Methodological Approaches to the Study of Indigenous Peoples: Russian Practice

Abstract

From the very beginning of its rule, the Soviet Government paid attention to the development of the peoples living in the border areas. In 1926, the “Temporary Regulations on the Administration of Native Peoples and Tribes of the Northern Outskirts of the RSFSR” was adopted; it identified 36 ethnonyms and the territories of their original residence, to which particular preferences were distributed. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current situation and future prospects of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Russian Far East against the background of socio-economic, political and cultural changes. It separates the indigenous peoples of the North from the ethnic diversity of Russia’s transformation from “aboriginal peoples” to “northern indigenous minorities” and further examines the problems associated with the growth of the “Siberian and Far Eastern” peoples. Attention is drawn to the fact that despite the compiled List of Northern Ethnic Groups, different numbers were considered in the ongoing population censuses. The ethnic self-determination of aboriginal peoples also changed from adopting the father’s nationality and, subsequently, the transition to the mother’s nationality, and vice versa, which led to “fluctuations” in the number of individual ethnic groups. Based on population census data (1926-2021), the dynamics of the number of indigenous peoples in the North, Siberia, and the Far East were analyzed, and it was noted that, in general, there is a positive increase in all northern ethnic groups. The dynamics of the population of the indigenous peoples were studied in more detail (1989-2021), making it possible to compare the demographic trends from the last population census of the USSR (1989) to those of the newborn Russia (2021). Grouped according to indigenous demographics, five groups were identified that represent different demographic directions. It is concluded that the growth in the number of indigenous peoples in the North, Siberia, and the Far East is primarily determined by non-demographic factors.