NATIONS OF THE NORTH: IS THERE A FUTURE FOR THEM?

Elena Monakhova

The Outer North, Siberia and Far East - all these are regions, difficult of access and with very cold climate. In the meantime these huge areas - more than 11 millions quadrate kilometers - are occupying approximately two thirds of the Russian territory. They range from the Cola Peninsula until Chukotka and from Chukotka until Far East and are also including Sakhalin and some regions of Siberia. Winter is long there and very cold. For example in the northern parts of the Far East the frost is reaching 50 degrees below zero, in the seaside regions storms are the common thing. Mountainous relief and higher seismicity of some regions are combining with waterlogged plain regions. The bigger part of the territory is situated beyond the polar circle, which causes the long polar night; the most regions are the regions of permafrost.

The small nations of the North stand out among other nations of Russia for a number of particular qualities: extreme conditions of habitat, specific material and spiritual culture, which is adjusted to these conditions as much as possible; dispersed settling; traditional nomadic and half-nomadic way of life; long isolation from other cultures. More than 30 nations are now included in the official list of small native nations of North, Siberia and Far East.

Before adopting Christianity all the northern nations were animists. They believed, that all the living beings and all the lifeless objects of the surrounding world are having souls. This conception helped to explain many phenomenon of the surrounding nature. This caused the belief in necessity of communication with spirits. On this ground the special and unique form of religion or of religious ideology has appeared - shamanism. Shamans played the role of mediators between the world of living people and the world of spirits. Many Northern nations, for example Chukchis did not consider being shaman as a profession and the shaman was not exactly the minister of religion. Normally the head of the clan or of the family was in charge of these functions. Sometimes shaman was a physically or mentally disabled person, even social outcast. But at the same time shaman was a very social respectable person being necessary to communicate with the world of spirits.

After the revolution of 1917 the native small nations of the North, Siberia and Far East - in other words foreigners received the equal status with the other nations of Russia. The Declaration of Nations' Rights, adopted in December 1997, which declared the right of small nations and ethnographical groups of Russia to develop freely, confirmed this fact.

The way of joining the new life became the subject of stormy discussions. One part of scientists insisted on the impossibility of quick joining of Northern nations to the transformations, which were happening in the country, and suggested protective actions against radical changes and unnecessary contacts with Russians. As one of the ways they suggested creation of so-called "zakazniky" - the type of reservations, already existing in Western countries. Other scientists thought that the nations of the North like the rest of the population should take the way of overcoming of social differences and the areas of their living, rich on treasures of the soil and nature, should be involved without any limitations into the process of intensive developing. But for all that the native population was considered to be the instrument for developing of rich areas of the North. Only because of that the radicals agreed to provide the Northern population with food, because otherwise the natives would die out and could not help by developing and colonization of these areas. The most scientists recognized, that the natives are having very specific distinctions in comparison to the rest of the Russian population. But while conservators did not see these specifics as demonstration of underdevelopment and wildness, many radicals took the natives as hopeless barbarians. Psychics and way of house holding of the natives, as they thought, are having a seal of degeneration; the natives cannot understand even the ABC of the human culture.

At the beginning of the 30-s the radical turn of the integration of Northern nations happened. Collectivization has begun. Some scientists thought, that the elements of the private communal social structure, that still remained among the Northern nations, would serve as base for socialist economy, while being nearly ready "kolkhoz" forms. To liquidate the nomadic life as way of life and transition to the settled way of life kolkhozes were made. First they were miniature bases of settled life than they were transformed to big settlements, where administrative and serving personnel was concentrated. At the same time with the building of settlements native children, old people and women from remote deer-raisers', fishers' and hunters' camps were displaced to the settlements. Little by little sovkhozes replaced kolkhozes and the property of the natives was practically nationalized by state. Many natives did not understand the point of "class" fighting and disappeared in the remote places in forests and tundra. But repressive actions aimed at extermination of reach people and so called "kulaki" went to the most far places. Shamans were the objects of very strong attention, and "re-education" of them was held in the correctional institutions.

