A generation of reindeer herders is perishing in the war
Several hundred men from small indigenous communities in the Russian Arctic are on the frontline in Ukraine. Many of them will never return to the tundra.
The governor of the Yamal-Nenets region in mid-January landed with his helicopter in the southern edge of the vast Yamal Peninsula.
This is the home of the Pyrirko family. Several hundred reindeer are kept in the area, herded by the family's skilled men and women. In spring, the herders bring the animals towards the coast.
It is a traditional lifestyle preserved by the Pyrirkos and other local indigenous communities for centuries.
In a promo video posted on Governor Dmitry Artyukhov's social media channels, the regional leader is seen chatting with the local family members. "Do you have everything you need?" he asks, and the herders politely nod.
But everything is not okay on the remote tundra. The traditional Nenets way of living is under mounting pressure from regional authorities and the expansive oil and gas industry. And the war in Ukraine is increasingly taking its toll on local men.
The Pyrirko family has itself a family member fighting on occupied land. Stepan, one of the family sons, signed up for war. He stepped on a mine and is now in hospital, his mother explains.
Governor Artyukhov assures that he will help the man.
"He is getting medical aid and we will make sure that he gets a job when he returns home. Then, everything will be be fine," Artyukhov says.
The governor is an ardent supporter of the war of aggression and has repeatedly visited occupied parts of Ukraine. In mid-February, he visited Avdeevka, the town that was occupied by Russia after months of heavy fighting.
Thousands of Russian warriors were killed in the fighting. Among them might have been several reindeer herders from Artyukhov's own region.
A compiled list of Russian soldiers confirmed killed in Ukraine include more than 300 individuals from the Yamal-Nenets region. Many are from settlements and small towns where a prevalent part of the population is connected with reindeer herding and traditional lifestyles.
The settlement of Yar-Sale has lost at least 25 men, Gyda - 15 and Tazovsky - 12. The bigger town of Noyabrsk has at least 40 killed men and the regional capital of Salekhard and neighbouring Labytnangi - about 30 and 15 respectively.
Also smaller villages have lost local indigenous men. Among them is Kutopyagan, which has three local warriors killed.
Anton Anagurichi was born and raised in a reindeer herding family. He was the oldest of five kids and herded animals and fished in the nearby Gulf of Ob. He went to study at collage, but always longed back to Kutopyagan. Every summer, he was back helping his parents and ultimately decided to move back, his niece recalls. Anton Anagurichi signed up for war in November 2023 and was killed in June 2024.
Albert Yaptik was born on the tundra near Yar-Sale, the small town located by the mouth of the Ob Bay. He was raised in a family with many kids, and from early age learned the skills of herding the reindeer flocks, his sister Marina writes. When he turned seven, Albert was sent to a school in Yar-Sale and moved into a dormitory. He finished school and studied at a college in the regional capital of Salekhard, and then enrolled in the armed forces. In September 2022, he was mobilised and sent to occupied territories where he was killed in January 2024.
The first thing Albert did when he got a leave in April 2023 was to see his one-year-old daughter and go to his parents' place on the tundra, his sister writes. In his parents' tent, Albert immediately did a sacred ritual of worshiping ancestral gods, and he found strength, protection and confidence, she explains.
Men from small ethnic minorities living far from Moscow have made up a significant share of the troops that have been fighting and dying on occupied Ukrainian land.
Recruitment is actively supported by local and regional authorities. In the municipality of Yar-Sale, the town administration frequently posts pro-war materials and recruitment adds on its social media.
Warriors will get a one-time sum of 3,5 million rubles and subsequently 6,2 million rubles per year, the adds promise.
Regional governors and town mayors praise warriors and honour killed men as "heroes." But many local families and communities are left with little but a medal and a sum of money.
Their loved ones are gone. So are also many of the ones that were to be the future of local reindeer husbandry in the remote Arctic region.
