Hunters of the Cold Region: The Use of Cryogenic Resources in Modern Hunting Activities in Yakutia
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2026-2-146-157
This article examines the current use of natural cryogenic resources – natural cold, snow, ice, and permafrost – by hunters in Yakutia. The study reconstructs contemporary practices in the use of cryogenic resources during hunting, identifies their main directions, preserves traditions, tracks emerging elements, and highlights key challenges, including those caused by climate change and permafrost degradation. Methodologically, the research is based on the principles of cryosophy and the anthropology of cold. The primary source base consists of field materials collected by the authors during research conducted from 2017 to 2025 in various administrative districts (uluses) of Yakutia: Vilyuysky, Olekminsky, Megino-Kangalassky, Srednekolymsky, and Yakutsk. Archival documents and scientific literature were also used. The research demonstrates the importance of cryogenic resources in modern hunting activities among the population of Yakutia. The use of natural cold, snow, ice, and permafrost significantly increases the transport accessibility of hunting grounds, provides essential game information, and facilitates extraction by masking hunting tools. Additionally, the conservation functions of cryogenic resources are essential for storing harvested products and food for hunters. The study finds that technological development has significantly affected current practices, reducing the diversity and scale of cryogenic resource use. At the same time, the introduction of new technological solutions has contributed to the evolution and development of these practices. Climate change and permafrost degradation limit the transport and conservation potential of cryogenic resources.
Keywords: Yakutia, anthropology of cold, hunting, traditional farming, cryogenic resources
References:
1. Golovnev A.V. Problemy izucheniya ekologicheskoy kul’tury narodov Severa Zapadnoy Sibiri [Problems of studying the ecological culture of the peoples of the North of Western Siberia]. Sovremennaya dukhovnaya kul’tura narodov Sibiri i Severa [Modern spiritual culture of the peoples of Siberia and the North]. Omsk, Omsk State University Publ., 1989. Pp. 114–121 (in Russian).
2. YSIA. Naselenie Yakutii – samoe vooruzhennoe na Dal’nem Vostoke [The population of Yakutia is the most armed in the Far East]. URL: https://ysia.ru/naselenie-yakutii-samoe-vooruzhennoe-na-dalnem-vostoke/ (accessed 11 February 2024) (in Russian).
3. Itogi Vserossiyskoy perepisi naseleniya–2020. T. 2. Vozrastno-polovoy sostav i sostoyanie v brake [Results of the All-Russian Population Census – 2020. Vol. 2. Age-sex composition and marital status]. URL: https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn/2020/Tom2_Vozrastno_polovoj_sostav_i_sostoyanie_v_brake/ (accessed 23 November 2024) (in Russian).
4. Statisticheskie dannye Rosgvardii [Statistical data of the Rosgvardia]. Ofitsial’nyy sayt Federal’noy sluzhby voysk natsional’noy gvardii Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Official website of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation]. URL: https://rosguard.gov.ru/ru/page/index/federalnyj-gosudarstvennyj-kontrol-nadzor (accessed 04 March 2025) (in Russian).
5. Elektronnyy spravochnik s kartami gorodov «2GIS» [Electronic directory with city maps “2GIS”]. URL: https://2gis.ru/ (accessed 15 March 2023) (in Russian).
6. Vrangel’ F.P. Puteshestvie po severnym beregam Sibiri i Ledovitomu moryu. Ch. I–II [Journey along the northern shores of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean. Parts I–II]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya A. Borodina i Ko Publ., 1841. 356 p. (in Russian).
7. Maak R.K. Vilyuyskiy okrug [Vilyuy district]. 2nd ed. Moscow, Yana Publ., 1994. 592 p. (in Russian).
8. Middendorf A.F. Puteshestvie na Sever i Vostok Sibiri. Ch. II [Journey to the North and East of Siberia. Part II]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya Imperatorskoy akademii nauk Publ., 1878. 833 p. (in Russian).
9. Seroshevskiy V.L. Yakuty. Opyt etnograficheskogo issledovaniya [The Yakuts. Experience of an ethnographic study]. Moscow, Tsentrpoligraf Publ., 1993. 751 p. (in Russian).
10. Iokhel’son V.I. Ocherk zveropromyshlennosti i torgovli mekhami v Kolymskom okruge [Essay on the fur industry and fur trade in the Kolyma district]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya M. Merkusheva Publ., 1898. 167 p. (in Russian).
11. Timofeev-Tereshkin M.N. Ocherki pushnogo dela v Yakutii [Essays on the fur business in Yakutia]. Irkutsk, Tipografiya “Vlast’ truda” Publ., 1927. 51 p. (in Russian).