I am talking with Larissa Abryutina, doctor of political sciences, Vice-President of the Health Association of Russian federation for Small Native Nations of the North, Siberia and Far East about the consequences of the radical changes in life and culture of the small native nations of the North, Siberia and Far East. During fifteen years this brave woman was working as practical doctor, head of the mobile medical division in one of the areas of Chukotka. Her living and emotional story is painting a very sad picture.

L.A. I personally come from Chukotka. I was born and grew up in a family of deer-raisers. My grandfather on my mother's sind had five wives. In this inclement climate conditions they had to make as much as possible of working power - boys, who will raise deer. His last wife gave birth to my mother. My grandfather was able to keep a big family - he has got a huge herd. In spite of the hard weather conditions all the people were very healthy. Each woman gave birth to 12-15 children. The half of them died and this was taken as natural - the weak one dies, and the strong one lives. Nobody helped to the weak one to survive. People lived in the state of harmony with the nature - hunting and fishing. The whole life went in a very tensed rhythm, but still it was a normal, fair and well organized life.

A child for the native nations of the North was their point of life and he was never beaten. Whatever the child would do - everything he does is right. Children in the North start to be grown up very early, from 5-6 years the child is already participating in the house keeping. Parents arranged marriages. For example there are two camps nearby, in one of them a boy is born and in the other - a girl. Parents make an agreement and when children grow up they marry them. And none of the married couple did not make any thoughts "Does he suit me or not?". Such thoughts never came to their minds.

We had a very big family - eight children. But from seven years old I was sent to a boarding school. When they started to pick up children, my parents firstly begun to oppose. As well shamans were actively against this process. They told to their relatives: "You are doing the wrong thing while giving up your children to strangers". The repressions against shamans have been started. Parents were convinced that children need good education and they should be good participants of the soviet structuring. And the Russians while doing this did not understand that they made a mistake. On the contrary they considered it as doing good.

We spent at the boarding school nine months of the year. They brought us to our parents for vacation only. We stayed at home in June and July and at the end of August they brought us back to boarding school and this became a tragedy. I remember my mother being very unhappy. We cried while leaving, because it is the most terrible thing for a child - to separate him from his mother. And afterwards at boarding school the pain went away, playing with other children draw away. But anyway we were waiting for our parents, when they would come to visit us. They came to the village on deers. They put on tents in 5-10 kilometers from the village and came to our place. For the weekend we went to our parents against a receipt. Than the village started to grow and a lot of strange people came in. Our parents were quartered at relatives' or friends' places or at the hostel, and the deers were set free. I remember I had a friend in the village. Her mother was a bookkeeper. I visited her at her place and felt so good. And I was dreaming all the time "My God, when I will have the same". There was a health center for deer-raisers in our village. But it was just called like this to get some money from the state; as a matter of fact it was a hostel. When my mother was coming and if there was a free room, superintendent gave her the key. There was only a bed in the room. I remember my mother going out and bringing in the cases and making a table of them. She has got a pot and the electric cooker she received at the hostel. And she was cooking meat there. We did not have blankets - we slept on fell. For a stranger it would seem wild, but for us it was normal. We were sitting on fell, ate half-done meat and felt happy because we were together with our mother.

Corr. But as we know, the person is developing in the family only. His future is created there.

L. A. You are right. We did loose the cultural values of our nation at boarding schools. At boarding school like in the hen house everything is the same, made on one model. We had a daily routine: getting up, breakfast, school, after school - lunch. And everything is done at the command and in the ranks. Then - doing homework and eating supper. And although we had lessons on housekeeping they could not replace family education. And it was forbidden to talk native language at boarding school as well - Russian only to start reading and writing as quick as possible. We had a lot of good teachers, who tried to replace parents for us. But at the same time there were others, who shouted at us and treated us very badly. Like in any kindergarten and school of Moscow. But if you live at home - you come back home in the evening and your mother will caress you. And at the boarding school you have to live it through alone. Senior pupils treated youngsters badly as well. Therefore it was always better when five children from one family were put to the boarding school at once. The seniors could take care of the youngsters. But the adults at boarding school did not care about all these complicated relationships and did not notice them at all.

