Technological change among reindeer herders

Technological change among reindeer herders

This video is made by the Russian government news channel Russia today, using video material that Florian Stammler has given to Reuters in 2007. Russia Today cut and edited the material in a way that most problematic statements about the advance of industry into areas of nomads were removed. Highlighting the positive and ommiting problematic aspects, this material in Russia Today rather downplays the problems that herders have in their coexistence with the oil companies. Florian Stammler thinks the statement by herder Ignatii Vylka describes the relation best today: "we are living in a very fragile balanced relationship with the companies now. This balance might break with the slightest disturbance and turn into a more conflictuous relationship"
(personal conversation with Stammler, Varandei tundra, 28/11/2007). "

Read two related articles by Florian Stammler for more academic analysis of this material:

• Stammler, Florian 2009. “Mobile phone revolution in the tundra? Technological change among Russian reindeer nomads”, in Generation P in the Tundra, ed by Aimar Ventsel, Folklore 41 Talinn: Estonian Literary Museum, pp 47-78. (available online at
  http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol41/stammler.pdf)
• Stammler, Florian & Vladislav Peskov 2008. Building a ‘Culture of dialogue’ among stakeholders in North-West Russian oil extraction.
  Europe-Asia Studies, vol 60, No 5, July 2008, 831-849.