Summary of Working Paper No. 112-1998
IV.4.1
The Yamal Peninsula is home to over a quarter of the 35,000 Nenets living at
the edge of the Arctic and spread across four administrative districts. Nenets
are not only the largest of the so-called "small numbered" indigenous peoples of
Siberia, but are also among the most traditional. Yamal is the heartland of
their reindeer-herding culture. It is also the locale of extensive gas fields to
which the Russian government looks as a major source of energy and hard
currency exchange in the next century. Many questions surround development of the
super-giant gas fields. What impact will development have on Nenets. How can
negative impacts be minimized and benefits optimized? What means of transport for
gas, oil and gas condensate will be both feasible and beneficial to the indigenous
population? Can large-scale reindeer herding continue alongside hydrocarbon
extraction? How can property rights be transformed to serve the needs of economic
development and cultural endurance?
In order to address these questions, the report provides background on the
geography, ecology, archeological resources, demography, political and
administrative structures, Native leadership, ethnography and Native economy of Yamal. The
authors trace the history of Soviet interest in the Northern Sea Route as it
relates to Yamal. They first explore the impact of early expeditions from
1920-1932 on Yamal's residents and economy and then the six year period of Glavsevmorput 's influence (1932-1938). The report chronicles the drastic reduction of
reindeer herds and harsh times during and immediately following World War II, the
periods of intensive collectivization and consolidation of kolkhozy into a handful of sovkhozy (state farms), and the era of oil and gas exploration.
The sovkhozy, which were never dismantled on the Peninsula, face a difficult transition to a
free market economy given the push to privatize herds, the state farms, and
the land. The report describes the existing system of property rights and
explores alternative property rights arrangements and the potential impacts of each.
Final sections forecast NSR impacts in the 21st century and offer
recommendations for facilitating international transport in the Kara Sea and beyond with the
participation and support of the Native population.