Several generations grew up like this. And today many young mothers are glad to give up their children to boarding school. The boarding school is sparing them a lot of problems: they do not need to feed children, to dress them, to sew national clothes for them. The own cultural background becomes strange for such children. They see a deer in the village and look at it as at something strange and funny. And when they see a Chukchi wearing national clothes - they react as if they see a strange unknown animal at the zoo.

While becoming adults these children are absolutely helpless. They are totally served at boarding school - somebody is washing their underwear, cooking, peeling potatoes. In 50-s children were serving themselves - cooking, bringing firewood. And now they have got laundry, central heating. They entertain all the free time: discotheques, concerts, TV. Children are loosing the habits of housekeeping and often it happens, a woman is going to maternity hospital without being able to cook something. Children are not adapted to both the life they have lost and to the life that was imposed to them.

Here is as example the life of Petya Amrykin. He completed 7 grades and then studied at the technical school by profession "painter-plasterer". He has no flat in the village, because his parents are deer-raisers. Petya is been sent to tundra. There is no TV there. To get something to eat he has as his grandparents to raise deers, to fish, to chop wood to make fire in the chum. The boy is 16 years old. Parents are starting shouting at him "Why are you so lazy?" He has to get up early - there is sunrise at 5 a.m. in tundra. They set the deers free for the night and he has to collect them at the sunrise. The temperature is 40 degrees below zero. Petya does not want to go out and a crisis is brewing. The grown up son can even strike his parents. Soon the family fell sick of dysentery. Petya goes with parents to the regional center to hospital. Afterwards they have to go back to tundra. Petya does not want it: "Go to hell! I'm tired. I don't go. I will settle down here somehow." And he went to his schoolmate, who was living in the village. In three weeks the mother of his friend is calling me: "We have something to do. You understand - a strange man came; the flat is small. Do please something with it". That happened in February. I went to the technical school and persuaded director to take the boy until summer: "The boy is good. And in summer I will send him together with schoolboys to tundra." Director agreed: "Okay, I will take him as cook". And she made it as if he started to learn in September. And what do you think? Summer is coming and he does not want to leave. Director is saying: "Okay, let him study for 2-3 years more". When everybody left for summer vocation, he was guarding the pioneer camp. The adults did understand, that he was like an orphan having living parents; nobody needed him. After he finished his study, director is saying: "Now you should take him, I cannot keep him forever". I could not find a job for Petya. He was forced to go to his village. He stayed there at his relatives' place. He wanted to work, but there was no job there for him. More than a half of the villagers are unemployed. Again Petya came back to the regional center. He stayed at the medical Health center. He said to me: "I will look for a job". And what do you think? He found it. In a pigpen. A Russian businessman went in for pig breeding business. Petya was in charge of cleaning up there and he lived there at the same time. Hard work to do. And his employer was only feeding him; he did not give any money to him. And than his employer left, slaughtered all his pigs - probably it was not profitable. And Petya stayed again on the street. Petya lived in the same pigpen and at night he went to summer cottages - to steal something. People are building greenhouses to work on the ground in summer. Someone is having pigs; someone is having rabbits. In winter everything is closed but some of them are keeping food and animals there - they are coming every day to feed them. And at night Petya was coming, breaking the door and taking something to eat. And he was caught stealing. He was imprisoned. But everything could be very different. He could be a good deer-raiser; he would love to live in tundra. But he was imposed on something very different. He likes comfortable life; but this life does not need him. And he does not want to go there, where his historical background is.

In the Soviet time there was no unemployment there. Everybody went to work to deer-raising brigade, working there as herders, and they were paid money for it. But the perestroika only uncovered all the problems, which already existed.

