Following the Reindeer

December 24, 2010 11:26 AM

Evocative photographs by Evgenia Arbugaeva of "nomadic tribes of reindeer herders in my homeland, the Republic of Yakutia, which is located in eastern Siberia." You can read more about the indigenous peoples of Arctic Russia here (as you might guess, the outlook isn't rosy), and if you're curious and want more links, there's a zillion of 'em here.
posted by languagehat (7 comments total)

Nice post! I would love to spend a summer roaming around there chasing reindeer. Those photos of the landscapes are fantastic.
posted by troll on a pony at 1:05 PM on December 24, 2010

Great photos! By the way if you are having seasonal dreams of becoming a reindeer herder - but are put off by the prospects of living somewhere like the UK - you should read about what it takes to become one.

[and I am tactfully refusing to post any links about how good they taste].
posted by rongorongo at 1:44 PM on December 24, 2010

Oh my gosh the reindeer in this picture has a death's head muzzle! Or is that something all reindeer have?
posted by Powerful Religious Baby at 2:53 PM on December 24, 2010

holy crap, my recent conlang involves reindeer herders so this is very relevant to my interests. Great post!
posted by Wuggie Norple at 3:19 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

These are wondergoul pictures! Thanks for this post! Reindeer meat balls are sooooo unbelievably delicious! And reindeer are generally really nice animals.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:01 PM on December 24, 2010

This picture made me sad. (beautiful, but so, so cold.) And then I read the article, and it made me sadder.The incidence of disease, as well as traumas, has increased several hundred percent since 1970.

What a hard life. I wonder if these people feel that way, or if it's just a privileged Westerner's perspective.
posted by msconduct at 4:44 PM on December 24, 2010

Really excellent, thanks.
posted by doctor_negative at 5:48 PM on December 24, 2010