In search of self-government and self-sufficiency: indigenous communities of West Siberia in the 1990s

Abstract

Introduction: at the turn of the 1980s–90s, national communities were seen as a promising tool for raising the standard of living of the small peoples of the North and reforming the administrative structure of Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug. In the future, the communities were to replace inefficient collective farms and village councils in the territories of the ancestral residence of the Ob Ugrians. Such transformations required the creation of a legal base of indigenous peoples, capable representative offices at all levels of government, education and agitation of residents of rural hinterland. Objective: to determine the significance of the communities of the peoples of the North in the national policy of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra in the 1990s. Research materials: archives of the Committees for the Affairs of the Peoples of the North and materials of the Association of Indigenous Peoples “Yugra Rescue” in 1989–2000. Results and novelty of the research: for the first time the projects and solutions of Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug in the field of traditional nature management in the 1990s were studied. The role of specially created structures, in particular the Committee for the Affairs of the Peoples of the North, is shown. In 1992, indigenous communities were granted the right to lease land for traditional nature management. However, they have not gained authority and the right to dispose of natural resources instead of state authorities. Projects to replace village councils with national communities were not supported. The effectiveness of the established communities remained low throughout the decade. Federal programs for the development of the North have been chronically underfunded. By 2000, the communities came up with modest indicators of employed residents; economically they were supported by loans and subsidies from the state. However, the accumulated experience allowed them to look into the future without illusions and take on more realistic and financially secure projects. © 2023 Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development. All rights reserved.