Corr. It is known, that during the period of perestroika a lot of people suffered. Particularly, people did in the Russian out-of-the-way-places.

L. A. But in the Russian remote places the situation is very different. People are not having electric light, but they do have land. If they are not being lazy, then they can plant potatoes, vegetables, to harvest. And in the North - you just dig and here it is - the permafrost. You cannot plant anything. In Canada all the Indians are on the state's security, they are receiving welfare payments. They have only to stay on their land. But they are renting their land as well - they do not want to work on it. I do not want that my nation - Chukchis - became same dependant. I want, that they earn their money and bring up their children.

The nations of the North do not want to live now. The boarding schools still exist. Everybody knows that children, who were brought up in a children's home are different, with different psychology. But if in Russia there are only 1 per cent of such children, we have 100 per cent. The whole nation was separated from their parents and transformed into mankurts. And this is the problem of the state, not only of the Northern nations. It is possible to build small schools in the villages, 3-4 classes each. If the child is gifted, it is worth it to send him afterwards to the boarding school. But when the child cannot cope with higher mathematics, what for to take him from his home? Let him hunt and raise deer in tundra. In tundra he will be a normal and valuable person.

The other alternative is to create family boarding schools as, for example in Alaska is made. There, if the parents have to work they put their child into other family so that he can go to school and they pay his allowances. And tutors are receiving payments from social care services as well. We can find other models as well. But the main thing is that the child is brought up in the family.

We can still improve the situation. We can create normal working conditions for deer-raisers, for development of handy craft. But the state threw the people like puppies in the water: "Would you swim out - okay, would you not - bad luck - you have to die". It is not right. The most terrible thing is, that we will not disappear physically. We will still be reproducing - and live in our villages and towns on welfare payments. No state can afford it. Than it is better to bring the people back where they belong - to their historical home place.

In this connection we have the acute question of conservation of the natural surroundings in the North. General industrial development and pollution are destroying pastures, forests and water resources. In Yamal-Nenets autonomous district for example the pollutions caused by gas and oil escapes as well as land damages caused by heavy vehicles destroyed 6,8 million hectares of deer pastures. As well in Dolgan-Nenets autonomous district the all-year-round navigation on the Yenisei River and construction of the trunk pipeline Messoyekha - Norilsk made huge pastures inaccessible. The nature of the North is very sensible to results of people's activities. At the same time the life of Northern nations is very closed connected with natural resources, which are the base of economy, social life and culture of the natives. The stratagems of private enterprising fall outside of the understanding of the native people of the North. Their traditions, worldview, ideas of property are in conflict with the ideas of the modern market economy. Quite often after becoming shareholders the natives cannot find the way for using their shares. And they exchange it against food or pay back their debts with it. Sometimes they just spend their shares on drink and leave their pastures and deer herds to go to villages and towns. And there they become unemployed.

Perhaps it was not meant in the USSR to take away the children of the Northern nations and bring them to boarding schools to be educated by strange people to annihilate the ethnic group, but, on contrary, to develop it and to bring it on the higher stage of development. But good will does not mean absence of genocide, but just shows its inadvertence, unconsciousness or incompetence of the organizers of this action. The mass and forced character of this action and its rapidity effected Northern nations in a very negative and even destroying way. As a matter of fact it was a repression, forced deportation - applied against children of the nation. Nivkh writer Vladimir Sangi described it very figuratively: the most effective and quick way for domestication of wild birds is not taming of adult birds but impressments of eggs from the nest and bringing up of hatched nestlings. Exactly on children it was staked while destroying of way of life and worldview of the natives. Honest and humanistic intentions of the organizers and performers of this action do not depreciate but just mask its destroying power, which is one of the main reasons for crisis of Northern nations.

Contact tel. no. of the RF Association for Small Native Nations of the North, Siberia and Far East: (095) 930-44-68, e-mail: abryt@mars.raqs.ru