Antler on the Sea: The Yup'Ik and Chukchi of the Russian Far East

The anthropologist author offers a portrayal of life in Sireniki, a Siberian village on the Bering Sea. Once a traditional Yup'ik community, it was home to three cultural groups by the final years of the Soviet Empire: the Yup'ik, native hunters of sea mammals; the Chukchi, nomadic reindeer herders who had been required by the state to turn their animals over to co-operative farms; and Russians of European ancestry, enticed to the region by incentive programmes designed to colonized the Russian Far East. Anna Kerttula, who lived among the villagers for 18 months, draws on her experiences to explore how each group’s customs and beliefs transformed those of the other two. Her book shows the endurance of the indigenous cultures of Far Eastern Russia, despite years of intrusion by the Soviet state. The author describes in detail how the Yup'ik, the Chukchi and the Russian newcomers developed a sense of cultural difference because of their separate symbolic systems, and yet cohered as a community. She explains that relations among the groups have become tenous since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent collapse of the local economy. Her research provides a singular perspective on contemporary ethnic rivalries within the former USSR. She maintains that these conflicts, not always expressions of ancient animosities, may be efforts toward mutual understanding during times of economic and social change.