North Selkup state farms as a state social policy instrument  

Stepanova O.B. (St. Petersburg, Russian Federation)

              page 157–165

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The city-forming role of the North Selkup state farms, as also the farms themselves, has not yet been the subject of a special research; the author had to «develop the virgin soil» exploring this topic. The study is based on materials from the Krasnoselkup Municipal Archive. Carried out was the analysis of the records for the Polyarny state farm for 1974–2000, the Tolkinskiy state farm for 1970–2004, the report of the Krasnoselkup Village Council for 1978, and the summary report on the performance of five local collective farms for the period of 1951–1961. Some information was gathered from the report of the Krasnoselkup oil and gas exploration expedition in 1979 stored in the Krasnoselkup Museum of Local Lore. Materials from conversations with the Krasnoselkup District residents from the author’s field archive were also used. This study confirms that the state farms, built on traditional economic activities, played the role of town-forming enterprises for the Selkup villages and served as guarantors of the Selkup economic and social well-being. The dependence of the inhabitants of the villages (or the Selkup part of the villages’ population) on the state farms was expressed in the opportunity of employment in the traditional economic sector, as well as in the use of the village infrastructure created by the state farms. The city-forming function of the northern agricultural enterprises was the result of the state policy of supporting the indigenous peoples of the North; it originated during the collective farm time and reached its maximum development during the state farm period. Socialist modernization is generally considered to be an unprecedented disintegration, destruction and breakage of a stable economic culture, and associated with the strong turbulence of the everyday environment. Owing to the city-forming function of the Selkup state farms, as well as their social orientation, the process of socialist changes among the Selkups proceeded gently, overall painlessly, improving the quality of life and being associated with an understanding of its normality and the absence of practices for avoiding and leaving for the informal economy. Selkup state farms, together with the villagers entrusted to them, began to experience strong turbulence with the onset of the state crisis in 1991. The 1990s decade ended with collapse of the state farms, and with the social tragedy for the Selkup population.

Key words: North Selkups, traditional economic activity, state farms, villages, the social role of state farms, social policy of the state, economic crisis.