general information
Chukchi - indigenous people Russian Federation, one of the small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East. The self-name is lygyoravetlan (“real people”). Self-names based on place of residence or migration are common: uvelelyt - “Uelenians”, chaalyt - “nomadic along the Chaun River”, etc. According to their way of life, the Chukchi are divided into two large groups: tundra nomadic reindeer herders (self-name - chauchu, “reindeer man”) and coastal ones - sedentary hunters of sea animals (self-name - ankalyn, “coastal”). Among the Western Chukchi, the self-name Chugchit (probably from Chauchu) is common. Russian name"Chukchi" also comes from Chauchu.
They speak the Chukchi language, which has several very close dialects that are quite well preserved to this day. Writing was created in 1931 on a Latin graphic basis, which was later replaced by the Russian alphabet.
According to modern research, the ancestors of the Chukchi lived in the interior regions of Chukotka at least 6 thousand years ago. At the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. Due to the appearance of a surplus population in the Chukotka tundra and changes in climatic and natural conditions, some Chukotka tribes moved to the sea coast, into the area inhabited by the Eskimos, partially assimilating them, partially adopting many features of their culture. As a result of the interaction of land and sea hunting cultures, an economic division of labor occurred. The Yukaghirs also took part in the ethnogenesis of the Chukchi.
Territory of settlement and number
In 2002, 15,767 Chukchi lived in the Russian Federation, of which 12,622 people (about 70%) live in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Chukchi lived mainly in the Chukotka, Providensky and Iultinsky regions. The intensive development of reindeer husbandry in the 18th century and the need for new pasture lands caused the Chukchi to move west and south. By the beginning of the 20th century, they occupied the entire modern territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, some of the Chukchi ended up in Kamchatka, another small group - beyond the Kolyma in Yakutia. They live here at the present time: in Kamchatka - in the Olyutorsky district (village Achai-Vayam, etc.) of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug (1,530 people), in Yakutia - in the Nizhne-Kolyma region (1,300).
Distribution of the Chukchi by district in last decades indicates their weak migration. Changes in numbers are mainly due to natural growth and changes in the boundaries of districts (Shmidtovsky, Anadyrsky). The Chukchi live in all settlements of the district together with Russians, Eskimos, Evens, Chuvans and other peoples. There are no purely Chukchi settlements, but in most villages the Chukchi predominate.
Lifestyle and support system
The main traditional occupation of the tundra (reindeer) Chukchi is nomadic reindeer herding. Reindeer herders spent most of the year on the move. Each group of Chukchi had permanent migration routes and their own grazing territory. In the forest zone, migrations occurred every 5-6 days, in the tundra - 3-4 times during the winter. Semi-free grazing of deer was practiced everywhere. In the summer, the herds were located on the ocean coast, where there were fewer mosquitoes and gadflies. About a quarter of the reindeer Chukchi spent the summer in the continental part of Chukotka on the northern slopes of the mountains, where snow remained. With the onset of autumn, all the reindeer herders moved inland to the forest border. The Chukchi did not know a shepherd dog, and the shepherds were with the herd all day long. Reindeer husbandry provided everything necessary for life: food, clothing, housing, means of transportation.
The basis economic activity The coastal Chukchi were engaged in sea hunting, the products of which (meat, fat for food and heating, clothing) also provided all the needs of life, and also served as an object of exchange with reindeer herders. Some of the Chukchi reindeer were also engaged in marine hunting during the stay of the herds on the coast. Fish was caught in case of emergency in free time from grazing. Some higher value fishing took place in the basins of large rivers - Anadyr, Chaun, Kolyma. The development of trade relations stimulated the development of the fur trade, which previously also had no of great importance. IN Soviet time Reindeer husbandry in Chukotka developed successfully. Improved breeding of animals, a more rational structure of the herd, successes in the fight against necrobacteriosis (hoof bacilli) and other diseases, and anti-water treatment of animals contributed to a significant increase in the number of animals and the productivity of the industry as a whole. By the beginning of the 90s. in Chukotka there was one of the largest herds of domestic reindeer in the world - about 500 thousand. Reindeer husbandry formed the basis of the economy of state farms, covering the losses of other industries, was the main area of employment for a significant part of the Chukchi, and ensured their economic prosperity.
In conditions of market reforms, intensive destruction of the industry is observed. The number of deer in the area has dropped by more than half. The reform of state farms, the transition to new forms of industry organization based on private and collective shared ownership, not supported by material and technical resources, led to a curtailment of production. Almost all livestock farms and a number of fur farms where Chukchi women worked were liquidated.
Ethno-social situation
The ethno-social situation in many areas of Chukotka is extremely difficult. Its main components are mass unemployment of the indigenous population, problems with providing villages with fuel, food, electricity, and an increase in the incidence and mortality of the aborigines. According to these and a number of other parameters, Chukotka, due to the characteristics of its geographical location and climatic conditions is in the most dire situation among other regions of the North. The incidence of tuberculosis among the Chukchi and other indigenous peoples of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is 10 times higher than the corresponding indicators for the non-indigenous population. In 1996, per 100 thousand people with active tuberculosis among indigenous people there were 737.1, including 233 children. The socio-economic situation in Chukotka in some years became so aggravated that it required the intervention of the federal government and humanitarian assistance from the international communities. In September 1996, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a decree “On urgent measures to stabilize the socio-economic situation in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.” IN last years, with the arrival of the new governor, the situation has changed for the better, but much remains to be done to overcome the crisis.
Ethno-cultural situation
According to the 2002 census, the Chukchi language was considered the native language by 27.6% of the Chukchi. The Chukchi language is taught in many villages. Since 1992 it has been studied as part of the program high school. Educational, artistic and socio-political literature is systematically published in the Chukchi language, and district radio and television broadcasts. Since 1953, the newspaper “Sovetken Chukotka” has been published (currently “Murgin Nuteneut”, a supplement to the district newspaper “Far North”). Teachers of the Chukchi language are trained by the Anadyr Pedagogical College, Russian State Pedagogical University named after. Herzen in St. Petersburg, Magadan Pedagogical Institute. On native language says some of the Chukotka youth, which is certainly a positive and stabilizing factor. The basic elements of traditional material and spiritual culture are preserved: means of transportation, housing (in the tundra among reindeer herders), holidays, rituals and customs, and religious beliefs.
The work of the artists of the professional Chukchi-Eskimo choreographic ensemble “Ergyron” and the Chukchi poetess A. Kymytval is widely known in the country and abroad. The traditional art of engraving and bone carving has been preserved and developed. The Chukotka branch of the North-Eastern Complex Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences has been established in Anadyr, which employs about 10 researchers from among the Chukchi and other peoples of the North. Various aspects of the traditional culture of the Chukchi, their language, traditional methods treatment, problems of transformation of economic relations and forms of ownership and other problems relevant to the district. However, the difficult socio-economic situation in the district as a whole does not provide the opportunity for the full development of all traditional forms culture and art. People, especially in remote villages and in the tundra, are busy surviving in these difficult conditions. Today it is important to at least carefully preserve the surviving centers of culture.
Management and self-government bodies
The Chukchi are one of the few indigenous peoples of the North of the Russian Federation that formally have their own autonomous entity. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is currently a subject of the Russian Federation. The creation of the district played an important role in the development of the economy and culture of the local indigenous population. However, as the mining industry developed in Chukotka and the number of newcomers grew, the district increasingly lost the features of a national-state formation, turning into an ordinary administrative-territorial unit. The only reminder of his former purpose was the position of Chairman of the district executive committee, which, according to established tradition, was occupied by a representative Chukchi people. In other government bodies, the Chukchi were represented purely symbolically. Suffice it to say that in the late 80s. Only 96 Chukchi worked in the sphere of state and economic management, most of them in minor positions. Unfortunately, this trend continues today. The functions of the self-government body are performed by the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, created in 1989. Its territorial branches operate in each district of the district.
Legal documents and laws
The legislative framework of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in relation to small peoples is represented by a number of documents. The Charter of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (adopted by the Duma in 1997) contains articles that define the policy of government authorities to protect and ensure the rights of indigenous peoples, development of education, culture, protection environment, organization of local self-government and other issues important to the indigenous population. A temporary regulation “On the procedure for transferring land plots for reindeer herding farms” has been developed. A temporary regulation “On the procedure for coordinating the allocation of land plots for the use of the subsoil of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug” was approved, which takes into account the interests of small peoples. The laws “On preferential taxation of enterprises participating in the development of social infrastructure of national villages”, “On the referendum of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug”, “On the procedure and principles for providing tax benefits” were adopted. A number of vitally important provisions for the Chukchi and other indigenous peoples of the district are reflected in the Resolutions of the executive branch: “On measures to implement the program for the development of national villages (1996), “On measures to streamline the production and sale of biologically active reindeer raw materials” (1996), “ About the Chukotka District Scientific Advisory Council on Whaling" (1997), etc.
