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Issue 2 (47)

THE KOLA TUNDRA HERDERS: LOCAL SPECIFICS AND THE SNOWMOBILE REVOLUTION
Year	2015	Number	2(47)
Pages	26-32	Type	scientific article
UDC	39(470.1)	BBK	63.529(235)
Authors	Abramov Ilya V.	Topic	MOBILITY IN THE ARCTIC
Summary	The article is a summary of the initial results of a field study performed in the Lovozero district of the Murmansk region as part of the project “Mobility in the Arctic: ethnic traditions and technological innovations” (RRF, 2014–2017) A combination of the ethnographic and the geographic methods helped in identifying the key events and spacial strategies contributing to the formation of the individual and the collective mobility patterns of the studied community — the employees of the reindeer herding company “Tundra”. One of such events — the rounding up of a herd after the summer free grazing period — was studied in detail during the researchers' stay in “Polmos” camp over the period from 25 November to 2 December 2104. The actions of the mobile teams rounding up the scattered herd fragments moving on snowmobiles from the Barents Sea coast to the marshalling corral (“Polmos” camp) were carefully documented. Local manifestations/consequences of the snowmobile revolution phenomenon were studied: the changes in the economic infrastructure, organization of the herders' work and the pasturing practices. In addition to the ethnographic importance of the performed study the practical value of the employed techniques is also demonstrated, which serves as the visualization of everyday herding practices which normally remain hidden from outsiders.
Keywords	Motion, mobility strategy, reindeer, snowmobile technology
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