Reindeer Blog

On a remote island in the Bering Strait during World War II, a tiny band of Americans ran a radar station. Twenty-nine reindeer were placed on St. Matthew Island with them, to be eaten in case of emergency. The emergency never came, and population biologist Dave Klein counted 6,000 reindeer on the island by 1963, [...]

Vostok Media reported that reindeer from Chukotka were to be brought to Kamchatka to revive reindeer husbandry there which has been in difficulty since the 1990′s.. PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKIY. 22 October. VOSTOK-MEDIA. Parliament of Kamchatskiy krai is going to increase population of reindeer which is now in bad condition. As Minister of Agriculture and Trade of Kamchatskiy [...]

While much has been made of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s lack of international experience (especially after a poor performance in an interview with CBS’s Katie Couric), it should be noted that what experience she does have, has a reindeer herding connection… One of the few politicians she actually has met from Russia (Putin’s [...]

Побывав на Чукотке, президент посоветовал им держать себя в тонусе и больше ездить, Елена КРИВЯКИНА — 23.09.2008 Вчера у Дмитрия Медведева выдался необычный день. Он первым из российских президентов посетил Чукотку, где провел совещание по развитию округа.

This week, President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian President in history to visit Chukotka. Accompanied by current Governor Kopin and former Governor Roman Abramovich, Medvedev also visited Kanchalan (site of EALAT Information workshop earlier this year) and a brigade on the tundra. Komsomolskaya Pravda had an article about the visit by Yelena Kriyakina – [...]

(Pic – Moscow Times, Kopin sworn in, as Abramovich watches) Yesterday, the new Governor of Chukotka (Roman Kopin) was sworn in and not long afterwards, the former Governor Roman Abramovich – whose personal riches completely transformed the province’s fortunes – announced that he would be running for the post of speaker in the Chukotka Duma. [...]

While this story might seem more appropriate elsewhere, for the residents of Chukotka, the majority of whom are Chukchi (there are also Yupik, Yukaghir, Even and others) several thousand are engaged in reindeer husbandry, it it is important news. The collapse of the Soviet Union was a disaster for Chukchi reindeer husbandry, and the decline [...]

The old plan of a tunnel between Chukotka and Alaska was in the news again, as it was reported that Roman Abramovich, Chukotka’s Goveror (pictured here with reindeer – Chukotka is intending to again become one of world’s great regions of reindeer husbandry, after a disastrous 1990′s) had purchased the world’s largest drill. Abramovich denies [...]

“There are nine time zones and several thousand kilometres between Moscow and Chukotka. But it’s just a 40-minute flight from Alaska.” This article discusses Chukotka and the impacts of Abramovich’s policies as Governor. There is also a video interview with Tatyana Achirgina, who was a participant in the recent EALAT / Aween seminar and workshop in [...]

(Pic AFP) A new President has been elected in Russia – and given the fact that most reindeer herders in Russia live in remote regions without roads, they are the first to vote, a fact that was much covered across the media. This story features an interview with a reindeer herder in the Nenets Autonomous [...]