Contemporary environmental issues
The state of the natural environment in the district began to cause serious concern already in the late 80s. By this time, as a result of industrial development and mismanagement of land, the area of reindeer pastures had decreased by 5 million hectares compared to 1970. Widespread deterioration of pasture areas and a decrease in feed supplies are still observed today. 8 specially protected areas with an area of 3 million hectares (4% of the entire territory of the district) have been created here. Attempts are being made to implement international projects in the district (Beringia Park, EKORA project).
Prospects for preserving the Chukchi as an ethnic group
Chukchi is one of the few northern peoples Russia, which is not yet in danger of disappearing from the national map of Russia in the promising future. The degree of preservation of the traditional culture of the Chukchi, the level of their ethnic self-awareness and ethnic solidarity allows us to make positive forecasts and look to the future. However, if in the near future the state and regional authorities do not provide significant support to the indigenous ethnic group of Chukotka and do not raise the socio-economic status of the district, then the Chukchi, as the most vulnerable part of the population, will be thrown far back in their development and survival. It is also necessary to emphasize that the Chukchi organizations themselves and their leaders must play a huge role in preserving and consolidating the people.
The northernmost region of the Far East is the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its territory is home to several indigenous peoples who came there thousands of years ago. Most of all in Chukotka there are Chukchi themselves - about 15 thousand. For a long time, they roamed throughout the peninsula, herding deer, hunting whales and living in yarangas.
Now many reindeer herders and hunters have turned into housing and communal services workers, and yarangas and kayaks have been replaced by ordinary houses with heating.
Cucumbers for 600 rubles per kilogram and a dozen eggs for 200 – modern consumer realities in remote areas of Chukotka. Fur production is closed because it does not fit into capitalism, and the production of venison, although still going on, is subsidized by the state - deer meat cannot compete even with expensive beef, which is brought from " big land». Similar story– with the renovation of housing stock: it is not profitable for construction companies to take on repair contracts, since the lion’s share of the estimate is the cost of transporting materials and workers off-road. Youth leaving villages and serious problems with healthcare – the Soviet system collapsed, and a new one has not really been created.
The ancestors of the Chukchi appeared in the tundra before our era. Presumably, they came from the territory of Kamchatka and the current Magadan region, then moved through the Chukotka Peninsula towards the Bering Strait and stopped there.
Faced with the Eskimos, the Chukchi adopted their marine hunting trade, subsequently displacing them from the Chukotka Peninsula. At the turn of the millennium, the Chukchi learned reindeer husbandry from the nomads of the Tungus group - the Evens and Yukaghirs.
“Now it is no easier to get into the reindeer herders’ camps of Chukotka than in the time of Tan Bogoraz (the famous Russian ethnographer who described the life of the Chukchi at the beginning of the 20th century).
You can fly to Anadyr and then to national villages by plane. But then from the village to get to a specific reindeer herding brigade in right time very difficult,” explains Puya. Reindeer herders' camps are constantly moving, and over long distances. There are no roads to get to their camp sites: they have to travel on tracked all-terrain vehicles or snowmobiles, sometimes on reindeer and dog sleds. In addition, reindeer herders strictly observe the timing of migrations, the time of their rituals and holidays.
Vladimir Puya
Hereditary reindeer herder Puya insists that reindeer husbandry is the “calling card” of the region and the indigenous people. But now the Chukchi generally live differently from how they used to: crafts and traditions fade into the background, and they are replaced by the typical life of remote regions of Russia.“Our culture suffered greatly in the 70s, when the authorities decided that it was expensive to maintain high schools with a full complement of teachers in every village,” says Puya. – Boarding schools were built in regional centers. They were classified not as urban institutions, but as rural ones - in rural schools salaries are twice as high. I myself studied at such a school, the quality of education was very high. But the children were torn away from life in the tundra and the seaside: we returned home only for summer holidays. And therefore we lost the complex, cultural development. There was no national education in boarding schools; even the Chukchi language was not always taught. Apparently, the authorities decided that the Chukchi - soviet people, and we have no need to know our culture.”
Life of reindeer herders
The geography of the Chukchi's residence initially depended on the movement of wild reindeer. People spent the winter in the south of Chukotka, and in the summer they escaped the heat and midges to the north, to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The people of reindeer herders lived in a tribal system. They settled along lakes and rivers. The Chukchi lived in yarangas. The winter yaranga, which was made from reindeer skins, was stretched over a wooden frame. The snow from under it was cleared to the ground. The floor was covered with branches, on which skins were laid in two layers. An iron stove with a pipe was installed in the corner. They slept in yarangas in dolls made of animal skins.
But Soviet authority, which came to Chukotka in the 30s of the last century, was dissatisfied with the “uncontrolled” movement of people. The indigenous people were told where to build new – semi-permanent – housing. This was done for the convenience of transporting goods by sea. They did the same with the camps. At the same time, new jobs arose for indigenous residents, and hospitals, schools, and cultural centers appeared in the settlements. The Chukchi were taught writing. And the reindeer herders themselves lived almost better than all other Chukchi - until the 80s of the 20th century.
Now residents of Konergino send letters at the post office, shop in two stores (Nord and Katyusha), call “the mainland” from the only landline telephone in the entire village, sometimes go to the local cultural club, and use the medical outpatient clinic. However, the residential buildings in the village are in disrepair and are not subject to major repairs. “Firstly, we are not given much money, and secondly, due to the complexity transport scheme it’s difficult to deliver materials to the village,” said the head of the settlement, Alexander Mylnikov, several years ago. According to him, if previously the housing stock in Konergino was repaired by utility workers, now they have neither building materials nor labor. “It is expensive to deliver construction materials to the village; the contractor spends about half of the allocated funds on transportation costs. The builders refuse, it is not profitable for them to work with us,” he complained.
About 330 people live in Konergino. Of these, there are about 70 children: most go to school. Fifty local residents work in housing and communal services, and the school, together with the kindergarten, employs 20 educators, teachers, nannies and cleaners. Young people do not stay in Konergino: school graduates go to study and work in other places. The depressive state of the village is illustrated by the situation with the traditional crafts for which the Konergins were famous.
“We no longer have marine hunting. According to capitalist rules, it is not profitable,” says Puya. “The fur farms closed, and the fur trade was quickly forgotten. In the 90s, fur production in Konergino collapsed.” All that remains is reindeer husbandry: in Soviet times and until the mid-2000s, while Roman Abramovich remained as governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, it was successful here.
There are 51 reindeer herders working in Konergino, of which 34 work in brigades in the tundra. According to Pui, reindeer herders' incomes are extremely low. “This is an unprofitable industry, there is not enough money for salaries. The state covers the lack of funds so that the salary is higher than the subsistence level, which in our case is 13 thousand. The reindeer farm that employs the workers pays them approximately 12.5 thousand. The state pays up to 20 thousand extra so that the reindeer herders don’t die of hunger,” complains Puya.
When asked why it is impossible to pay more, Puya replies that the cost of producing venison on different farms varies from 500 to 700 rubles per kilogram. And wholesale prices for beef and pork, which are imported “from the mainland,” start at 200 rubles. The Chukchi cannot sell meat for 800-900 rubles and are forced to set the price at 300 rubles - at a loss. “There is no point in capitalist development of this industry,” says Puya. “But this is the last thing left in the ethnic villages.”
Evgeny Kaipanau, a 36-year-old Chukchi, was born in Lorino into the family of the most respected whaler. “Lorino” (in Chukchi – “Lauren”) is translated from Chukchi as “found camp”. The settlement stands on the shore of Mechigmenskaya Bay of the Bering Sea. Several hundred kilometers away are the American islands of Krusenstern and St. Lawrence; Alaska is also very close. But planes fly to Anadyr once every two weeks - and only if the weather is good. Lorino is covered from the north by hills, so there are more windless days here than in neighboring villages. True, despite relatively good weather conditions, in the 90s almost all Russian residents left Lorino, and since then only Chukchi have lived there - about 1,500 people.
The houses in Lorino are rickety wooden buildings with peeling walls and faded paint. In the center of the village there are several cottages built by Turkish workers - insulated buildings with cold water, which in Lorino is considered a privilege (if you run it through ordinary pipes). cold water, then in winter it will freeze). There is hot water in the entire settlement, because the local boiler house is working all year round. But there is no hospital or clinic here - for several years now people have been sent for medical care by air ambulance or on all-terrain vehicles.
