No. 7, 2002
Dear friends!
The public movement “Yasavey”- Association of Nenets people has published yet another edition. This is as provided for within the framework of the project “Publishing the “Yasavey’ vada” newsletter.
For us it is important to have information about the life you lead in your settlement, in the countryside, village and nomad camp. Send us your information to our address and we shall gladly publish it.
An Acute Problem
In October this year one of the last programs has ceased to exist and to broadcast in the Nenets language. The disappearance of the editorial office of the national broadcasting program was the result of having reorganized the company NGTRK “Zapolyare”.
Reading programs by Irina Hanzerova and Margaret Latysheva always had their listeners. Their programs reflected material with reliable information concerning the life of people in our eternal tundra.
In the countryside of the entire NAO people listened to the radio broadcasts by the national division in Nenets and in Russian. The live broadcasts included topics such as contemporary problems of reindeer herders, fishermen, and hunters; stories about fates, sad occurrences, happy events of simple working people; ancient folklore of the Nenets people.
What now?! The disappearance of more than half a century of experience at the national desk?
As far as the positive work experience is concerned, read about it in the topic “Yamal experience” on page 3.
Coordinating Council in Yakutsk
As of the 21st through the 25th of October 2002, in the Republic of Saha (Yakutiya) a regular meeting took place of the Coordinating Council of the RAIPON. Representatives from 26 regions of the North participated in this work. Lyudmila Kanyukova, a member of the Council, represented Yasavey.
The main goal of the measures being carried out was reflected in the lecture given by Sergei Haryuchi, president of the RAIPON. The lecture was entitled “Mutual cooperation of RAIPON with the bodies of state officials for the subjects of the RF”.
S. Haryuchin noted the experience of positive cooperation in such regions as Yamal-Nenets- and Khanty-Mansi okrugs.
A.S. Drozdov, deputy of the authorized representative and Galina Volkova, President of the Far East Union of minority groups of indigenous peoples of the North told about eventual directions for cooperating between the Authorized representative of the President of the RF in the Far East okrug with organizations of indigenous minority groups of peoples of the North.
Pavel Sulyandziga, first vice-president held a lecture about the work carried out by the Association’s Presidium during the last period.
The Coordinating Council completed its work by signing an Agreement on cooperation between the Republic of Saha (Yakutiya) and the RAIPON.
A resolution was also passed by the Coordinating Council regarding the regular sessions in 2003. In March it will be held in Khanty-Mansi and in September Yuzhno-Sakhalin.
News in Brief
According to a proposal made by the Nenets regional organization “The Society of local historians”, the NAO Administration announced the period from May 2002 to May 2003 as the “Year of the Nenets written language”.
* The result of the measures within the framework of this event is a scientific and practical conference in Naryan-Mar on March 27-28, 2003 under the name of “The Nenets written language and development of the people’s national traditions”.
* Concurrent with this venue a get-together evening was held in the building of the Ethno-cultural centre on November 7th for experts in the field of Nenets culture and language.
* A resolution passed by the Committee of the North under the aegis of the VZIK Presidium in the NAO, during the second half of the twenties, attributed to the construction of two cultural bases for the following activities: provisions and cooperatives, medical and veterinarian, cultural and enlightenment, scientific and research. One of these bases was the Hoseda-Hardsaya culture base and it will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2002.
* The club “Iskra” for senior citizens, actually the first cell of Yasavey in the settlement of Haruta, a collective society of the Haruta House of Culture are holding, i.a., various events in honour of this anniversary namely:
A. A museum exhibition of “Chronicles belonging to the Hoseda-Hardsaya culture base”.
B. An evening of telling stories “From the bottom of my soul”.
C. Photo quiz game “Our Grandchildren and we”.
D. Magazine “Ogonek” “How young we were”.
* Financial support towards this anniversary will be contributed by Yasavey. Encyclopaedic dictionaries “Nenets Autonomous Okrug” have been acquired as commemorative presents for former employees of the Red chum.
On behalf of the Movement, Anastasia F. Mihailova will be participating.
* Two reindeer herders from SPK “Erv” are studying at the Saami Educational Centre SKK (province of Iinari). Ivan Vyucheiskij is studying to be a brigadier slaughterer, Grigorij Taleev a veterinarian. The study period comprises three months.
* In October of this year the amateur theatre group “Ilebz” toured Finland.
* The president of Yasavey, Vladislav Peskov was in Copenhagen as planned. It was a meeting of organizations and donors for projects pertaining to minority groups of indigenous peoples in the North of Russia.
* In September an All-Russian competition took place in Naryan-Mar on national types of sports. Yasavey was among those assisting financially in acquiring prizes for the participants of the competitions.
* Yasavey together with the committee on peoples of the North, NAO Administration, organized in October a ceremonious event in honour of a Nenets poet -Prokop A. Yavtysog.
* During the anniversary ceremonies for the poet and writer P. Yavtysog, Yasavey people became acquainted with the com patriotic society “Tosavey” from Archangels.
As a result of this meeting an agreement was reached to carry out jointly events related to the problems of the reindeer herders in the Kanin tundra. The hope for further cooperation was also expressed.
Movement Council
A regular session of the public movement Council of Yasavey was held on October 14th, 2002.
