Snezhnoye, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Even though the site for modern Snezhnoye was not decided upon until 1929,[13] archaeological excavations revealed a number of Neolithic camps in its vicinity.[14] One of such findings was a red flint flake, discovered about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the northeast.[15] Further discoveries were made on a small raised area near the river, where obsidian and blade-like flakes were found, as well as within the boundaries of Snezhnoye itself.[15] To the southeast of Snezhnoye, in an area where indigenous people used to live in yarangas, a quartz scraper from the Neolithic was discovered, along with an oval skreblo (a wider scraper).[15] On the river bank by the locality, test pits were dug and, although overall the revealed cultural layer was poor, dozens more flakes and blades were excavated.[15] Opposite this site, investigations by the local director of the radio station revealed a large prismatic obsidian core.[15][16]

Snezhnoye is located in an area where the Chukchi are the dominant indigenous people.[17] Unlike many of the other native localities in Chukotka, which are usually former kolkhozes (collective farms) created where an indigenous settlement originally stood, Snezhnoye was a completely original settlement[18] founded in the late 1920s as one of the first such farms in the national okrug.[13] As a result, despite the Chukchi's dominance in the surrounding area, Snezhnoye's ethnicities include Koryaks, Evens, Chuvans, Russians, and Ukrainians, as well as the Chukchi.[18]

In addition to being established as a brand new settlement, Snezhnoye was also created as a sovkhoz (a state farm) from the very beginning, despite the usual practice being the collectivization first into kolkhozes, which were transformed into sovkhozes at a later date.[19] The name "Snezhnoye", literally meaning "snowy", is after the Chukchi word keyelivtyn (кээливтын), used by the Chukchi to refer to the area and also meaning "snowy".[20]

Snezhnoye was the first sovkhoz (known as Anadyrsky[21]) created in Chukotka in 1928 or 1929,[22] following direct targeting by the Soviet Department of Agriculture.[19] Originally it covered an area of some 3,000,000 hectares (7,400,000 acres).[21] The locality was established primarily as an experiment in bringing Communism to the Russian Far East, with the rationale that if it could be made to work in Chukotka, then it could be made to work anywhere in the Russian North.[22] This experiment was designed to test the sovkhoz as the main means of collectively organizing reindeer husbandry.[23] The importance of this experiment was underlined when Ivan Druri from the sovkhoz in Lovozero in Murmansk Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, where the first such enterprise for studying reindeer had been established three years previously, traveled across almost the whole of Russia to Snezhnoye to assist with the establishment of the sovkhoz there,[24] and to discuss with the local herders new methods of reindeer husbandry while living and working among them.[23] The expert native herders, however, were given menial roles at first, while the Russians and Ukrainians, who had no specific experience of this type of operation, were assigned to the managerial posts.[18]

Such approach notwithstanding, the sovkhoz was a success and enjoyed growth throughout the Soviet period,[25] providing a regular salary from the state to its employees from the very start, granting considerable purchasing power in local stores and allowing the local population out in the tundra the chance to purchase new furniture and even television sets.[25] Unlike in kolkhozes, where farmers spent a certain amount of time working on plots of land allocated to them, this practice was not so common in sovkhozes, and the population of Snezhnoye, despite their ability to use the local shops, supplemented their diet by foraging in the tundra for berries and wild mushrooms.[25]

Reindeer herding continues to be the main source of employment in the locality,[14] although the imposition of a Soviet, centrally planned reindeer husbandry system has had a devastating effect on traditional indigenous practices. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, then-President Boris Yeltsin issued a number of decrees, which obliged all state-run enterprises, including sovkhozes, to re-organize themselves as joint-stock companies or private farms.[26] In the ensuing chaos, the reindeer herds were all but decimated, with the farm no longer receiving any government support.[18] Initially, the locality was designed to provide assistance to up to ten reindeer herding brigades, each with herds in excess of 2,000 animals;[27] however, by 1997 only two herds and less than 20% the original number of reindeer remained.[27]

Following the collapse of Anadyrsky Sovkhoz[28] the reindeer herders split into three groups. Three of the remaining four brigades chose to remain with the farm,[28] with the remnants of the sovkhoz renamed Agricultural Enterprise Sovkhoz Anadyrsky (сельскохозяйственное предприятие совхоз Анадырский).[29] One brigade decided to work independently of the sovkhoz, took a portion of the land, and struck out on their own,[28] although the brigadier is now back with the main farm, since it proved too difficult to barter for supplies with the other three brigades.[30] The remaining few families withdrew from the tundra completely and focused on establishing local farms.[28] Those who remained in one of the two groups tending the reindeer on the tundra were generally related to those families who had originally owned the reindeer prior to the establishment of the sovkhoz[31] and almost all those still involved in reindeer herding in Snezhnoye have family ties which keep them in the region.[32]