Lorino is famous for its marine mammal hunting. It’s not for nothing that the documentary film “Whaler” was filmed here in 2008, which received the TEFI prize. Hunting sea animals is still an important activity for local residents. Whalers not only feed their families or earn money by selling meat to the local trapping community, they also honor the traditions of their ancestors.
Since childhood, Kaipanau knew how to properly slaughter walruses, catch fish and whales, and walk in the tundra. But after school he went to Anadyr to study first as an artist and then as a choreographer. Until 2005, while living in Lorino, he often went on tour to Anadyr or Moscow to perform with national ensembles. Due to constant travel, climate change and flights, Kaipanau decided to finally move to Moscow. There he got married, his daughter was nine months old. “I try to instill my creativity and culture in my wife,” says Evgeniy. “Although many things seemed wild to her before, especially when she found out the conditions in which my people live. I instill traditions and customs in my daughter, for example, showing national clothes. I want her to know that she is a hereditary Chukchi.”
Evgeny now rarely appears in Chukotka: he tours and represents the Chukchi culture around the world together with his ensemble “Nomad”. In the ethnopark “Nomad” of the same name near Moscow, where Kaipanau works, he conducts thematic excursions and shows documentaries about Chukotka, including Vladimir Pui.
But living far from his homeland does not prevent him from knowing about many things happening in Lorino: his mother remains there, she works in the city administration. Thus, he is sure that young people are drawn to those traditions that are being lost in other regions of the country. “Culture, language, hunting skill. Young people in Chukotka, including young people from our village, are learning to catch whales. Our people live with this all the time,” says Kaipanau.
IN summer season The Chukchi hunted whales and walruses, and in winter, seals. They hunted with harpoons, knives and spears. Whales and walruses were hunted together, but seals were hunted individually. The Chukchi caught fish with nets made of whale and deer tendons or leather belts, nets and bits. In winter - in an ice hole, in summer - from the shore or from kayaks. In addition, until the beginning of the 19th century, bears and wolves, rams and moose, wolverines, foxes and arctic foxes were hunted with bows, spears and traps. Waterfowl were killed with a throwing weapon (bola) and darts with a throwing plank. From the second half of the 19th century centuries, guns began to be used, and then whaling firearms.
Products imported from the mainland are available in the village huge money. “They bring “golden” eggs for 200 rubles. I’m generally silent about grapes,” adds Kaipanau. Prices reflect the sad socio-economic situation in Lorino. There are few places in the settlement where one can show professionalism and university skills. “But the situation of the people is, in principle, normal,” the interlocutor immediately clarifies. “After Abramovich’s arrival (from 2001 to 2008), things became much better: more jobs appeared, houses were rebuilt, and first aid stations were established.” Kaipanau recalls how whalers he knew “came, took the governor’s motor boats for free and left.” “Now they live and enjoy,” he says. Federal authorities, according to him, also help the Chukchi, but not very actively.
Kaipanau has a dream. He wants to create educational ethnic centers in Chukotka, where indigenous peoples could relearn their culture: build kayaks and yarangas, embroider, sing, dance.
“In the ethnopark, many visitors consider the Chukchi to be an uneducated and backward people; They think that they don’t wash and constantly say “however.” They even sometimes tell me that I am not a real Chukchi. But we are real people.”
Every morning, Natalya, a 45-year-old resident of the village of Sireniki (who asked that her last name not be used), wakes up at 8 a.m. to go to work at the local school. She is a watchman and technical worker.
Sireniki, where Natalya has lived for 28 years, is located in the Providensky urban district of Chukotka, on the shores of the Bering Sea. The first Eskimo settlement appeared here about three thousand years ago, and in the vicinity of the village remains of the dwellings of ancient people are still found. In the 60s of the last century, the Chukchi joined the indigenous people. Therefore, the village has two names: from Ekimo it is translated as “Valley of the Sun”, and from Chukchi – “Rocky Terrain”.
Sireniki is surrounded by hills, and it is difficult to get here, especially in winter - only by snowmobile or helicopter. People come here from spring to autumn sea vessels. From above, the village looks like a box of colorful candies: green, blue and red cottages, an administration building, a post office, a kindergarten and an outpatient clinic. Previously, there were many dilapidated buildings in Sireniki wooden houses, but a lot has changed, says Natalya, with the arrival of Abramovich. “My husband and I used to live in a house with stove heating; we had to wash dishes outside. Then Valera fell ill with tuberculosis, and his attending physician helped us get a new cottage due to his illness. Now we have a European-quality renovation.”
Clothing and food
Chukchi men wore kukhlyankas made of double reindeer skin and the same trousers. They pulled a boot made of camus with soles made of seal skin over siskins - stockings made of dog skin. The double fawn hat was bordered at the front with long-haired wolverine fur, which does not freeze from human breath in any frost, and fur mittens were worn on rawhide straps that were pulled into the sleeves. The shepherd was as if in a spacesuit. The clothes the women wore were tight-fitting to the body and tied below the knees, forming something like pants. They put it on over the head. Over the top, women wore a wide fur shirt with a hood, which they wore on special occasions such as holidays or migrations.
The shepherd always had to protect the number of deer, so livestock breeders and families ate vegetarian food in the summer, and if they ate deer, then it was completely, right down to the antlers and hooves. They preferred boiled meat, but often ate it raw: the shepherds in the herd simply did not have time to cook. The sedentary Chukchi ate the meat of walruses, which were previously killed in huge quantities.
How do they live in Sireniki?
According to Natalya, it’s normal. There are currently about 30 unemployed people in the village. In the summer they pick mushrooms and berries, and in the winter they catch fish, which they sell or exchange for other products. Natalya’s husband receives a pension of 15,700 rubles, while the cost of living here is 15,000. “I myself work without part-time jobs, this month I will receive about 30,000. We, undoubtedly, live an average life, but somehow I don’t feel that salaries are increasing,” – the woman complains, remembering the cucumbers brought to Sireniki for 600 rubles per kilogram.
Dome
Natalya’s sister works on a rotational basis at Kupol. This gold deposit, one of the largest in the Far East, is located 450 km from Anadyr. Since 2011, 100% of the shares of Kupol have been owned by the Canadian company Kinross Gold (ours have no time for such trifles).“My sister used to work there as a maid, and now she gives out masks to miners who go down into the mines. They have a gym and a billiard room there! They pay in rubles (the average salary at Kupol is 50,000 rubles - DV), transferred to a bank card,” says Natalya.
The woman knows little about production, salaries and investments in the region, but often repeats: “The Dome helps us.” The fact is that the Canadian company that owns the deposit created a Fund back in 2009 social development, he allocates money for social significant projects. At least a third of the budget goes to support the indigenous peoples of the Autonomous Okrug. For example, Kupol helped publish a dictionary of the Chukchi language, opened courses in indigenous languages, and built a school for 65 children and a kindergarten for 32 in Sireniki.
“My Valera also received a grant,” says Natalya. – Two years ago, Kupol allocated him 1.5 million rubles for a huge 20-ton freezer. After all, the whalers will get the animal, there is a lot of meat - it will spoil. And now this camera is a lifesaver. With the remaining money, my husband and his colleagues bought tools to build kayaks.”
Natalya, a Chukchi and hereditary reindeer herder, believes that the national culture is now being revived. Says that every Tuesday and Friday at the local village club rehearsals of the Northern Lights ensemble are held; courses of Chukchi and other languages are opening (albeit in the regional center - Anadyr); competitions like the Governor's Cup or the Barents Sea regatta are held. “And this year our ensemble is invited to a grand event - an international festival! Five people will fly on dance program. It will all be in Alaska, she will pay for the flight and accommodation,” says the woman. She admits that Russian state supports national culture, but she mentions the “Dome” much more often. Natalya does not know of a domestic fund that would finance the peoples of Chukotka.
Another key issue is healthcare. In Chukotka, as in other northern regions, says Nina Veisalova, a representative of the Association of Small Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East (AMKNSS and FERF), respiratory diseases are very common. But, according to available information, tuberculosis dispensaries are closing in ethnic villages. There are many cancer patients. The previously existing health care system ensured the identification, observation and treatment of sick people from among small peoples, which was enshrined in law. Unfortunately, such a scheme does not work today. The authorities do not answer the question about the closure of tuberculosis dispensaries, but only report that in every district and locality In Chukotka, hospitals, medical outpatient clinics and medical and obstetric stations have been preserved.
IN Russian society There is a stereotype: the Chukchi people drank themselves to death after the “white man” came to the territory of Chukotka - that is, from the beginning of the last century. The Chukchi never drank alcohol, their body does not produce an enzyme that breaks down alcohol, and because of this, the effect of alcohol on their health is more detrimental than that of other peoples. But according to Evgeniy Kaipanau, the level of the problem is greatly overestimated. “With alcohol [among the Chukchi] everything is the same as everywhere else. But they drink less than anywhere else,” he says. At the same time, says Kaipanau, the Chukchi actually did not have an enzyme that breaks down alcohol in the past. “Now, although the enzyme has been developed, people still do not drink as the legends say,” sums up the Chukchi.
