The Kolguev Nenets: island mentality and the crisis of reindeer herding

The Kolguev Nenets are a distinct group that formed in the result of migrations from the mainland into the island in the second half of the 18th — 19th century. Their history and culture are closely linked to reindeer herding. The Pomor-Samoyed colonization of the Kolguyev Island, where the Pomors were the masters of the sea and the Samoyeds were the masters of the tundra, can be called a mutually beneficial “partnership” development. The economic transformations of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods contributed to the strengthening of the “island” mentality of the Kolguev Nenets. The mass mortality of reindeer in 2014 demonstrated the vulnerability of traditional economy and the resilience of the island culture. On the one hand, the crisis led to an increase in the “siege mentality” and mistrust of the outside world (the prevailing opinion about the deliberate poisoning of reindeer), on the other hand, it prompted rethinking of the role of reindeer herding and a search for new forms of management (the creation of the peasant farm “Ңerm” and the SRO “Saldy”). The mentality of the Kolguev Nenets is characterized by isolation and conservatism, attachment to their native land (“fear of losing their island”), a special attitude to reindeer (“an island without reindeer is a desert”), a high degree of interdependence of the group and its dependence on the outside world. In circumstances of limited access to resources, family plays a key role in ensuring security; at the same time, “clan” disagreements and contradictions between the tundra (reindeer herders) and the village (residents of the village of Bugrino) have become acutely evident.