Ethnocultural landscapes zoning of traditional reindeer husbandry in the context of municipalities of the Russian Federation

Abstract

Traditional reindeer husbandry is a specific form of nature management for many northern peoples, on which their way of life and distinctive culture are based. It is a fundamental part of their cultural heritage. Although there are many ethnological studies on reindeer husbandry, it has not yet been adequately understood in terms of cultural landscape theory and ethnocultural zoning. This article presents a system of ethno-cultural-landscape zoning of one of the most peculiar types of traditional natural resource use of the indigenous peoples of Russia – reindeer herding. The zoning units include landscapes with a certain character of connections of reindeer herding with the geographical environment. The zoning was done by combining natural-landscape and social-geographical approaches for the entire territory of the country where nomadic traditional reindeer husbandry still exists. Using the previously identified environmental, social and institutional factors, the authors proposed a multistage zoning scheme. At the upper level, the reindeer husbandry ecological-economic types were taken as the basis, and the zones of large-herd (in tundra), small-herd (in taiga) and mountain reindeer husbandry were delimited accordingly. At the second level, the delineation is based on the ethno-cultural factor, identifying four ethno-cultural types of reindeer husbandry: Nenets & Komi Izhem, Tungus, Chukchies & Koryak and Sayan, which are closely related to the location of reindeer herding peoples. Finally, the third level uses the technique of the so-called "floating indicator". The research resulted in the zoning map of ethno-cultural landscapes of traditional reindeer husbandry with 33 units related to different taxonomic levels. The resulting zoning scheme makes it possible to systematize ideas about ethno-cultural landscapes, takes into account their features when implementing state measures of support and development of the traditional reindeer husbandry, and take a diversified approach not only to regional, but also to local features of reindeer herding functioning in each particular zoning unit.