Kaipanau’s opinion is supported by Doctor of Medical Sciences GNICP Irina Samorodskaya, one of the authors of the report “Mortality and the share of deaths in economically active age from causes related to alcohol (drugs), MI and IHD from all deaths aged 15-72 years” for 2013. According to Rosstat, the document says, the highest mortality rate from alcohol-related causes is indeed in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 268 people per 100 thousand. But these data, Samorodskaya emphasizes, apply to the entire population of the district. “Yes, the indigenous population of those territories are the Chukchi, but they are not the only ones who live there,” she explains. In addition, according to Samorodskaya, Chukotka is higher in all mortality indicators than other regions - and this is not only alcohol mortality, but also other external causes. “It is now impossible to say that it was the Chukchi who died from alcohol, this is how the system works. First, if people do not want an alcohol-related cause of death on their deceased relative's death certificate, it will not be listed. Secondly, the vast majority of deaths occur at home. And there, death certificates are often filled out by a local doctor or even a paramedic, which is why other reasons may be indicated in the documents - it’s easier to write that way.”
Finally, another serious problem in the region, according to Veisalova, is the relationship between industrial companies and the indigenous local population. “People come like conquerors, disturbing the peace and quiet of the local residents. I think there should be regulations on the interaction between companies and peoples,” she says.
Language and religion
The Chukchi, living in the tundra, called themselves “chavchu” (deer). Those who lived on the shore were “ankalyn” (Pomor). There is a common self-name of the people - “luoravetlan” ( real man), but it didn’t catch on. 50 years ago, approximately 11 thousand people spoke the Chukchi language. Now their number is decreasing every year. The reason is simple: in Soviet times, writing and schools appeared, but at the same time a policy was pursued of the destruction of everything national. Separation from their parents and life in boarding schools forced Chukchi children to know their native language less and less.
The Chukchi have long believed that the world is divided into upper, middle and lower. At the same time, the upper world (“cloud land”) is inhabited by the “upper people” (in Chukchi - gyrgorramkyn), or “people of the dawn” (tnargy-ramkyn), and the supreme deity among the Chukchi does not play a serious role. The Chukchi believed that their soul was immortal, they believed in reincarnation, and shamanism was widespread among them. Both men and women could be shamans, but among the Chukchi the shamans of the “transformed sex” were considered especially powerful - men who acted as housewives, and women who adopted the clothes, activities and habits of men.
Time and the Chukchi themselves will draw all the conclusions.
You, of course, have heard jokes about the Chukchi. This is not a question - it is a statement. And you've probably told similar jokes to others. The Chukchi themselves, having listened to you, might have laughed: they loved to make fun of themselves. But most likely you would have been killed. At the same time, most modern weapons would hardly help if you were against such a dangerous enemy.
In fact, it is difficult to find a more warlike and at the same time ineradicable people than the Chukchi. It is a great injustice that we do not know about this today, although Spartan education or Indian traditions are in many ways much softer and more “humane” than the approaches to educating future Chukchi warriors.
"Real People"
Luoravetlans are “real people,” as the Chukchi call themselves. Yes, they are chauvinists who consider others second-class. They joke about themselves, calling themselves "sweaty people" and the like (but only among themselves). At the same time, the Chukchi’s sense of smell is not particularly inferior to that of dogs, and genetically they are oh so different from us.
Chukchi is a corruption of “chauchi” - reindeer herders. It was the Chauchs that the Cossacks met in the tundra, before reaching their direct and recognized relatives - the Ankalyns, the coastal Luovertlans.
Childhood
Like the Indians, the Chukchi began the harsh upbringing of boys at the age of 5-6. From this time on, except for rare exceptions, sleeping was allowed only while standing, leaning on the canopy of the yaranga. At the same time, the young Chukchi warrior slept lightly: for this, adults sneaked up on him and burned him either with hot metal or with the smoldering end of a stick. The little warriors (somehow it’s hard to call them boys), as a result, began to react with lightning speed to any rustle...
They had to run behind reindeer sleds, rather than ride on sleighs, and jump with stones tied to their feet. The bow was an invariable attribute: the Chukchi generally have vision - unlike ours, the rangefinder is almost flawless. That is why the Chukchi were so willingly hired as snipers from World War II. The Chukchi also had their own game with a ball (made of reindeer hair), which was very reminiscent of modern football (only the Luoravetlans played this game long before the “foundation” of football by the British). They also loved to fight here. The fight was specific: on slippery walrus skin, additionally lubricated with fat, it was necessary not only to defeat the opponent, but to throw him onto sharp bones placed along the edges. It was dangerous, to put it mildly. However, it is precisely through this confrontation that grown-up boys will sort things out with their enemies, when in almost every case the loser faces death from much longer bones.
Way to adult life lay for the future warrior through trials. Because Dexterity was especially valued by these people, so during the “exam” they relied on it, and on attentiveness. The father sent his son on some mission, but it was not the main one. The father quietly tracked his son, and as soon as he sat down, lost his vigilance, or simply turned into a “convenient target,” an arrow was immediately shot at him. The Chukchi shot, as mentioned above, phenomenally. So it was not an easy task to react and get away from the “gift”. There was only one way to pass the exam - to survive after it.
Death? Why be afraid of her?
There are eyewitness accounts that describe shocking precedents from the life of the Chukchi even at the beginning of the last century. For example, one of them began to have severe stomach pain. By morning the pain only intensified, and the warrior asked his comrades to kill him. They immediately complied with the request, without even attaching much importance to what happened.
The Chukchi believed that each of them had 5-6 souls. And for each soul there can be its place in heaven - the “Universe of the Ancestors.” But for this, certain conditions had to be met: to die with dignity in battle, to be killed at the hands of a friend or relative, or to die a natural death. The latter is too much of a luxury for harsh life, where you shouldn’t rely on the care of others. Voluntary death is a common thing for the Chukchi; you just need to ask your relatives about such “killing yourself.” The same was done for a number of serious illnesses.
The Chukchi who lost the battle could kill each other, but they didn’t think much about captivity: “If I became a deer for you, then why are you delaying?” - they said to the victorious enemy, expecting a finishing blow and not even thinking about asking for mercy.
War is an honor
The Chukchi are born saboteurs. Small in number and ferocious, they were a terror to all who lived within range. Known fact is that a detachment of Koryaks - neighbors of the Chukchi, who joined the Russian Empire, numbering fifty people, rushed in all directions if there were at least two dozen Chukchi. And don’t dare accuse the Koryaks of cowardice: their women always had a knife with them so that when attacked by the Chukchi, they could kill their children and themselves, just to avoid slavery.
“Real people” fought with the Koryaks in the same way: first there were auctions, where every incorrect and simply careless gesture could be understood as a signal for massacre. If the Chukchi died, then their comrades declared war on the offenders: they called them to a meeting at a designated place, laid out a walrus skin, greased it with fat... And, of course, drove in a lot of sharp bones around the edges. Everything is like in childhood.
If the Chukchi went on predatory raids, they simply slaughtered the men and captured the women. The prisoners were treated with dignity, but pride did not allow the Koryaks to surrender alive. The men also did not want to fall into the hands of the Chukchi alive: they took men captive only when it was necessary to extort information.
Torture
There were two types of torture: if information was required, then the enemy’s hands were tied behind his back and his hand was pressed over his nose and mouth until the person lost consciousness. After this, the prisoner was brought to his senses and the procedure was repeated. The demoralization was complete, even the “seasoned wolves” were splitting up.
But more often the Chukchi simply realized their hatred of the victim through torture. In such cases, the enemy was tied to a spit and methodically roasted over a fire.
Chukchi and the Russian Empire
Russian Cossacks in 1729 were sincerely asked “not to commit violence against the non-peace-loving peoples of the north.” Their neighbors, who joined the Russians, knew the hard way that it was better not to anger the Chukchi. However, the Cossacks, apparently, were filled with pride and envy at such glory of the “unbaptized savages”, so the Yakut Cossack leader Afanasy Shestakov and the captain of the Tobolsk Dragoon Regiment Dmitry Pavlutsky went to the lands of the “real people”, destroying everything they met on their way.
Several times Chukchi leaders and elders were invited to a meeting, where they were simply meanly killed. For the Cossacks, everything seemed simple... Until the Chukchi realized that they were not playing by the rules of honor to which they themselves were accustomed. A year later, Shestakov and Pavlutsky gave the Chukchi an open battle, where last chances there were not so many: arrows and spears are not the best weapons against gunpowder weapons. True, Shestakov himself died. The Luoravetlans began a real guerrilla war, in response to which the Senate in 1742 ordered the complete destruction of the Chukchi. The latter numbered less than 10,000 people with children, women and old people, the task seemed so simple.
