from the non-indigenous population, in contrast to fishing and hunting.

Consider the income of reindeer herders in different regions of the world:

Norway. The indigenous Sami people are professional reindeer herders. Specialists produce meat, skins, and bones and horns are an important source of raw materials for clothing and handicrafts. An experienced reindeer herder receives a monthly income of 4,400 euros. At the same time, a premium of 15 euros is provided for each skin of the highest class;

Sweden. The reindeer breeding industry is fully automated, which greatly simplifies the work of specialists. However, the finishing of skins and the slaughter of animals require a high level of craftsmanship. The artist's salary reaches 32,000 kroons (3867 USD) per month. Experts who understand the preparation of special biofeeds are also valued. The proceeds in this case will be 38,000 crowns (4650 USD). Finland. Working on large farms in this state promises good income. A professional reindeer herder can easily lasso an animal or make a quality skin. An employer pays an expert 3,000 euros per month on average. Often the duties of a reindeer herder include selling meat on specialized vans with refrigerators. The sale of trophies can replenish the pocket of a specialist by 400-500 euros per unit;

Mongolia. There are 250 reindeer herders successfully operating in the country, who belong to the Tsaatan people. For 1 animal carcass, European restaurant chains lay out up to 780 euros. The salary of a qualified specialist reaches 464 US dollars. Working on a family farm, you can make a decent capital.

Features of reindeer breeding in Russia

The reasons for the sharp decline in the number of deer are the low organization of production, poor breeding work, the low level of veterinary care and the safety of deer, insufficient funding for the protection of deer pastures, the shooting of wolves and wild reindeer, the population of which has become uncontrollable and can cause irreparable damage. In Chukotka, there is an acute problem of providing reindeer herders with fuel, food, essential goods, including weapons.

Reindeer herders are not paid their salaries on time, with a delay of 5-6 months, and sometimes even several years. It became inappropriate to engage in the sale of pans (the price of which reached 300 dollars per 1 kilogram in the early 1990s) as a result of the disorganization of the sales market. A significant part of reindeer meat and fish (up to 60%) is not sold due to the high cost of transport (the cost of one helicopter hour in 1995 reached 12 million rubles).

The intensive industrial development of the North of Russia had a negative effect on the state of reindeer husbandry, leading to the deterioration of a significant amount of reindeer pastures and hunting grounds. By 2001, as a result of the unsystematic use of pastures, large areas were overgrazed and needed rest, and significant areas were out of circulation due to the high rates of development of the oil and gas and coal industries.

In Chukotka, thus, 3% of pasture areas were developed (for comparison, in the European North - 15-17% of pasture areas). Industrial development leads to the loss of places of historical residence and management of the indigenous peoples of the North, and often to their extinction. State support for the social and economic development of the indigenous peoples of the North, concentrated in the Federal Target Program the emphasis on the formation of a base for the production and processing of reindeer products and other traditional industries was carried out in some years by 7-10%. Not only development, but also self-preservation of the aboriginal population as a set of ethno-cultural communities depends on the state of reindeer herding. This is confirmed by many studies, including those conducted by northern scientists in recent decades (A.I. Kostyaev in 1987, I.I. Krupnik in 1989, K.B. Klokov in 1995), who established that "the number and reproduction of the aboriginal peoples of the North is directly correlated with the number of nomadic reindeer farms and the number of reindeer. Peoples who maintain stable indicators of reindeer breeding have a positive dynamics of natural growth."

An important reserve for increasing the employment of the indigenous population is the development of national peasant farms, which has accelerated in the past five years. Thus, in the Kamchatka region, the number of such farms has tripled compared to 1992. At present, according to a sample survey of the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the average number of people employed in one household ranges from 3 to 6 people. The load on such farms per person is 3-5 times greater than on collective farms and state farms. It should be noted that, despite the numerical growth of peasant farms, they still cannot exert a noticeable influence on the stabilization of the market. Many problems of farms should be considered at the state level. These include the legal insecurity of farmers, the lack of financial support from the state and tax incentives, the professional unpreparedness of farmers, and others.