In 1996, eighty-six people, or more than half the total workforce, were directly employed by the remnants of the sovkhoz, the only productive enterprise remaining.[33] The remainder of the workforce was employed in ancillary roles, working as teachers (as the school was the largest employer after the sovkhoz), in the House of Culture, in general administration, in shops, or in utilities.[33]

After the death of all the male elders in a short period of time from a variety of causes (including suicide,[34]) very few people remained who had first-hand knowledge of traditional Chukchi reindeer husbandry methods following decades of Soviet doctrine.[35] The sovkhoz was partially abandoned,[35] with many of the local people noting the continuing involvement in herding by the "respected old men", as they were locally known, in the more successful brigades in Ust-Belaya.[36] This economic collapse caused almost all of the senior employees of the sovkhoz to leave, joined by many Russians who had occupied senior positions in ancillary roles[37] and who were no longer paid the high salaries and other benefits which had initially attracted them to the region.[37] The head clerk in the local administration, along with the sovkhoz's chief economist and the bank clerk, were among those positions vacated.[38] This created a vacuum in the local economy that, due to the complete lack of trained individuals, was not filled for some time until the standards required for a number of roles were reduced.[37] The vacated technical positions included the clerk serving the Head of the Administration (who was replaced by an indigenous woman without training and who was unable to keep the records properly[38]), the economist (which remained unfilled), and the bank branch (which simply closed, forcing everyone to travel to Ust-Belaya for any banking needs).[38] Local indigenous people have now filled this vacuum,[39] but that in turn resulted in creating a further vacuum out on the tundra.[32] The lack of experienced herders in the tundra creates additional problems for the surviving reindeer husbandry enterprises. In one year, a number of deer were lost because herders failed to drive the female deer across a river before the ice melted so that they could join the bulls. There were no calves produced that year.[40]

In addition to essentially removing the whole management structure, the dissolution of the Soviet Union also brought hardship to the herders.[41] By 1996, they were owed payment for more than three years[41] and while their salaries were still recorded in the official accounts, so were their expenses for food and other essentials meaning that a number were actually in debt to the sovkhoz.[41] The end of state funding for the sovkhoz left many of these farmers very poor and at the bottom of the social ladder.[41] By 1998, many had left Snezhnoye in search of more reliable employment.[41] Further class differentiation was driven not by differing salaries, but by the differing lengths of delay in paying them.[42] Those who remain working for the sovkhoz find that there salaries are delayed much more regularly, and for longer periods than those who work for the local administration and ancillary services,[42] causing foraging for berries and wild mushrooms to become a vital means for those employed by the sovkhoz to acquire products with which they could barter for other essential supplies.[43] The situation was such that the need for foraging and poaching as a means of survival for the employees of the sovkhoz had grown to such a level that these formerly privatized enterprises were brought back under the wing of the municipal authorities.[44]

The effects of the reduction in population and the collapse of the local economy led to a significant risk that the locality might be closed, a fate that had befallen a significant number of rural localities in the preceding decades.[45] This is exemplified in letters such as the one below, sent from Anadyr in 2007:

...Our native village of Snezhnoye in the Anadyr District is up for closing. Some officials from the Area Government in Anadyr and also from Moscow, we don't know who they were, visited the village recently. They have told people, without any explanation, that they better start packing. They were offered new residence in the villages of Kanchalan, Krasneno, Khatyrka, even in the central areas of Russia. The residents of Snezhnoye at their village meeting decided to write a letter to the Governor. No one wants to move from the ancestral land. Please advise us to whom else they should write, so that their pleas are heard and the village is left alone. My parents live there; they do not want to move either, just would like to live peacefully in their homeland...

— Anonymous author, letter to Igor Krupnik, from Anadyr, [46]