12. Zakharenko N.N. Pushnoe khozyaystvo Yakutii [Fur economy of Yakutia]. Pushnoe delo, 1929, no. 8, pp. 20–30 (in Russian).
13. Terletskiy P.E. Pushnoy i okhotnichiy promysel [Fur and hunting trade]. Sovetskiy Sever, 1937, no. 7–8, pp. 5–41 (in Russian).
14. Kogan M.I. Sovetskaya Aziya kak pushno-promyslovyy rayon [Soviet Asia as a fur-trading region]. Moscow, Sovetskaya Aziya Publ., 1931. 63 p. (in Russian).
15. Kovlekov S.I. Sel’skoe khozyaystvo Yakutii: (1946–1970) [Agriculture of Yakutia: (1946–1970)]. Yakutsk, YaNTs SO RAN Publ., 1992. 199 p. (in Russian).
16. Kovlekov S.I. Sel’skoe khozyaystvo Yakutii: (1971–1985) [Agriculture of Yakutia: (1971–1985)]. Yakutsk, YaNTs SO RAN Publ., 1993. 120 p. (in Russian).
17. Chikachev A.G. Pestsovyy promysel v Yakutii v XX veke [Arctic fox hunting in Yakutia in the 20th century]. Yakutsk, 2003. 83 p. (in Russian).
18. Nikolaev S.I. Narod sakha [The Sakha people]. Yakutsk, Yakutskiy kray Publ., 2009. 300 p. (in Russian).
19. Nikolaev S.I. Obychai naroda sakha [Customs of the Sakha people]. Yakutsk, NIPK “Sakhapoligrafizdat” Publ., 1996. 48 p. (in Russian).
20. Romanova E.N., Fedorov S.I. Khishchnik kak aktant v sisteme zhiznedeyatel’nosti yakutov: mezhdu prirodoy i chelovekom [The predator as an actant in the life activity system of the Yakuts: between nature and man]. Etnografiya, 2023, no. 4, pp. 86–101 (in Russian).
21. Fedorov S.I., Semenov A.A. Traditsii pochitaniya medvedya v prazdnovanii “kurum” u yakutov [Traditions of bear veneration in the “kurum” celebration among the Yakuts]. Istoricheskiy zhurnal: nauchnye issledovaniya, 2023, no. 5, pp. 42–49 (in Russian).
22. Sleptsov Yu.A. Obychai i obryady severnykh yakutov-okhotnikov (iz arkhivnogo materiala) [Customs and rituals of northern Yakut hunters (from archival materials)]. Ekho arkticheskoy Odissei: sud’by etnicheskikh kul’tur v issledovaniyakh uchenykh-severovedov: sbornik materialov Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem, Yakutsk, 14–15 noyabrya 2019 g. [Echo of the Arctic Odyssey: fates of ethnic cultures in the research of northern scholars: collection of materials of the All-Russian scientific-practical conference with international participation, Yakutsk, 14–15 November 2019]. Yakutsk, Natsional’naya biblioteka RS (Ya) Publ., 2019. Pp. 78–80 (in Russian).
23. Gogolev A.I., Fedorov S.I. “Defitsit kholoda” i degradatsiya mnogoletnemerzlykh gruntov kak faktor transformatsii okhotnich’ey deyatel’nosti u yakutov [“Cold deficit” and degradation of permafrost as a factor in the transformation of hunting activity among the Yakuts]. Chelovek i kul’tura, 2023, no. 6, pp. 130–136 (in Russian).
24. Fedorov R.Yu. Variativnost’ traditsionnykh sposobov khraneniya produktov pitaniya u narodov severa Zapadnoy Sibiri [Variability of traditional methods of food storage among the peoples of the north of Western Siberia]. Gumanitarnye nauki v Sibiri, 2024, no. 2, pp. 19–20 (in Russian).
25. Suleymanov A.A. “Resursy kholoda” v sisteme zhizneobespecheniya sel’skikh soobshchestv Yakutii. Vtoraya polovina XIX–XX vv. Istoriko-antropologicheskiy ocherk [“Cold resources” in the life support system of rural communities of Yakutia. Second half of the 19th–20th centuries. Historical-anthropological essay]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 2022. 134 p. (in Russian).
26. Mel’nikov V.P., Brushkov A.V., Fedorov R.Yu. Kriosofiya: na puti k postizheniyu edinstva i raznoobraziya mira kholoda [Cryosophy: on the way to understanding the unity and diversity of the world of cold]. Kriosfera Zemli – Earth’s Cryosphere, 2023, no. 5, pp. 54–60 (in Russian).