Gavrilieva V.N., 1st year student of the NEFU, Institute of Languages ​​and Culture of the Peoples of the NE RF, group M-VK-17 of the direction "Culturology".

In Russia, a huge number of people still live in almost unchanged primitive conditions. They live in the north in the tundra, herding deer like thousands of years ago...
It is almost always cold and snowing here. There is no civilization. Even the compass, and that one, is going crazy. These pictures may look like decorations, but they are real. Look!

1 This photo shows a family of reindeer herders. It could have been made a hundred years ago, outwardly, almost nothing has changed in their lives. Reindeer herders still roam the tundra, moving from place to place. And once a year they get together, come to the village, the only center of civilization for many kilometers.

2 To look at the life of reindeer herders, it is not enough to fly to the New Port, you need a guide through the tundra and transport. In winter, there are two options, and guests most often get on an all-terrain vehicle.

3 The locals have a fast snowmobile horse, Yamaha or Buran. A wooden box on skis is attached to the car: several people or luggage are placed in it.

4 Along the way, among the white desert, Nenets cemeteries are barely distinguishable: the same boxes, but without skis. The dead are not buried here, but left on the ground. In the photo - a storage room for reindeer herders. At the end of summer, all light things are left in a conditional place on the sledges, and when the snow melts, they return for them.

5 One of the tundra families lives twenty kilometers from the village. The road to them takes an hour.

6 It is difficult to explain why this place was chosen for parking. Just desert, just snow. The huskies are tied to the sleds, which began to bark heart-rendingly as soon as they sensed the strangers. The most reliable alarm. Small dogs are not capable of pulling a team, but they do an excellent job of shepherds: that's what they are called, reindeer-herding huskies.

7 A woman came out of the chum in a traditional dress - malitsa, sewn from a deer skin. The chum itself is also assembled “from deer”. “They haven’t changed anything for a thousand years,” I thought, and decided to go around the hut around.

8 A satellite dish by a house made of sticks and buckskin... no, we're still in the twenty-first century.

9 The mistress of the plague in a flowery dressing gown greeted us without looking up from the screen, where they showed “Commissioner Rex”. Two smartphones were charging near the TV. An automatic air freshener hung on the wall.

10 I would like to talk about the peculiarities of plague building, especially since there are interesting details there. For example, how often deer skins need to be changed, how quickly they can assemble or dismantle their hut, but unfortunately, at that very moment my camera stopped working, and I tried in every possible way to bring it back to life. Unfortunately, it did not help, and most of the photos of this report were taken not by me, but by the Yamal photographer Danil Kolosov. Thanks a lot, he helped me out!

12 Reindeer herding is practiced in a dozen or so northern regions of Russia, but it is in the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug that the largest number of reindeer live, in 2010 there were 660,000 reindeer, three times more than in the next largest region, Yakutia.

13 And the deer in these places is not just a livestock, but a breadwinner. And, in the literal sense: venison is the basis of the diet of the inhabitants of the northern villages and the tundra dwellers themselves, houses and clothes are made from reindeer skins.

15 But the deer is not only valuable fur. Each family certainly has its own pet, a domestic deer, which even spends the night in the plague.

16 Reindeer herders are reminiscent of American cowboys in their occupation, but instead of plaid loose-fitting shirts and wide-brimmed hats, they wear warm, windproof coats that retain heat even in extreme frosts. And minus forty here - so cool.

17 You may get the impression that they are some kind of savages, it is not clear why they live in the middle of the tundra, but many reindeer herders can read and write, among young people almost all have completed secondary education, and such a life is their own choice.

18 Once a year, in the spring, Reindeer Breeder Day is held in Yamal. The holiday roams, like its “culprits” themselves: due to the vast territories and different climates, it takes place in different cities and towns during the month.

