April 28, 2006

The Saami's Story


The Saami's Story

Small Indigenous People of Russia: the Saami

Indigenous peoples in Russia have no fear for the cold climes. Eleven out of 40 peoples officially recognized as Indigenous Small People of Russia (with populations under 50,000) live beyond the Arctic Circle. One of these - hunters and reindeer-herders - are the Saami, also known as Sami or Lapps, in Murmansk oblast.

With a total worldwide population of 85,000, the Saami, who also live in Sweden, Norway and Finland, are one of the largest indigenous groups in Europe. Yet in Russia, just under 1,800 Saami live in the central Kola peninsula, and only one in three of these speaks Saami, a Finno-Ugric language.

Historically, the Saami inhabited all of Northern Scandinavia, Finland, and Eastern Karelia. They made their living by hunting, fishing and reindeer herding. The Saami religion, a pagan faith, was practiced until around the 18th century, and then gradually replaced by Christianity. The Saami in Russia, as well as in North-Eastern Finland, are predominantly Russian Orthodox believers.

Lovozero Settlement, about 124 miles south of Murmansk, is the center of the Saami population on the Kola peninsula - over half of Russia's Saami live there. Most have abandoned hunting and make ends meet by berry-picking and reindeer herding. The Saami have just under 61,000 reindeer, which they lead to tundra pastures in the summer, and back to Lovozero in the winter.

Local Saami had their greatest number of deer in the 1980s (around 80 thousand) - this in spite of the many troubles they survived in the Soviet era: collectivization, closure of pasture lands because of nearby naval bases, and even the flooding of several Saami villages during construction of the Serebryansky hydroelectric power plant. Recent challenges include deer poaching - both military and civilian - by people who pretend they cannot tell the difference between wild and domesticated deer. Most deer meat is exported to Sweden, where gourmet cooks prefer organic deer from the Kola peninsula to local, farm-raised sources.

Young Saami are increasingly reluctant to spend most of their year in tundra pastures with the deer herds, opting for more contemporary occupations and often moving away from the area. A local vocational school still teaches courses in deer "harvesting" and in traditional Saami fur crafts, but to little use in this depressed district with high unemployment.

All that said, locals have high hopes that domestic and international tourism will bring money to the area.

As well, like other places that have indigenous populations, there have been attempts to revive Saami culture in the Kola peninsula, be it through grants or cultural exchanges (with Finland, Norway and Sweden). Recently, a radio station in Lovozero has begun broadcasting in the Saami language. With just two local reporters - one of whom is based in Murmansk, the station assembles a daily 15-minute broadcast, hoping to one day make a profit.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Best of Russian Life

The Best of Russian Life

We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
PO Box 567
Montpelier VT 05601-0567

802-223-4955