• Bema Gold Corporation, Environmental Impact Assessment, Kupol Gold Project, Far East Russia June 2005.
• R. G. Borodin et al. Cultural, Traditional and Nutritional Needs of the Aboriginal Population of Chukotka For Gray Whales and Bowhead Whales 2003–2007, 2002. International Whaling Commission.
• W. K. Dallmann. Indigenous Peoples of the north of the Russian Federation, Map 3.6, Chukotskiy Avtonomyy Okrug. 1997.
• Nikolai N. Dikov. Archeological Sites of Kamchatka, Chukotka, and the Upper Kolyma. Translated by Richard L. Bland. Shared Beringia Heritage Program, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. 2003. Originally published as "Археологические памятники Камчатки, Чукотки и Верхней Колымы" (Arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki Kamchatki, Chukotki i Verkhney Kolymy), Москва: Наука, 1977.
• Druri, I. V. "Как был создан первый оленесовхоз на Чукотке" (Kak byl sozdan pervy olenesovkhoz na Chukotke; 'How the First Reindeer Herding Sovkhoz Was Established in Chukotka), (1989). Краеведческие записки, Магадан, XVI. (in Russian)
• Дума Чукотского автономного округа. Закон №33-ОЗ от 30 июня 1998 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Чукотского автономного округа», в ред. Закона №55-ОЗ от 9 июня 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Чукотского автономного округа "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Чукотского автономного округа"». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня его официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ведомости", №7 (28), 14 мая 1999 г. (Duma of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Law #33-OZ of June 30, 1998 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, as amended by the Law #55-OZ of June 9, 2012 On Amending the Law of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug". Effective as of after ten days from the day of the official publication.). (in Russian)
• Дума Чукотского автономного округа. Закон №148-ОЗ от 24 ноября 2008 г. «О статусе, границах и административных центрах муниципальных образований на территории Анадырского муниципального района Чукотского автономного округа», в ред. Закона №24-ОЗ от 1 апреля 2011 г. «О внесении изменений в Приложение 2 к Закону Чукотского автономного округа "О статусе, границах и административных центрах муниципальных образований на территории Анадырского муниципального района Чукотского автономного округа"». Вступил в силу через десять дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ведомости", №46/1 (373/1), 28 ноября 2008 г. (Duma of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Law #148-OZ of November 24, 2008 On the Status, Borders, and Administrative Centers of the Municipal Formations on the Territory of Anadyrsky Municipal District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, as amended by the Law #24-OZ of April 1, 2011 On Amending Appendix 2 of the Law of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug "On the Status, Borders, and Administrative Centers of the Municipal Formations on the Territory of Anadyrsky Municipal District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug". Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication date.). (in Russian)
• E. V. Frolova Особенности Функционирования Инфраструктуры Сельских Поселений В Чукотского Автономного Округа (Peculiarities of the functioning of the Infrastructure of Rural Settlements in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). (2012) Economy, Sociology and Management Federal Educational Portal. (in Russian)
• P. A. Gray. Snezhnoe: Where East and West Collide, (1997a) in Transitions: Changes in Post Communist Societies, Vol.4, No. 6, pp. 96–100.
• P. A. Gray. Snezhnoe, A Village on the Anadyr River, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. (1997b) (archived)
• P. A. Gray. Chukotka Reindeer Husbandry in the Post-Socialist Economy, (2000) in Polar Research 19.1, pp31–37.
• P. A. Gray. The Obshchina in Chukotka: Land, Property and Local Autonomy (2001) Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Working Papers 29. Halle (Saale), Germany.
• P. A. Gray. Volga Farmers and Arctic Herders: Common (Post)Socialist Experiences in Rural Russia, in The Postsocialist Agrarian Question: Property Relations and the Rural Condition, ed. by Chris Hann and the Property Relations Group, pp. 316–354, Vol. I in the series Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia. (2003) Muenster: Lit Verlag.
• P. A. Gray. Chukchi Reindeer Husbandry in the Twentieth Century – In the Image of the Soviet Economy (2004), Cultivating Arctic Landscapes: Knowing & Managing Animals in the Circumpolar North, ed. by D. Anderson and M. Nuttall, p. 142. Oxford: Berghahn Press
• P. A. Gray. The Predicament of Chukotka's Indigenous People: Post-Soviet Activism in the Russian Far North (2005) Cambridge University Press
• P. A. Gray. The Last Kulak and Other Stories of Post-Privatisation in Chukotka's Tundra (2006) in Nomadic Peoples, Vol. 10, No. 2, ed. Hugh Beach and Florian Stammler, p. 4ff.
• Igor Krupnik and Mikhail Chlenov The end of “Eskimo land”: Yupik relocation in Chukotka, 1958–1959 (2007). Études/Inuit/Studies 31 (1–2) pp 59–81.
• McKnight, Tom L; Hess, Darrel (2000). "Climate Zones and Types". Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-020263-0.
• M Strogoff, P–C Brochet, and D. Auzias Petit Futé: Chukotka (2006). "Avant-Garde" Publishing House.
• Thompson, N. Settler on the Edge: Identity and Modernization on Russia's Arctic Frontier (2008). UBC Press.