Skip to main content

Site Banner Ads

Site Search

Search

Up Here Publishing

Mobile Toggle

Utility navigation

  • Shop
  • Contact Us

Social Links

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Search Toggle

Search

Main navigation

  • Magazines
    • Latest Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Up Here Business
    • YK Guide
    • Move Up Here
  • Sections
    • People & Places
    • Arts & Lifestyle
    • History & Culture
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Nature & Science
  • Newsletters
  • Community Map
  • Contests
    • Sally Manning Award
    • Cold Snaps Photo Contest
    • Arctic Adventure Sweepstakes
  • Subscribe
    • Magazine
    • Digital Edition

A Neverending Land

May 2016

Russia has a rich, vibrant array of indigenous cultures. But those people don't have it so well.

By Samia Madwar

Russia's Arctic is a diverse place, with 41 documented indigenous groups. Photo copyright B&C Alexander/Arcticphoto

Russia's Arctic is a diverse place, with 41 documented indigenous groups. Photo copyright B&C Alexander/Arcticphoto

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. A Neverending Land

Russia’s Extreme North—roughly equivalent to what we’d call the Far North in Canada today—is not a region that can be demarcated by a simple line of latitude; instead, it’s a combination of states and autonomous okrugs in the North and Far East. And if you thought Canada’s North was big, take a close look at a map: Russia’s western and eastern borders are almost literally halfway across the world from each other.

“To put it this way, if you want to fly from Moscow to Russia’s farthest eastern place, Anadyr, in Chukotka, you have to take an eight-and-a-half, sometimes nine-hour domestic flight,” says Gayla Morrell, who is part Komi, and as a child spent summers with her grandmother, living closely with the nomadic Nenets. “When you fly . . . you see this vast land. It looks unpopulated, but in reality, people live there.” 

There are 41 documented indigenous groups in Russia, numbering 250,000 people, and covering nearly two-thirds of the country. To the northwest, in the Kola Peninsula, are the Sámi, whose homeland stretches into northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway. In the far east, the Yupik, also known as Eskimos, share ancestors with Yup’ik in Alaska and Inuit in northern Canada.

Yet when it comes to national or regional politics, natural resource use, or industrial development, Russia’s indigenous peoples are often the least heard. The Nenets, for instance, who number about 50,000, have no claim to their lands on the Yamal peninsula, nor any say in the $27-billion LNG facility and deepwater port being built at Sabetta on the Gulf of Ob. 

In July 2012, Russia passed a law declaring non-profits that accept foreign funding to be “foreign agents,” placing them under suspicion. Since indigenous groups such as the Sámi sometimes cooperate with their counterparts in neighbouring countries, that law targets them. In November of that same year, Russian president Vladimir Putin suspended the Russian Association for Indigenous Peoples of the North, or RAIPON. It was allowed to reopen in 2013. 

Morrell, a photographer and artist, spends most of her time travelling through Russia’s North and Far East, documenting the indigenous groups and cultures who live on the land.

“The problem with indigenous people here is they have no knowledge of their rights,” says Morrell. That is, they know the Russian constitution contains vaguely-worded laws that protect indigenous cultures and their rights to their traditional ways of life, but they have no way of ensuring they are implemented. “People in the western Arctic”—places like Sweden, Canada, or Alaska—“they have access to all these instruments, and there are a lot of NGOs and organizations that protect their rights. That contrasts the Canadian and American Arctic and [other circumpolar nations] from what’s happening here.”

But she finds hope in the people she encounters in her travels. One of them is Atsynga Letykai, a Chukchi throat singer, dancer, philosopher, and activist. Letykai visits communities in Russia’s North and Far East, educating them on their rights. “She dedicates all her life to making the life of people in Russia’s Arctic better,” says Morrell.

May 2016

Kæstur hákarl, fermented Greenland shark. Photo by Tina Lee

We Dare You To Try These

Five shocking, belly-filling polar treats you need to taste... someday.

By Samia Madwar

Kæstur hákarl, fermented Greenland shark. Photo by Tina Lee

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

May 2016

Photo courtesy Kakslaut Tanen Arctic Resort.

Behind The Walls

As any architect will tell you, the far North, with its extreme climate and diverse indigenous populations, is a tricky place to tackle. But not impossible. Here are a few ways designers and engineers have taken on the challenge.

By Samia Madwar

Photo courtesy Kakslaut Tanen Arctic Resort.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

Related Articles

January/February 2021

An illustration of Kovalaq and his grandson, kneeling in front of muskox.

A Good Day For Muskox

Out on the icy snowy plains of Taloyoak, it’s always a good day for hunting with friends and family.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

January/February 2021

Lois Little in front of the Lois Lane sign

An Ode to Lois Lane

A Yellowknife street sign pays homage to heroes both real and fictional.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

November/December 2020

A sign welcoming visitors to Yukon, Oklahoma

Why is there a Yukon, Oklahoma?

What exactly caused an American town to choose its northern-inspired name is something of a mystery. 

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

November/December 2020

Family Stories

A surprising theatrical moment sparks some considerations on connection and place.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

November/December 2020

Listening To The Past

Delta Elders share their stories in a new podcast series.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021

November/December 2020

A NORTHERN TODDLER

I left this place as a small child, but its impact on my family hasn't been forgotten.

February 26th, 2021 February 26th, 2021
May 26th, 2016 May 31st, 2016
Newsletter sign-up promo image.

Stay in Touch.

Our weekly newsletter brings all the best circumpolar stories right to your inbox.

Up Here magazine cover

Subscribe Now

Our magazine showcases award-winning writing and spectacular northern photos.

Subscribe

Footer Navigation

  • Advertise With Us
  • Work With Us
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimers & Legal

Contact Information

Up Here Publishing
4510-50th Ave., Ste. 102
Yellowknife, NT
X1A 1B9  Canada
Phone: 867.766.6710
Fax: 867.669.0626
Email: editor@uphere.ca

Social Links

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Funded by the Government of Canada