19 And if you want to see all the beauty and romance of life in the tundra, you should fly on these dates. Vivid impressions are guaranteed!
20 I happened to be at a holiday in the village of Novy Port, about which I spoke separately. Reindeer herders from all over the endless tundra come to the regional center. They go, literally, half a day on reindeer. Sometimes even longer.

21 The own event in Novy Port was held only for the second time in the last 30 years: for a long time we had to travel even further, to the village of Yar-Sale. It was possible to revive the tradition thanks to Gazprom Neft, whose field is located in the vicinity of the village. The Native Towns social investment program operates in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and is aimed at supporting the indigenous population, on whose traditional territories mining comes.

In addition to organizing events in support of the traditional culture of the peoples of the north and investing in the education of the tundra people, oil workers conclude social and economic agreements with each family: they are entitled to cash payments or the purchase of equipment. Money can be spent on the purchase of equipment, construction or repair. And if a child falls ill in the family of a reindeer breeder or an accident occurs, a helicopter flies out to them: otherwise it is simply impossible to get to their hard-to-reach places of residence. So, the Nenets feel no worse than the American Indians, and even better.

For residents of the Far North, the day of the Reindeer Breeder is even more important than the Olympics. The Nenets, the indigenous small and gambling people of the north, are waiting for these games all year round.

23 Competitions are held in national disciplines. One of the most favorite among the Nenets is throwing a tynzyan on a trochee (throwing a “lasso”, depicts the capture of a deer chosen from a herd).

24 Among the deer, the most beautifully dressed are chosen. Women also take part, in many disciplines on an equal footing with men. Except for the fight, perhaps.

25 Traditional Nenets martial arts is similar to Japanese sumo and attracts a lot of spectators.

26 The fight is not only in the ring, but also next to it. Children have their own environment.

27 An important detail of the reindeer breeder's wardrobe is kiSY, Nenets felt boots. Made from deer skins. Uninhabited, windproof, waterproof. They only weigh a lot, so jumping into them is another competition!

28 Stick pulling is somewhat reminiscent of “our” armwrestling. And in general, almost all Nenets competitions have something in common with what is familiar to Western culture. Such different peoples, but the roots are the same.

29 Prams, popular in the far north, look strange. Angular and clumsily made “armored cars on sleds”. Local residents do not pay attention to them, they themselves were taken in such in childhood. I couldn't take my eyes off.

30 This is how the carriage is arranged from the inside.

31 Tired. The tundra dwellers are not accustomed to spending so much time with other tundra dwellers, and by the evening many of them lose strength.

32 On the stage, meanwhile, the winners of various competitions were awarded. Good prizes, dishes and household appliances. But the Nenets will not be captivated by this.

33 The main prizes were much more serious: the winners of the “reindeer Olympics” were waiting for a brand new Yamaha snowmobile, the domestic “Buran” and diesel generators were also in the prize fund.

34 After lunch, everyone moved to the shore of the Gulf of Ob. The track has already been cleared on the ice for the main and most spectacular competition, reindeer racing.

36 The essence of the competition is reminiscent of drag racing: two reindeer teams with “pilots” start at the same time, rush as quickly as possible to the checkpoint and return back. Whoever crosses the line first wins.

37 Running deer are raised from childhood, then it takes a long time to select team partners for them. This is a whole science, and not bad business. To avoid cheating, deer participating in the race are marked with a marker.

38 But even this does not help: the desire to come first is so great that reindeer herders sometimes resort to real tricks. For example, one guy borrowed reindeer from a nearby area: he took a couple of the winners' teams that competed a couple of weeks ago and brought them to New Port. But the tundra people know not only each other, but also the neighboring deer. Spectators and other participants easily identified the catch, and the participant was removed from the competition.

