Sovremennoe olenevodstvo v Rossii: sostoianiie, mobil’nost’, prava sobstvennosti, paternalism gosudarstva

Abstract

In Russia, reindeer husbandry is officially considered by the state as a foundation for preserving the traditional culture of northern peoples. The intensive production methods that contributed to the uniforming of reindeer breeding during the Soviet period are no longer mandatory. As in the pre-Soviet period, today reindeer herders are highly mobile. The termination of state support for the reindeer herding economy in 1991 resulted in the sharp decline in the quantity of reindeer in the area to the east of the Yenisei river. Yet, in the West Siberia and North-West of the European Russia, there might be observed a growth of reindeer economy which has been propelled by the sizeable development of retail market. Since 1998, the numbers of reindeer in Russian households have been growing; there have been adopted laws regulating both property rights and state subsidies.