Market Exchange and Share-Out Practices in the Anabar District of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)

Abstract

One of the distinctive features of the market economy as it currently functions in the Anabar district (also known as the Dolgan-Evenki district) of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) is the intertwinement – in fact, quite often, interdependence – of the market exchange practices and the share-out practices (deliozh), the latter having long been a common form of traditional economy among various peoples of the North. Charitable activities, which are mixed or combined with trading by some entrepreneurs in the region, may be seen as a new emergent form of share-out. There are other aspects of the market relations that may also be considered specific to the region, such as the reliance on informal connections and networks in conducting business and interest-free commodity credits.