Russia, Nenets Tundra. The girl Mariana is 9 years old. Her city-dwellers are already versed in cosmetic trends, flipping through glamorous Instagram feeds, and Mariana skillfully drives a reindeer team through the vast expanses of the Nenets tundra. Very soon, a week later, she will board a school helicopter and go to boarding school until spring, but for now she is in a plague in which life does not stand still, in which a place on the map is only tied to a changeable gps position that only helicopter pilot, with whom we went to visit Mariana.

The life of reindeer herders who lead a traditional nomadic life in the Tundra is one of the most interesting parallel realities that I came into contact with during my travels. Today I want to tell and show how life works in the plague in the summer, but I will definitely return for the winter continuation of this amazing story. A story that contrasts very strongly with the realities of everyday life in megacities that are familiar to us.

Photos and text by Alexander Cheban

Where is the fresh air... which you can taste.
Where is the endless space ... which you really feel, but you cannot embrace with your imagination.
Where the centuries-old traditions of the ancestors are preserved ... which cannot be replaced by modern technology.

Welcome to Tundra!

2. See the little color spot in the center of the frame? A few pixels in a photo, a small, barely noticeable dot on the map, and a place that is very well described by the untranslatable phrase “in the middle of nowhere”. This is the tent of reindeer herders of the Harp reindeer herding brigade.

3. Helicopter pilots know only approximate coordinates, the search is carried out visually on the ground, sometimes it takes half an hour or even more.

4. The soil in the tundra is special, unlike anything else, soft and tender to the touch. The Mi-8 helicopter of the Joint Naryan-Mar Air Squad cannot land here, so it hangs after touching the surface. We unload our things very quickly.

5. And after 5 minutes, it rises sharply into the air, blowing even a backpack or bag tens of meters away.

7. This is Timofei, the foreman of the Kharp reindeer herding brigade, under his command there are four shepherds and a tent worker and ... 2,500 deer. Timofey himself is Komi, and the shepherds in his brigade are Nenets. And his wife is also Nenets.

8. In summer and winter, they move on sledges along the tundra. In summer, they also glide perfectly on the surface of shrubs.

What is reindeer nomadism?

The reindeer farm "Kharp" has 7 brigades, all of them belong to the collective farm, which is located in the village of Krasnoe. Each brigade has its own grazing route, changing its place of deployment every 3-4 weeks, passing tens of kilometers across the tundra. Timothy's brigade covers a distance of 200-300 km per year, for some brigades this route can be up to 600 km. At the same time, the herd itself grazes within a radius of 10 km from the miracle.

In the village of Krasnoye, members of the brigade have houses, but they live in them very rarely, on vacation and after retirement. Even pensioners go to the tundra whenever possible.

Why is it impossible to engage in reindeer breeding permanently on a collective farm?

In Soviet times, attempts were made to equip a stationary economy. But reindeer breeding cannot be stationary, deer eat moss reindeer, which is renewed after years. On the other hand, the number of deer cannot be increased uncontrollably for the same reason - there is simply not enough food in the vast expanses of the Tundra.

How is venison made from deer?

Every spring, deer give birth, Timofey's brigade has 1,200 calves, half of which will have to be handed over to the slaughter plant on the collective farm by winter.
In December-January, deer are slaughtered. Most slaughterhouses (which are located in villages) do not have refrigeration facilities, so freezing occurs naturally. The number of reindeer in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is 180,000; 30,000-35,000 reindeer are slaughtered annually. 70-80% of the slaughter contingent are deer under 1 year old. For comparison: in the 70s of the last century, 60-70 thousand deer were slaughtered in the NAO annually.