Before mid-18th century centuries, the war was tough, but now Pavlutsky was killed, and his troops were defeated. When Russian officials figured out what losses they were suffering, they were horrified. In addition, the Cossacks’ agility decreased: as soon as they defeated the Chukchi with an unexpected raid, the surviving children and women killed each other, avoiding captivity. The Chukchi themselves were not afraid of death, they did not give mercy and could torture extremely cruelly. There was nothing to scare them.
A decree was urgently issued prohibiting angering the Chukchi in general and interfering with them “with malicious intent”: it was decided to introduce liability for this. The Chukchi soon also began to calm down: to capture Russian Empire It would have been too burdensome a task for several thousand warriors, and the Luoravetlans themselves did not see the point in it. It was the only people, which intimidated Russia militarily, despite its insignificant numbers.
A couple of decades later, the empire returned to the lands of warlike reindeer herders, fearing that they would be treated dangerous world"The French and the British. The Chukchi were taken by bribery, persuasion and appeasement. The Chukchi paid tribute “in the amount they themselves chose,” that is, they did not pay it at all, and they brought “help to the sovereign” so actively that it was easy to understand who was actually paying tribute to whom. With the beginning of cooperation in the Chukchi vocabulary appeared new term- “Chuvan disease”, i.e. “Russian disease”: with civilization, syphilis came to “real people”.
The French and British were feared in vain...
The trends of Europe were like a stop sign for the Chukchi. They traded with many people, but they showed the greatest mutual respect in trade... with the Japanese. It was from the Japanese that the Chukchi purchased their metal armor, which was exactly like that of the samurai. And the samurai were delighted with the courage and dexterity of the Chukchi: the latter are the only warriors who, according to numerous testimonies of contemporaries and eyewitnesses, were able not only to dodge arrows, but also to catch them with their hands on the fly, managing to throw them (with their hands!) back at their enemies.
The Chukchi respected the Americans for fair trade, but they also liked to give the latter a little push in their pirate raids. This also happened to Canadians: there is a well-known story when the Chukchi captured black slaves on the Canadian coast. Having realized that these were still women, and not evil spirits, the Chukchi took them as concubines. Chukotka women do not know what jealousy is and therefore took such a trophy from their husbands normally. Well, black women were forbidden to give birth, because... they were “defective people”, kept as concubines until old age. According to eyewitnesses, his slave new destiny They were happy and only regretted that they had not been stolen earlier.
Jokes
The Soviet government, having decided to carry the fire of communist ideology and civilization to the distant Chukotka yarangas, did not receive a warm welcome. An attempt to put pressure on the Chukchi by force turned out to be a difficult task: at first, all the “Reds” from nearby territories flatly refused to fight the Chukchi, and then the daredevils who arrived here from afar began to disappear in detachments, groups, and camps. For the most part, the missing were not found. In rare cases, it was possible to find the remains of slaughtered failed colonists. As a result, the “Reds” decided to follow the path of bribery that had been trodden under the Tsar. And so that the Chukchi did not become a symbol of independence, they were simply turned into folklore. This is what they did with Chapaev, relying on jokes about “Vasily Ivanovich and Petka,” remaking the image of an educated and worthy person into a funny and amusing one. Fear and admiration for the Chukchi were replaced by the image of a kind of savage half-wit.
They are the same today...
What has changed today? By and large - nothing. Christianity seriously undermined the Chukchi foundations, but not so much that this people became different. Chukchi are Warriors.
And let some laugh at yet another joke about the Chukchi, while others admire their prowess - a true Warrior is always infinitely higher than both of them. A warrior walks through time, ignoring death and not deviating from his path. Through centuries and difficulties, they move on - the Great Warriors of the North, about whom we know so little.
Chukchi (self-name - lyg'o ravetl'an) is a distorted Chukchi word "chavchu" (rich in deer), which Russians and Lamuts call a people living in the extreme north-east of Russia. The Chukchi were divided into reindeer - tundra nomadic reindeer herders (the self-name Chauchu - “reindeer man”) and coastal - sedentary hunters of sea animals (the self-name Ankalyn - “coastal”), living together with the Eskimos.
The Chukchi first encountered Russians back in the 17th century. In 1644, the Cossack Stadukhin, who was the first to bring news of them to Yakutsk, founded the Nizhnekolymsk fort. The Chukchi, who at that time were wandering both east and west of the Kolyma River, after a persistent, bloody struggle, finally left the left bank of the Kolyma, pushing the Mamalli tribe from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to.
Since then, for more than a hundred years, bloody clashes between the Russians and the Chukchi, whose territory bordered the Kolyma River in the west and Anadyr in the south, from the Amur region, have not stopped. In 1770, after Shestakov’s unsuccessful campaign, the Anadyr fort, which served as the center of the Russian struggle against the Chukchi, was destroyed and its team was transferred to Nizhne-Kolymsk, after which the Chukchi began to be less hostile towards the Russians and gradually began to enter into trade relations with them.
In 1775, the Angarsk fortress was built on the Angarka River, where, under the protection of the Cossacks, an annual fair for barter trade with the Chukchi took place. Since 1848, the fair was moved to the Anyui fortress (250 versts from Nizhne-Kolymsk, on the banks of the Maly Anyui). The Chukchi brought here not only the everyday products of their own production (clothing made from reindeer furs, reindeer skins, live deer, seal skins, whalebone, polar bear skins), but also the most expensive furs (beavers, martens, black foxes, blue foxes), which the so-called nose Chukchi exchanged for tobacco with the inhabitants of the shores of the Bering Sea and the northwestern coast of America.
TO end of the XVIII century, the territory of the Chukchi extended from Omolon, Bolshoy and Maly Anyuy in the west to the Penzhin and Olyutor nomads in the southeast. Gradually it increased, which was accompanied by the identification of territorial groups: Kolyma, Anyui, or Maloanyu, Chaun, Omolon, Amguem, or Amguem-Vonkarem, Kolyuchino-Mechigmen, Onmylensk, Tumansk, or Vilyunei, Olyutor, Bering Sea and others. In 1897, the number of Chukchi was approximately 11 thousand people. In 1930, the Chukotka National Okrug was formed, and since 1977 it has been an autonomous okrug. According to the 2002 census, the number of Chukchi was 16 people.
The main occupation of the tundra Chukchi is nomadic reindeer herding. Reindeer provide the Chukchi with almost everything they need: meat for cooking, skins for clothing and housing, and are also used as traction animals.
The main occupation of the coastal Chukchi is hunting sea animals: in winter and spring - seals and seals, in summer and autumn - walruses and whales. At first, traditional hunting weapons were used for hunting - a harpoon with a float, a spear, a belt net, but in the 19th century the Chukchi began to use firearms more often. To this day, only bird hunting with the help of a “bol” has been preserved. Fishing is developed only among some Chukchi. Women and children also collect edible plants.
Traditional Chukchi dishes are mainly prepared from venison and fish.
The main dwelling of the Chukchi is a collapsible cylindrical-conical tent-yaranga made of reindeer skins among the tundra Chukchi and walrus among the coastal Chukchi. The vault rests on three poles located in the center. The home was heated with a stone, clay or wooden fat lamp, on which food was also prepared. The yaranga of the coastal Chukchi differed from the dwellings of the reindeer herders in the absence of a smoke hole.
The Chukchi type is mixed, generally Mongoloid, but with some differences. Eyes with an oblique cut are less common than eyes with a horizontal cut; the width of the cheekbones is smaller than among the Tungus and Yakuts, and more often than among the latter; there are individuals with thick facial hair and wavy, almost curly hair on their heads; complexion with a bronze tint.
Among women, the type with wide cheekbones, a blurry nose and everted nostrils is more common. The mixed type (Asian-American) is confirmed by some legends, myths and differences in the peculiarities of life of the reindeer and coastal Chukchi.
Chukchi winter clothing is of the usual polar type. It is sewn from the fur of fawns (grown up autumn calf) and for men consists of a double fur shirt (the lower one with the fur towards the body and the upper one with the fur outward), the same double pants, short fur stockings with the same boots and a hat in the form of a woman's bonnet. Women's clothing is completely unique, also double, consisting of seamlessly sewn trousers together with a low-cut bodice, cinched at the waist, with a slit on the chest and extremely wide sleeves, thanks to which the Chukchi can easily free their hands while working.
Summer outerwear includes robes made of reindeer suede or colorful purchased fabrics, as well as kamleikas made of fine-haired deer skin with various ritual stripes. Most of the Chukchi jewelry - pendants, headbands, necklaces (in the form of straps with beads and figurines) - have religious significance, but there are also real jewelry in the form of metal bracelets and earrings.