27. Suleymanov A.A., Vinokurova L.I., Lytkin V.M., et al. Antropologiya kholoda: estestvennye nizkie temperatury v sisteme zhizneobespecheniya sel’skikh soobshchestv Yakutii (traditsionnye praktiki, vyzovy sovremennosti i strategii adaptatsii) [Anthropology of cold: natural low temperatures in the life support system of rural communities of Yakutia (traditional practices, modern challenges and adaptation strategies)]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 2024. 280 p. (in Russian).
28. Golovnev V.A. Mediatransformatsii v etnografii i rozhdenie etnobloginga (na primere khantov reki Trom”yogan) [Media transformations in ethnography and the birth of ethnoblogging (on the example of the Khanty of the Trom”yogan River)]. Etnografiya, 2021, no. 4, pp. 186–210 (in Russian).
29. Natsional’nyy arkhiv Respubliki Sakha (Yakutiya) (NA RS (Ya)). F. R-1365. Op. 1. D. 31.
30. Pekarskiy E.K. Slovar’ yakutskogo yazyka: v 3 t., 13 vyp. [Dictionary of the Yakut language: in 3 vols., 13 issues]. Leningrad, Izd-vo AN SSSR Publ., 1959. Vol. 2. Issues 5–9. 648 p. (in Russian).
31. Nikolaev S.I. Pishcha yakutov (v svete sosednikh kul’tur) [Food of the Yakuts (in the light of neighboring cultures)]. Semen Ivanovich Nikolaev-Somogotto – istorik, etnograf, avtor kontseptsii etnogeneza yakutov [Semen Ivanovich Nikolaev-Somogotto – historian, ethnographer, author of the concept of Yakut ethnogenesis]. URL: http://somogotto.narod.ru/index/0-22 (accessed 02 March 2025) (in Russian).
32. PMA 2024: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk. N.N. [Field materials of the author 2024].
33. PMA 2024: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk. Nikolin V.G., 1950 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2024].
34. PMA 2017: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Khangalasskiy ulus, s. Isit. Solomonov G.D., 1946 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2017].
35. PMA 2025: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk. Sharin Yu.A., 1994 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2025].
36. Natsional’nyy arkhiv Respubliki Sakha (Yakutiya) (NA RS (Ya)). F. R-1590. Op. 1. D. 173.
37. Leeghi A. Khranenie produktov v zimnee vremya [Storing food in winter time]. YouTube-kanal “Anatoliy Leeghi”. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWBwejFoo7Y (accessed 11 January 2025) (in Russian).
38. Bol’shoy tolkovyy slovar’ yakutskogo yazyka. T. XII [Large explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language. Vol. XII]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 2015. 597 p. (in Russian).
39. Pluzhnikov N.V., Shadrin V.I. Yukagiry [Yukaghirs]. Narody Severo-Vostoka Sibiri [Peoples of the North-East of Siberia]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2010. Pp. 636–685 (in Russian).
40. Alekseeva E.K. Zhilishcha i khozyaystvennye postroyki kak chast’ mobil’noy kul’tury evenov [Dwellings and outbuildings as part of the mobile culture of the Evens]. Arkticheskiy mnogoyazychnyy portal. URL: https://arcticmegapedia.com/blog/2023/04/04/жилища-и-хозяйственные-постройки-как (accessed 02 March 2024) (in Russian).
41. PMA 2023: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Olekminskiy rayon, s. Yunkur. Poluektov S.G., 1957 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2023].
42. PMA 2023: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Vilyuyskiy ulus (rayon), s. Sydybyl. Dogoyusov P.A., 1984 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2023].
43. PMA 2023: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Tattinskiy ulus, s. Cherkekh. N.N., 1988 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2023].
44. PMA 2021: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Srednekolymskiy ulus (rayon), s. Argakhtakh. Vinokurov V.D., 1975 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2021].
45. Bol’shoy tolkovyy slovar’ yakutskogo yazyka. T. III [Large explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language. Vol. III]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 2006. 841 p. (in Russian).
46. PMA 2025: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk. Kondrat’ev A.A., 1994 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2025].
47. PMA 2023: Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Olekminskiy rayon, s. Yunkur. Samsonov A.P., 1975 g. r. [Field materials of the author 2023].
( 513.88 kB ) 
( 507.54 kB )
Issue: 2, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: ANTHROPOLOGY
Pages: 146 — 157
Downloads: 342