The evenks of Yakutia in the XX–XXI centuries: spatial and temporal differentiation of population and settlement

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2023-2-29-244-255

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About the Author

Viktoriya V. Filippova

Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, History and Arctic Research Department,
1, Petrovskogo str., Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha, 677027, Russia,
E-mail: filippovav@mail.ru

Abstract

The article reveals features, intra-regional and local differences in the dynamics of the number of Evenks living in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) over a long historical period. Based on data from the Soviet Union and Russia population censuses from 1926 to 2020, maps of changes in the number and rate of increase/decrease of Evenks have been compiled. Intra-regional and local differences in the dynamics of the number and settlement of the Evenk population of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) were revealed using QGIS. The maps cover the inter-census periods matching with the stages of the ethnic history of the Evenks: the first stage was in 1926–1959 with collectivization and the beginning of the transfer of nomadic household farms to sedentarization; the second stage was in 1959–1989 with the enlargement of collective farms (from kolkhozy to sovkhozy ) and the final sedentarization of the nomadic population; the third was in 1989–2002 with the processes of ethnic mobilization and the fourth stage was in 2002–2020, characterized by an increase in the number and expansion of the area of the Evenk ethnic group in Yakutia. The analysis of the maps confirms that the historical territories of the concentration of Evenks in the north-western, south-eastern and southern regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are preserved. The dynamics of the Evenk population is determined by the geographical location, the features of economic activity and the space in the ethnic palette of the republic. The stable growth of Evenks is characteristic of mono-ethnic national-territorial formations that have only a rural population and economic specialization associated with traditional activities—Zhiganskij and Olenekskij uluses (districts). In recent years, there has been a shift in the placement and an increase in the number of Evenks in Central Yakutia. For the North-Eastern regions, the decline in the number of Evenks is associated with the change of their ethnicity to another at the beginning of the XXI century.

Keywords

mapping, GIS, settlement, Evenki, Yakutia

References

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For citation: Filippova V.V. The evenks of Yakutia in the XX–XXI centuries: spatial and temporal differentiation of population and settlement. InterCarto. InterGIS. GI support of sustainable development of territories: Proceedings of the International conference. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2023. V. 29. Part 2. P. 244–255. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2023-2-29-244-255 (in Russian)