The original pattern on the clothes of the coastal Chukchi is of Eskimo origin; from the Chukchi it passed to many polar peoples of Asia. Hair styling is different for men and women. The latter braid two braids on both sides of the head, decorating them with beads and buttons, sometimes releasing the front strands onto the forehead ( married women). Men cut their hair very smoothly, leaving a wide fringe in front and two tufts of hair in the form of animal ears on the crown.
According to their beliefs, the Chukchi are animists; they personify and idolize certain areas and natural phenomena (masters of the forest, water, fire, sun, deer), many animals (bear, crow), stars, sun and moon, believe in hosts of evil spirits causing all earthly disasters, including diseases and death, have a number of regular holidays (the autumn festival of deer slaughter, the spring festival of antlers, the winter sacrifice to the star Altair) and many irregular ones (feeding the fire, sacrifices after each hunt, funerals of the dead, votive services).
The folklore and mythology of the Chukchi are very rich and have much in common with those of the American peoples and Paleo-Asians. The Chukchi language is very rich in both words and forms; the harmony of sounds is quite strictly observed in it. Phonetics is very difficult for the European ear.
The main mental traits of the Chukchi are extremely easy excitability, reaching the point of frenzy, a tendency to murder and suicide at the slightest provocation, a love of independence, and perseverance in the struggle; At the same time, the Chukchi are hospitable, usually good-natured and willingly come to the aid of their neighbors, even Russians, during hunger strikes. The Chukchi, especially the coastal ones, became famous for their sculptural and carved images of mammoth bone, striking in their fidelity to nature and the boldness of poses and strokes and reminiscent of wonderful bone images paleolithic period. Traditional musical instruments - jew's harp (khomus), tambourine (yarar). In addition to ritual dances, improvised entertaining pantomime dances were also common.
The northernmost region of the Far East is the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its territory is home to several indigenous peoples who came there thousands of years ago. Most of all in Chukotka there are Chukchi themselves - about 15 thousand. For a long time, they roamed throughout the peninsula, herding deer, hunting whales and living in yarangas.
Now many reindeer herders and hunters have turned into housing and communal services workers, and yarangas and kayaks have been replaced by ordinary houses with heating. Residents of different regions of Chukotka told DV special correspondent Ivan Chesnokov how their people live now.
Cucumbers for 600 rubles per kilogram and a dozen eggs for 200 are modern consumer realities in remote areas of Chukotka. Fur production is closed, as it does not fit into capitalism, and the extraction of venison, although still going on, is subsidized by the state - deer meat cannot compete even with expensive beef, which is brought from the “mainland”.
A similar story is with the renovation of housing stock: it is unprofitable for construction companies to take on repair contracts, since the lion's share of the estimate is the cost of transporting materials and workers off-road. Young people leaving the villages, and serious problems with healthcare - the Soviet system collapsed, and a new one has not really been created.
At the same time, the social programs of the Canadian mining company, the revival of interest in national culture and the favorable consequences of the governorship of Arkady Abramovich - the billionaire created new jobs and renovated houses, and could easily give the whalers a couple of motor boats. It is from such a motley mosaic that the today's life Chukchi.
Ancestors of the people
The ancestors of the Chukchi appeared in the tundra before our era. Presumably, they came from the territory of Kamchatka and the current Magadan region, then moved through the Chukotka Peninsula towards the Bering Strait and stopped there.
Faced with the Eskimos, the Chukchi adopted their sea hunting trade, subsequently displacing them from the Chukotka Peninsula. At the turn of the millennium, the Chukchi learned reindeer husbandry from the nomads of the Tungus group - the Evens and Yukaghirs.
Our first interlocutor is documentary director, experienced livestock specialist and expert on Chukotka Vladimir Puya. In the winter of 2014, he went to work on the eastern shore of the Gulf of the Cross, part of the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea off the southern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula.
There, near the national village of Konergino, he made a film about modern Chukotka reindeer herders - in the past the richest, and now almost forgotten, but who have preserved the traditions and culture of their ancestors, residents of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
“It is no easier now to get into the reindeer herders’ camps of Chukotka than in the time of Tan Bogoraz (the famous Russian ethnographer who described the life of the Chukchi at the beginning of the 20th century - DV). You can fly to Anadyr and then to national villages by plane. But then it’s very difficult to get from the village to a specific reindeer herding team at the right time,” explains Puya.
Reindeer herders' camps are constantly moving, and over long distances. There are no roads to get to their camp sites: they have to travel on tracked all-terrain vehicles or snowmobiles, sometimes on reindeer and dog sleds. In addition, reindeer herders strictly observe the timing of migrations, the time of their rituals and holidays.
Hereditary reindeer herder Puya insists that reindeer husbandry is the “calling card” of the region and the indigenous people. But now the Chukchi generally live differently from how they used to: crafts and traditions fade into the background, and they are replaced by the typical life of remote regions of Russia.
“Our culture suffered greatly in the 70s, when the authorities decided that it was expensive to maintain high schools with a full complement of teachers in every village,” says Puya. — Boarding schools were built in regional centers. They were classified not as urban institutions, but as rural ones - in rural schools, salaries were twice as high. I myself studied at such a school, the quality of education was very high. But the children were torn away from life in the tundra and the seaside: we returned home only for the summer holidays. And therefore they lost comprehensive, cultural development. There was no national education in boarding schools; even the Chukchi language was not always taught. Apparently, the authorities decided that the Chukchi are Soviet people, and there is no need for us to know our culture.”
Life of reindeer herders
The geography of the Chukchi's residence initially depended on the movement of wild reindeer. People spent the winter in the south of Chukotka, and in the summer they escaped the heat and midges to the north, to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The people of reindeer herders lived in a tribal system. They settled along lakes and rivers. The Chukchi lived in yarangas. The winter yaranga, which was made from reindeer skins, was stretched over a wooden frame. The snow from under it was cleared to the ground. The floor was covered with branches, on which skins were laid in two layers. An iron stove with a pipe was installed in the corner. They slept in yarangas in dolls made of animal skins.
But the Soviet government, which came to Chukotka in the 30s of the last century, was dissatisfied with the “uncontrolled” movement of people. The indigenous residents were told where to build new - semi-permanent - housing. This was done for the convenience of transporting goods by sea. They did the same with the camps. At the same time, new jobs arose for indigenous residents, and hospitals, schools, and cultural centers appeared in the settlements. The Chukchi were taught writing. And the reindeer herders themselves lived almost better than all other Chukchi - until the 80s of the 20th century.
The name of the national village of Konergino, where Puya lives, is translated from Chukchi as “curved valley”, or “single crossing”: sea hunters in kayaks crossed the Gulf of the Cross in this place in one crossing. At the beginning of the 20th century in Konergino there were only a few yarangas - traditional portable Chukchi dwellings - and dugouts. In 1939, the board of the collective farm, the village council, and the trading post were moved here from the village of Nutepelmen. A little later, several houses and a warehouse-shop were built on the seashore, and in the middle of the century a hospital, boarding school, and kindergarten appeared in the village. A school was opened in the 80s.
Now residents of Konergino send letters at the post office, shop in two stores (Nord and Katyusha), call “the mainland” from the only landline telephone in the entire village, sometimes go to the local cultural club, and use the medical outpatient clinic. However, the residential buildings in the village are in disrepair and are not subject to major repairs.
“Firstly, they don’t give us much money, and secondly, due to the complex transport scheme, it is difficult to deliver materials to the village,” said the head of the settlement, Alexander Mylnikov, several years ago. According to him, if previously the housing stock in Konergino was repaired by utility workers, now they have neither building materials nor labor. “It is expensive to deliver construction materials to the village; the contractor spends about half of the allocated funds on transportation costs. The builders refuse, it is not profitable for them to work with us,” he complained.
The government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug did not answer the editor’s question whether residential buildings in Konergino are really in disrepair. However, the first deputy governor of the district, Anastasia Zhukova, said that state programs have been developed on the territory of Chukotka for resettlement from emergency housing stock, development of the district’s infrastructure and development of housing and communal services and the water management complex.
About 330 people live in Konergino. Of these, there are about 70 children: most go to school. Fifty local residents work in housing and communal services, and the school, together with the kindergarten, employs 20 educators, teachers, nannies and cleaners. Young people do not stay in Konergino: school graduates go to study and work in other places. The depressive state of the village is illustrated by the situation with the traditional crafts for which the Konergins were famous.
“We no longer have marine hunting. According to capitalist rules, it is not profitable,” says Puya. — The fur farms closed, and the fur trade was quickly forgotten. In the 90s, fur production in Konergino collapsed.” All that remains is reindeer husbandry: in Soviet times and until the mid-2000s, while Roman Abramovich remained as governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, it was successful here.