Frozen reindeer carcasses are taken from settlements in the tundra with the help of a Mi-26 helicopter, this is the largest serial transport helicopter in the world! One hour of Mi-26 operation costs 670,000 rubles per hour, and the carrying capacity is 18 tons. With a purchase price of 125 rubles per 1 kg of venison, the cost of its helicopter transportation is another 90 rubles/kg!!! And there are simply no other options to get to remote regions of the district. There are no roads or winter roads! During the winter, the helicopter makes 20-25 such flights to different regions, where meat is centrally brought on snowmobiles from smaller villages or reindeer are driven on their own to large slaughtering points. Moreover, there are flights for 1 hour, and there are flights for 5-6 hours.

The turnover of the only Naryan-Mar meat processing plant is 900 tons of venison per year. 450 tons are brought in by helicopter and 450 tons by ground transport via winter roads. In total, 1000-1100 tons are slaughtered in the NAO during the season, 900 tons are taken and processed by the meat processing plant, and 100-150 are bought up by the local population and used locally for their own needs.

How much does a deer cost?

One live deer costs an average of 15 thousand rubles. This is not only meat, but there are also horns, hooves, skin ...

10. Mariana is in the plague all summer, the only way to learn the skills of reindeer herding. Distance education is being introduced in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Yakutia, when even in winter, children stay with their parents in the tundra, and basic education is taught by parents.

Children help with housework in the vast majority of tasks. Here, for example, Mariana helps to briskly deer, driving them into a karzak (netted area), where shepherds select deer for a sleigh team. Marina harnesses and unharnesses the reindeer herself without any problems.

12. The shepherds and the foreman know each deer “by sight”. Many have nicknames.

Mariana, what kind of toys do you have?
- (thinks) No, why do I need toys?

I have argishes (sledges with things and products), puppies, reindeer teams ...

22. Timothy found a fragment of a mammoth tusk, started digging, found other bones. That is why we flew to him this time. Then our expedition continued and we began to dig deeper in search of the rest of the skeleton.

24. Satellite dish and TV in the plague. One tank of diesel fuel in a diesel generator is enough for 6-8 hours of viewing. Everything is delivered only by helicopter in summer! In winter, it is a little easier - on a snowmobile from the nearest village you can bring the necessary things, food, diesel fuel.

Russia, Nenets Tundra. The girl Mariana is 9 years old. Her city-dwellers are already versed in cosmetic trends, flipping through glamorous Instagram feeds, and Mariana skillfully drives a reindeer team through the vast expanses of the Nenets tundra. Very soon, a week later, she will sit down and go to boarding school until spring, but for now she is in a plague in which life does not stand still, in which the place on the map is only tied to a changeable gps position that only the helicopter pilot knows, with whom we went to visit Mariana.

The life of reindeer herders who lead a traditional nomadic life in the Tundra is one of the most interesting parallel realities that I came into contact with during my travels. Today I want to tell and show how life works in the plague in the summer, but I will definitely return for the winter continuation of this amazing story. A story that contrasts very strongly with the realities of everyday life in megacities that are familiar to us.

Where is the fresh air... which you can taste.
Where is the endless space ... which you really feel, but you cannot embrace with your imagination.
Where centuries-old traditions of ancestors are preserved... which cannot be replaced by modern technology.

Welcome to Tundra!

Satellite dish and TV in chum. One tank of diesel fuel in a diesel generator is enough for 6-8 hours of viewing. Everything is delivered only by helicopter in summer! In winter, it is a little easier - on a snowmobile from the nearest village you can bring the necessary things, food, diesel fuel.

I will tell you about the plague device in a separate article, there are so many details and so many obvious-incredible things :)

This is firewood ... it is not easy to get firewood in the tundra, there are no trees here.

In chum, the hostess treats us to delicious pasta with stewed venison! The taste cannot be described in words.

The last days of summer... the last rays of the stingy polar sun. Last days in the tundra for Mariana before a long school year at the boarding school.

"Deer" - translated from the Nenets means "life". A deer is everything: food, dishes, clothes, this is life in the truest sense of the word.

So who is leading whom?
A reindeer herder leading a herd of reindeer?
Or do reindeer herders carry their tent from place to place following the herd?

to be continued...

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