Record early river-thaw in Siberia

The warm weather in Siberia seems to have led to an exceptionally early ice-thawing on Siberia's major rivers. The specific of the river geography here is that all the major rivers flow from south to north, into the Arctic Ocean. This means the ice melts in the south first, and then the water pushes into …

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Nenets mothers’ education: another PhD defense

After recently having celebrated the world's first Nenets PhD defense, now we can witness another one, in three days time, 14 May 11.15 Norwegian time! Zoya Vylka Ravna shall defend her thesis with the very technical name "The Inter-Generational Transmission of Indigenous Knowledge By Nenets Women: Viewed in the context of the state educational system …

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Sacred Site worshipping for good health in Corona times

Yamal has a legally protected sacred sites inventory: here, Angalskiy Mys Today in the morning I was just about to brew my breakfast coffee, when my friend Mikhail Okotetto called and told me "we need to go and feed the sacred site here, come along, right now". I had 5 minutes to grab my stuff …

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“CCC” – corona, climate change and conspiracy in the Yamal tundra

I have been doing fieldwork with Yamal Nenets reindeer herders for more than 20 years now, and have noticed this year a change in their perception of the changes happening around them, maybe partially reinforced by corona virus. Be it industrial expansion, the icing-over of pastures, outbreaks of diseases, methane holes in the tundra, the …

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