Today, for Koryaks, the people living in the Kamchatka Territory, the Magadan Region and the Chukotka Autonomous District of Russia, it is necessary to adapt to the new conditions of the modern life, and the state should help them in this complex process, an analyst of the news agency Vestnik Kavkaza, Ekaterina Vinnik told during a live broadcast of the Peoples of Russia program on Vesti.FM.
The Peoples of Russia is a weekly program on Vesti.FM, during which a host Georgiy Saralidze and his guests talk about various aspects of the life of the peoples, inhabiting our country. Today's program topic was dedicated to the life of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, Koryaks and Itelmen, who live in the territories of the Far East.
Ekaterina Vinnik explained, that Koryaks’ way of life remained unchanged for hundreds of years, and the main changes started only after the establishment of the Soviet Power. "Of course, such traditional activities as, for example, the sea mammal hunting, disappeared, but they were replaced by the reindeer and fishing collective and state farms, that is, in fact, the same activities, but adapted very smart to the new conditions. In addition, the Koryak writing was introduced - another great opportunity to pass the customs and traditions to the next generations”, she said.
When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the position of Koryaks deteriorated greatly. "With the disappearance of the state and collective farms, the favorable conditions for activities disappeared. Now the population of the Koryaksky district lives mainly at the expense of the subsistence farming. Of course, there are national enterprises and farms, but they, unfortunately, are ineffective due to the undeveloped transport infrastructure and absence of large processing enterprises. That is, in fact, Koryaks produce products, but can not deliver them to the final consumer, ” the expert said.
According to her, in order to help Koryaks, it is necessary to understand that this people, so to speak, is a natural extension of nature. "In other words, the environment is the main factor and guarantor of preserving their identity, that is, the allocation of territory and opportunity to engage in reindeer herding and fishing is the first thing that should be done in the framework of the program to support this people. ‘’Of course, such a program exists since the 1990s. Alas, along with the program, the active development of the region began, which negatively affected the life of the indigenous population - the number of pastures decreased significantly due to the seismic explosions and drilling of wells, and the industrial catching of the salmon species leads to the fact that life-support level of Koryaks falls ", the expert warned.
The expert drew attention to the fact that the measures of the state support in the context of globalization can not be reduced only to conservation or provision of benefits to Koryaks. "They are an industrious people, who were able to adapt to the difficult conditions of the North and establish their own way of life, so there is a need for such an interaction that would help the development of their independence and at the same time preserve their traditional culture. And this, of course, is the key role of the state," Ekaterina Vinnik concluded.