There are 51 reindeer herders working in Konergino, 34 of whom work in brigades in the tundra. According to Pui, reindeer herders' incomes are extremely low. “This is an unprofitable industry, there is not enough money for salaries. The state covers the lack of funds so that the salary is higher than the subsistence level, which in our case is 13 thousand. The reindeer farm that employs the workers pays them approximately 12.5 thousand. The state pays up to 20 thousand extra so that the reindeer herders don’t die of hunger,” the director complains.
When asked why it is impossible to pay more, Puya replies that the cost of producing venison on different farms varies from 500 to 700 rubles per kilogram. And wholesale prices for beef and pork, which are imported “from the mainland,” start at 200 rubles. The Chukchi cannot sell meat for 800-900 rubles and are forced to set the price at 300 rubles - at a loss. “There is no point in capitalist development of this industry,” says Puya. “But this is the last thing left in the ethnic villages.”
The government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug did not answer the editor’s question whether there really is no marine hunting industry in the village of Konergino, and whether fur farms and complexes responsible for fur hunting are closed.
At the same time, according to the first deputy governor, about 800 people work at 14 agricultural enterprises in the district. As of June 1 of this year, 148,000 reindeer were grazed in reindeer herding brigades, and from May 1 in Chukotka, the wages of reindeer herders were increased - to an average of 30%. In addition, the deputy governor noted that the district budget will allocate 65 million rubles to increase wages.
Evgeny Kaipanau, a 36-year-old Chukchi, was born in Lorino into the family of the most respected whaler. “Lorino” (in Chukchi – “L’auren”) is translated from Chukchi as “found camp”. The settlement stands on the shore of Mechigmenskaya Bay of the Bering Sea. Several hundred kilometers away are the American islands of Krusenstern and St. Lawrence; Alaska is also very close. But planes fly to Anadyr once every two weeks - and only if the weather is good. Lorino is covered from the north by hills, so there are more windless days here than in neighboring villages. True, despite relatively good weather conditions, in the 90s almost all Russian residents left Lorino, and since then only Chukchi have lived there - about 1,500 people.
The houses in Lorino are rickety wooden buildings with peeling walls and faded paint. In the center of the village there are several cottages built by Turkish workers - insulated buildings with cold water, which in Lorino is considered a privilege (if you run cold water through ordinary pipes, it will freeze in winter). There is hot water throughout the settlement, because the local boiler house operates all year round. But there is no hospital or clinic here - for several years now people have been sent for medical care by air ambulance or on all-terrain vehicles.
Lorino is famous for its marine mammal hunting. It’s not for nothing that the documentary film “Whaler” was filmed here in 2008, which received the TEFI prize. Hunting sea animals is still an important activity for local residents. Whalers not only feed their families or earn money by selling meat to the local trapping community, they also honor the traditions of their ancestors.
Since childhood, Kaipanau knew how to properly slaughter walruses, catch fish and whales, and walk in the tundra. But after school he went to Anadyr to study first as an artist and then as a choreographer. Until 2005, while living in Lorino, he often went on tour to Anadyr or Moscow to perform with national ensembles. Due to constant travel, climate change and flights, Kaipanau decided to finally move to Moscow. There he got married, his daughter was nine months old.
“I try to instill my creativity and culture in my wife,” says Evgeniy. “Although many things seemed wild to her before, especially when she found out the conditions in which my people live.” I instill traditions and customs in my daughter, for example, showing national clothes. I want her to know that she is a hereditary Chukchi.”
Evgeny now rarely appears in Chukotka: he tours and represents the Chukchi culture around the world together with his ensemble “Nomad”. In the ethnopark “Nomad” of the same name near Moscow, where Kaipanau works, he conducts thematic excursions and shows documentaries about Chukotka, including Vladimir Pui.
But living far from his homeland does not prevent him from knowing about many things happening in Lorino: his mother remains there, she works in the city administration. Thus, he is sure that young people are drawn to those traditions that are being lost in other regions of the country. “Culture, language, hunting skill. Young people in Chukotka, including young people from our village, are learning to catch whales. Our people live with this all the time,” says Kaipanau.
Hunting
In the summer season, the Chukchi hunted whales and walruses, and in the winter season, they hunted seals. They hunted with harpoons, knives and spears. Whales and walruses were hunted together, but seals were hunted separately. The Chukchi caught fish with nets made of whale and deer tendons or leather belts, nets and bits. In winter - in an ice hole, in summer - from the shore or from kayaks. In addition, until the beginning of the 19th century, bears and wolves, rams and moose, wolverines, foxes and arctic foxes were hunted with bows, spears and traps. Waterfowl were killed with a throwing weapon (bola) and darts with a throwing plank. From the second half of the 19th century, guns began to be used, and then whaling firearms.
Products that are imported from the mainland cost a lot of money in the village. “They bring “golden” eggs for 200 rubles. I’m generally silent about grapes,” adds Kaipanau. Prices reflect the sad socio-economic situation in Lorino. There are few places in the settlement where one can show professionalism and university skills.
“But the situation of the people is, in principle, normal,” the interlocutor immediately clarifies. “After the arrival of Abramovich (the billionaire was governor of Chukotka from 2001 to 2008 - DV), things became much better: more jobs appeared, houses were rebuilt, and medical and obstetric centers were established.”
Kaipanau recalls how whalers he knew “came, took the governor’s motor boats for free and left.” “Now they live and enjoy,” he says. The federal authorities, according to him, also help the Chukchi, but not very actively.
Kaipanau has a dream. He wants to create educational ethnic centers in Chukotka, where indigenous peoples could relearn their culture: build kayaks and yarangas, embroider, sing, dance.
“In the ethnopark, many visitors consider the Chukchi to be an uneducated and backward people; They think that they don’t wash and constantly say “however.” They even sometimes tell me that I am not a real Chukchi. But we are real people.”
Life under Abramovich
Having become the governor of Chukotka, for whom more than 90% of voters voted, Abramovich built several cinemas, clubs, schools, and hospitals at his own expense. He provided veterans with pensions and arranged holidays for Chukotka children in southern resorts. The governor’s companies spent approximately $1.3 billion on developing the economy and infrastructure of Chukotka.
The average monthly salary in the Autonomous Okrug under Abramovich increased from 5.7 thousand rubles in 2000 to 19.5 thousand in 2004. For January-July 2005, according to Rosstat, Chukotka, with an average monthly salary of 20,336 rubles, was in fourth place in Russia.
Abramovich's companies took part in all sectors of the Chukotka economy - from the food industry to construction and retail. Gold deposits were developed jointly with Canadian and English gold miners.
The Far Eastern plenipotentiary of that time, Pulikovsky, spoke about Abramovich: “Our experts calculated that if he leaves, the budget will be reduced from 14 billion to 3 billion, and this is catastrophic for the region. Abramovich’s team must stay, they have a plan according to which the Chukotka economy will be able to operate independently in 2009.”
Every morning, 45-year-old resident of the village of Sireniki Natalya (she asked not to use her last name) wakes up at 8 am to go to work at the local school. She is a watchman and technical worker.
Sireniki, where Natalya has lived for 28 years, is located in the Providensky urban district of Chukotka, on the shores of the Bering Sea. The first Eskimo settlement appeared here about three thousand years ago, and in the vicinity of the village remains of the dwellings of ancient people are still found. In the 60s of the last century, the Chukchi joined the indigenous people. Therefore, the village has two names: from Ekimo it is translated as “Valley of the Sun”, and from Chukchi as “Rocky Terrain”.
Sireniki is surrounded by hills, and it is difficult to get here, especially in winter - only by snowmobile or helicopter. From spring to autumn, sea vessels come here. From above, the village looks like a box of colorful candies: green, blue and red cottages, an administration building, a post office, a kindergarten and an outpatient clinic. Previously, there were many dilapidated wooden houses in Sireniki, but a lot has changed, says Natalya, with the arrival of Abramovich.
“My husband and I used to live in a house with stove heating; we had to wash dishes outside. Then Valera fell ill with tuberculosis, and his attending physician helped us get a new cottage due to his illness. Now we have a European-quality renovation.”
Clothing and food
Chukchi men wore kukhlyankas made of double reindeer skin and the same trousers. They pulled a boot made of camus with soles made of seal skin over siskins - stockings made of dog skin. The double fawn hat was bordered at the front with long-haired wolverine fur, which does not freeze from human breath in any frost, and fur mittens were worn on rawhide straps that were pulled into the sleeves.
The shepherd was as if in a spacesuit. The clothes the women wore were tight-fitting to the body and tied below the knees, forming something like pants. They put it on over the head. Over the top, women wore a wide fur shirt with a hood, which they wore on special occasions such as holidays or migrations.
