THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP PHENOMENON IN THE YAMAL REINDEER FARMING: ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION, PARADOXES AND CONTRADICTIONS, CHOICE OF THE FUTURE

The paper considers the development of domestic reindeer farming in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region over the past 30 years in terms of an entrepreneurial paradigm: as a result of the individual efforts of thousands of reindeer-breeder families that together own almost 60% of all domestic reindeer in the region. Within the “continuum” of nomadic entrepreneurs, two poles are identified: the one — absolutely economically independent and the other — completely dependent on state support for entrepreneurs: behavior patterns, cultural values, even nomadic routes in the first and the second ones are radically different. Among the three main areas of reindeer farming in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, the Yamal district is characterized by a “meat” model, while the Tazovsky and Priuralsky districts are characterized by an “antler model” of small entrepot. Both models determine the differences between the districts in terms of size, dynamics and structure of the herd, length of nomadic routes, structure of income from the production activities of the nomadic household. Unlike the dominant point of view blaming “irresponsible” reindeer-breeders for the depletion of pastures, the authors of the article see the problem primarily as an institutional one — the outcome of public policy institutions that created wrong incentives for reindeer-breeder entrepreneurs in recent decades, returning them to the status of hired reindeer-breeders equal to the state farm workers. The authors propose definite reforms in the Yamal reindeer farming that will ensure not a half-way but a decisive transition to an entrepreneurial model in the industry. Therefore the existing system of state support should stop seeing in the family business of reindeer breeders just a smaller copy of the former large enterprise, but accept new economic interests, motivations and economic behavior of the Yamal tundra entrepreneurs. An algorithm is proposed for radical reform of the existing system of state support for the industry.

1. Yuzhakov A. A. Severnoye olenevodstvo v XXI v.: geneticheskiy resurs, kul’turnoye naslediye i biznes. [Reindeer husbandry in the 21st century: genetic resource, cultural heritage and business]. Arktika: ekologiya i ekonomika, 2017, nî. 2 (26), ðð. 131—137. DOI: 10.25283/2223-4594-2017-2-131-137. (In Russian).

2. Reinert E. The economics of reindeer herding: Saami entrepreneurship between cyclical sustainability and the powers of state and oligopolies. British Food J., 2006, 108, no. 7, pp. 522—540.

3. Golovnev A. V., Lozova S. V., Abramov I. V., Belorussova S. Yu., Babenkova N. A. Etnoekspertiza na Yamale: nenetskiye kochev’ya i gazovyye mestorozhdeniya. [Ethnoexpertiza on the Yamal Peninsula: Nenets nomadic and gas deposits]. Yekaterinburg, AMB, 2014, 232 ð. (In Russian).

4. Detter G. F. Ekonomika severnogo olenevodstva Yamala: problemy i vozmozhnosti. [The economy of the reindeer husbandry of Yamal: problems and opportunities]. Nauch. vestn. YANAO, 2017, nî. 4 (97), ðð. 4—16. (In Russian).

5. Klokov K. B., Khrushchev S. A. Olenevodcheskoye khozyaystvo korennykh narodov Severa Rossii. [Reindeer husbandry of the indigenous peoples of the North of Russia]. Informatsionno-analiticheskiy obzor. St. Petersburg, 2004, vol. 1, 182 p. (In Russian).

6. Analiz sotsiologicheskoy i statisticheskoy informatsii po issledovaniyam kochevogo naseleniya iz chisla korennykh malochislennykh narodov Severa na territorii YANAO. Rukopis’. [Analysis of sociological and statistical information on studies of the nomadic population of the indigenous peoples of the North in the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Manuscript]. Salekhard, 2005, 252 ð. (In Russian)

7. Heikkinen H. Neo-Entrepreneurship as an Adaptation Model of Reindeer Herding in Finland. Nomadic Peoples, 2006, 10 (2), pp. 187—208.

8. Zuyev S. M., Kibenko V. A., Sukhova Ye. A. Otchot po itogam zimney ekspeditsii po Yamal’skomu rayonu Yamalo-Nenetskogo avtonomnogo okruga (Panayevskaya i Yamal’skaya tundry). Rukopis’. [Report on the results of the winter expedition in the Yamal region of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Panaevskaya and Yamal tundra). Manuscript]. Salekhard, 2017, 82 ð. (In Russian)

9. Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskie faktory zhiznedeyatel’nosti i sotsial’noe samochuvstvie korennykh malochislennykh narodov Severa, prozhivayushchikh na territorii Yamalo-Nenetskogo avtonomnogo okruga, vedushchikh traditsionnyi obraz zhizni (Tazovskii raion). Otchet o NIR.Vol. 1. Sotsiologicheskoye issledovaniye (zaklyuchitel’nyy). Ruk. V. A. Kibenko. [Report on research work “Socio-economic factors of vital activity and social well-being of the indigenous peoples of the North living in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, leading a traditional lifestyle” (Tazovsky district). Vol. 1. Sociological research (final). Head V. A. Kibenko]. Salekhard, 2018, 114 ð. (In Russian).

10. Hardin G. The tragedy of the commons. Science, 1968, 162, pp. 1243—1248.

11. Zuyev S. M. Olenevodstvo v Yamalo-Nenetskom avtonomnom okruge: perspektivy i problemy. [Reindeer husbandry in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug: prospects and problems]. Nauch. vestn. Yamalo-Nenets. avtonom. okruga, 2015, nî. 3 (88). ðð. 103—107. (In Russian).

12. Reinert E. S., Aslaksen Iu., Eira I. M. G., Mathiesen S., Reinert H., Turi E. I. Adapting to Climate Change in Reindeer Herding: The Nation-State as Problem and Solution. Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics, 2008, no. 16, Jan., 40 p.

13. Johnsen K. I. The paradox of reindeer pasture management in Finnmark, Norway. Available at: https://www.arcticinfo.eu/en/features/112-the-paradox-of-reindeer-pasture-management-in-finnmark-norway.

14. Behnke R. H. Equilibrium and non-equilibrium models of livestock population dynamics in pastoral Africa: Their relevance to Arctic grazing systems. Rangifer, 2000, 20, pp. 141—152.

15. Ostrom E. Governing the commons. The evolution of institutions for collective action. Indiana Univ. Cambridge univ. press., 1990, ix + 220 p.

16. Adaptive co-management: collaboration, learning, and multi-level governance. Ed. by D. Armitage, F. Berkes, N. Doubleday. [S. l.], UBC Press, 2010, 360 p.

17. Kibenko V. A., Zuyev S. M., Sukhova Ye. A. Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskie faktory zhiznedeyatel’nosti i sotsial’noe samochuvstvie korennykh malochislennykh narodov Severa, prozhivayushchikh na territorii Yamalo-Nenetskogo avtonomnogo okruga, vedushchikh traditsionnyi obraz zhizni (Yamal’skii raion): Otchet o NIR. Vol. 1: Sotsiologicheskoe issledovanie (zaklyuchitel’nyi): 130/1 [Rukopis’]. [Report on research on the topic “Socio-economic factors of life and social well-being of the indigenous peoples of the North, living in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, leading a traditional lifestyle (Yamal District). Vol. 1. Manuscript]. Salekhard, 2017, 101 ð. (In Russian).

18. Dana L. P., Riseth J. Å. Reindeer Herders in Finland: Pulled to Community-based Entrepreneurship & Pushed to Individualistic Firms. J. of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2010, pp. 1—23.