Nenets, Nomads in Siberia

Synopsis | Information

On the shores of the Kara Sea, despite the isolation and the -40°C temperatures, a few coastal communities are still hanging on on the polar Siberian coast.

The nomadic Nenets are traditionally reindeer herders, but some clans have converted to fishing. They work for Russian colonists – the “polarniks” – who control trading in the most prized Arctic fish species: Salmon, Sturgeon, and Muksum.
It’s a shock between two cultures.

With the seasons and the movements of the fishing grounds, the Nenets move their shoums - tribal tents made of reindeer skins. To survive, they do what they can to meet the Russian fisheries’ demand for productivity and do some bartering with their herdsman cousins.

To survive in this implacable environment, these nomads must be attentive to nature; they still listen as the spirits of the tundra speak through the shaman…