Reindeer herders from the community and company representatives were invited in order to consider the first item on the agenda concerning mutual interaction between SPK “ERV” and ZAO “Varandeineftegaz”.
Newspaper material was a subject for discussion during this session. The mass media quite frequently offers distorted information concerning the mutual interaction between reindeer herders and oil workers. In addition, the photographs are placed so as not to correspond with the material. This says a lot about non-professionalism of local writers.
The Council adopted a resolution to send an Address to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, due to the uncontrollable situation of assimilating natural resources on NAO territory.
Copies of the address were sent to M. Kasyanov, Chairman of the government RF, G. Seleznev, Chairman of the State Duma RF, V. Ustinov, General Procurator RF, V. Artyuhov, Minister of Natural Resources RF, S. Haryuch, President of the RAIPON, V. Butov, Head of the NAO Administration, V. Glazunova, Chairperson of the NAO Assembly of Deputies.
The following material was enclosed with the address, namely: excerpts from the protocol of the Council meeting held on October 14th, a photo-poster, and a CD with photos.
We received a reply to our address from the General Procurator RF on November 13th stating the following: “Your addresses have been forwarded to the NAO procurator’s office. You will be duly informed of the decision taken. Procurators s office, N.Ya. Selenina”.
Work experience
One of the most recent television broadcasting companies in Russia, “Yamal-Region”, a state-run television company is located in Salekhard, the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
“Yamal-Region” is the only television company in Russia which broadcasts in six languages, namely: Russian, Tatar, and the languages of the minority group of indigenous peoples in the North Khanty, Nenets, Selkup and Komi.
For “Yamal-Region”, the benevolence and confidence of its television viewers and radio audience regardless of their nationality are of the greatest value.
A program management in the “Yamal-Region” company takes place using the national languages. A program called “Severnyij kolorit” is broadcast and is dedicated to the culture of minority groups of indigenous peoples in the North who have century-old tradition’s gong back thousands of years. Every journalist prepares material on certain topics. One series of programs relates the assimilation of the Far North, and also a documentary is being prepared on the “Flora and Fauna in Yamal”.
One of the most significant achievements by the employees of the teleradio broadcasting company is the daily live output twice a day of an informative program called “Yamal News”. This live program offers the viewers the most important information on a routine basis.
The fact that the television and radio broadcasting company “Yamal-Region” has been transformed into one creative and united group is mainly due to the support on behalf of the administration of the YANAO. During the recent past, OGTRK “Yamal-Region” has managed not only to greatly diversify its themes, and increase broadcasting time, but has significantly enlarged the receiving areas of its programs. At present they are broadcast to all YANAO municipal formations.
The television and radio broadcasting company “Yamal-Region” has been the winner on several occasions and champion of the All-Russian and international television festivals, such as: “Velvet season”, Eurasian teleforum”, News and local news”, “Man and the sea”, “Golden Diamond”.
In 2001 at the Sochi television festival the “Sky-blue Star”, the company was victorious in being nominated for its “Contribution to the development of regional television broadcasting and the festival movement”.
The “Yamal-Region” television and radio broadcasting company serves as a good example for the development of Russian regional television and radio broadcasting. The search for one’s own niche, determining informative policies, recruitment of staff for a creative team and planning the structures of television and radio programs these are the general achievements of regional television broadcasting. Television broadcasting which substantially differs from federal broadcasting (central channels) not only as regards the contents of their transmissions but also the methods used when offering information and structuring their programs mainly oriented towards requests by the inhabitants of the region.
Seminar training
As of October 21st a seminar-training entitled “How to safeguard one’s rights by the minority groups of the peoples based on the Constitution of the RF and existing laws: how to develop legislation” was held in Yakutsk for representatives of the Ulusovs of the Republic of Saha (Yakutsk) .
This seminar was conducted by Olga A. Murashko, member of the Board of International working groups pertaining to the affairs of the indigenous population, a right-center lawyer from “Rodnik”.
The goal for conducting this seminar was to explain the laws, to discuss the mechanisms and their implementation. Ulusov representatives took part in all the following venues of the Coordinating Council which were just as important for them as the continuation of the educational process.
O. Murashko will participate in the seminar on “Territories of traditional use of nature in the NAO” which is to be held in Naryan-Mar at the beginning of December 2002.
Projects in small-scale enterprises
A private entrepreneur, M.N. Taleeva has protected the project according to the Barents program for a total sum of 178 thousand rubles.
The goal of the project is to reestablish and restore the methods and technology of traditional trade of the indigenous population in the NAO, the preservation of historical and cultural heritage in the field of national tradesman ship.
The work of this project is oriented towards the following:
· Creating objects of decorative applied art;
· Participation in exhibitions and sales of objects made of fur;
· The sewing of special attires for reindeer herders using traditional technology;
Organizing a children’s circle DPI at the workshop jointly with the children’s club “Orion”;
Rendering assistance to the population as regards sewing clothes and footwear;
Teaching sewing to those interested;
Search for partners in Russia and abroad for the purpose of exchange of experience and cooperation;
One of the main goals for further activities is the acquisition of raw material, equipment sewing machines and furriers’ machines. A land-rover “Buran” will be acquired in order to transfer the raw material purchased from the kolkhozes.
As the project grows and progresses, an increase in working places can be anticipated, an assortment of products, improvement of working methods due to applying contemporary technology and methods.