The shepherd always had to protect the number of deer, so livestock breeders and families ate vegetarian food in the summer, and if they ate deer, then it was completely, right down to the antlers and hooves. They preferred boiled meat, but often ate it raw: the shepherds in the herd simply did not have time to cook. The sedentary Chukchi ate the meat of walruses, which were previously killed in huge quantities.
About 500 people live in Sireniki, including border guards and military personnel. Many are engaged in traditional marine hunting: they go walruses, whales, and fish. “My husband is a hereditary marine game hunter. He, along with his eldest son and other colleagues, is part of the Neighborhood Community. The community conducts fishing for the residents,” says Natalya. — Meat is often given to non-working pensioners for free. Although our meat is not as expensive as that imported from stores. It’s also a traditional food, we can’t live without it.”
How do they live in Sireniki? According to our interlocutor, it’s normal. There are currently about 30 unemployed people in the village. In the summer they pick mushrooms and berries, and in the winter they catch fish, which they sell or exchange for other products. Natalya’s husband receives a pension of 15,700 rubles, while the cost of living here is 15,000. “I myself work without part-time jobs, this month I will receive about 30,000. We, undoubtedly, live an average life, but somehow I don’t feel that salaries are increasing,” - the woman complains, remembering the cucumbers brought to Sireniki for 600 rubles per kilogram.
Natalya’s sister, like half the village residents, works on a rotational basis at Kupol. This gold deposit, one of the largest in the Far East, is located 450 km from Anadyr. Since 2011, 100% of Kupol shares have been owned by the Canadian company Kinross Gold. “My sister used to work there as a maid, and now she gives out masks to miners who go down into the mines. They have a gym and a billiard room there! They pay in rubles (the average salary at Kupol is 50,000 rubles - DV), transferred to a bank card,” says Natalya.
The woman knows little about production, salaries and investments in the region, but often repeats: “The dome helps us.” The fact is that the Canadian company that owns the deposit created a Social Development Fund back in 2009; it allocates money for socially significant projects. At least a third of the budget goes to support the indigenous peoples of the Autonomous Okrug. For example, Kupol helped publish a dictionary of the Chukchi language, opened courses in indigenous languages, and built a school for 65 children and a kindergarten for 32 in Sireniki.
“My Valera also received a grant,” says Natalya. — Two years ago, Kupol allocated him 1.5 million rubles for a huge 20-ton freezer. After all, the whalers will get the animal, there is a lot of meat - it will spoil. And now this camera is a lifesaver. With the remaining money, my husband and his colleagues bought tools to build kayaks.”
Natalya, a Chukchi and hereditary reindeer herder, believes that the national culture is now being revived. He says that every Tuesday and Friday the local village club holds rehearsals for the Northern Lights ensemble; courses of Chukchi and other languages are opening (albeit in the regional center - Anadyr); competitions like the Governor's Cup or the Barents Sea regatta are held.
“And this year our ensemble is invited to a grand event - an international festival! Five people will fly to the dance program. It will all be in Alaska, she will pay for the flight and accommodation,” says the woman. She admits that the Russian state also supports national culture, but she mentions the Dome much more often. Natalya does not know of a domestic fund that would finance the peoples of Chukotka.
“It cannot be said that the socio-economic situation of the Chukchi today is favorable,” says Nina Veisalova, first vice-president of the Association of Small Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East (AMKNSS and Far East of the Russian Federation). According to her, an important problem is the closure of ethnic villages or their merger, which is being done to optimize government spending. Infrastructure and jobs are being cut, forcing local residents to move to regional centers, to the cities: “The usual is breaking lifestyle, it is difficult for displaced people to adapt to a new place, find work and housing.”
The government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug denied the fact of the reduction of ethnic villages to a DV correspondent: “This was not discussed either at the district or regional levels.”
Another key issue is healthcare. In Chukotka, as in other northern regions, says a representative of the Association, respiratory diseases are very common. But, according to Veisalova’s information, tuberculosis dispensaries are being closed in ethnic villages.
“There are a lot of cancer patients. The previously existing health care system ensured the identification, observation and treatment of sick people from among small peoples, which was enshrined in law. Unfortunately, such a scheme does not work today,” she clarifies. Zhukova, in turn, did not answer the question about the closure of tuberculosis dispensaries, but only said that in every district and settlement of Chukotka hospitals, medical outpatient clinics and medical and obstetric centers have been preserved.
There is a stereotype in Russian society: the Chukchi people drank themselves to death after the “white man” came to the territory of Chukotka - that is, since the beginning of the last century. The Chukchi never drank alcohol, their body does not produce an enzyme that breaks down alcohol, and because of this, the effect of alcohol on their health is more detrimental than that of other peoples. But according to Evgeniy Kaipanau, the level of the problem is greatly overestimated. “With alcohol [among the Chukchi], everything is the same as everywhere else. But they drink less than anywhere else,” he says.
At the same time, says Kaipanau, the Chukchi actually did not have an enzyme that breaks down alcohol in the past. “Now, although the enzyme has been developed, people still do not drink as the legends say,” sums up the Chukchi.
Kaipanau’s opinion is supported by Doctor of Medical Sciences GNICP Irina Samorodskaya, one of the authors of the report “Mortality and the share of deaths in economically active age from causes related to alcohol (drugs), MI and IHD from all deaths aged 15-72 years” for 2013. According to Rosstat, the document says, the highest mortality rate from alcohol-related causes is indeed in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 268 people per 100 thousand. But these data, Samorodskaya emphasizes, apply to the entire population of the district.
“Yes, the indigenous population of those territories are the Chukchi, but they are not the only ones who live there,” she explains. In addition, according to Samorodskaya, Chukotka is higher in all mortality indicators than other regions - and this is not only alcohol mortality, but also other external causes.
“It is now impossible to say that it was the Chukchi who died from alcohol, this is how the system works. First, if people do not want an alcohol-related cause of death on their deceased relative's death certificate, it will not be listed. Secondly, the vast majority of deaths occur at home. And there, death certificates are often filled out by a local doctor or even a paramedic, which is why other reasons may be indicated in the documents - it’s easier to write that way,” explains the professor.
Finally, another serious problem in the region, according to Veisalova, is the relationship between industrial companies and the indigenous local population. “People come like conquerors, disturbing the peace and quiet of the local residents. I think there should be regulations on the interaction between companies and peoples,” she says.
In turn, Vice-Governor Zhukova says that companies, on the contrary, care about the indigenous population and jointly finance the Kupol Fund under the trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government, RAIPON and mining companies.
Language and religion
The Chukchi, living in the tundra, called themselves “chavchu” (deer). Those who lived on the shore were “ankalyn” (Pomor). There is a common self-name for the people - “luoravetlan” (real person), but it has not caught on. 50 years ago, approximately 11 thousand people spoke the Chukchi language. Now their number is decreasing every year. The reason is simple: in Soviet times, writing and schools appeared, but at the same time a policy was pursued of the destruction of everything national. Separation from their parents and life in boarding schools forced Chukchi children to know their native language less and less.
The Chukchi have long believed that the world is divided into upper, middle and lower. At the same time, the upper world (“cloud land”) is inhabited by the “upper people” (in Chukchi - gyrgorramkyn), or the “people of the dawn” (tnargy-ramkyn), and the supreme deity among the Chukchi does not play a serious role. The Chukchi believed that their soul was immortal, they believed in reincarnation, and shamanism was widespread among them. Both men and women could be shamans, but among the Chukchi the shamans of the “transformed sex” were considered especially powerful - men who acted as housewives, and women who adopted the clothes, activities and habits of men.
Natalya, who lives in Sireniki, greatly misses her son, who completed nine grades at the Sireninsky school, and then graduated from the paramedic department in Anadyr and left for St. Petersburg. “I fell in love with this city and stayed. More, of course, are those who leave,” Natalya sighs. Why did her son leave? It was boring. “I can only fly here on vacation,” said the young man. And it’s difficult for Natalya to see him: her elderly father lives in Anadyr, and she has to go to see him. Because of expensive tickets The second flight - this time to St. Petersburg - she won’t be able to handle.
“I thought that while my father was alive, I would go to him. It is important. And in St. Petersburg... Yes, my son also misses me and is offended. But I’m a tundra man - I need to go fishing, pick berries, go to nature... To my homeland.”
800 reindeer herders
counted the authorities of Chukotka in the region from 2011 to 2015. Today their average monthly salary is 24.5 thousand rubles. For comparison: last year, reindeer herders received a thousand less, and in 2011 their salary was 17 thousand rubles. Over the past five years, the state has allocated about 2.5 billion rubles to support reindeer herding activities.
