Scholarly record

EVEN ETHNOS IN NIZHNEKOLIMSKIY DISCTRICT OF YAKUTIA: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS IN THE LATE SOVIET PERIOD

Viktoriia Filippova

Abstract

The sedentarization of the nomadic population was one of the directions of the USSR policy in the North. The transfer to sedentary had been completed in many northern regions. But in Yakutia number of nomadic groups were continued to rise in 1980s. There is an important question – how many of the Indigenous peoples of the North in Yakutia had been keeping nomadic way of life in Socialism period. The task of this study is to make the socio-demographic characteristics of the Evens-nomad in the late Soviet period. Official statistics of the Indigenous peoples of the North consist of the total numbers of the nomadic and sedentary population only. Many socio-demographic indicator data were ignored for analysis. Particularly, the creation of new marriages among the nomadic population had not been taken into account as data. New families had been led to an increase in the number of nomadic households, accordingly birth of children in these families was a basis for increase in the number of nomadic population. Primary archival materials about nomadic population of Nizhnekolymsky district was collected by the author during field studies. Predominant part of materials is involved to scientific discourse for the first time. The study was conducted using the method of historical, comparative and demographic analysis. The main result is the socio-demographic characteristics of the Evens-nomad of Nizhnekolimskiy district in the late Soviet period. Analysis of socio-demographic data of the nomadic population in this district made it possible to make up the preliminary social portrait of the Evens-nomad. This is a man in employable age, having secondary school education, without house in the village. The study of the socio-demographic characteristics of the nomadic population in the late Soviet period it is necessary. Because the nomadic households were the base for the creation of Nomadic communities, which became a protective mechanism after the USSR collapse and due to them the nomadic way of life and reindeer husbandry are remained in Yakutia currently.

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