Amguema (russian: Амгуэма;
Chukchi: , ''Oʼmvaam'') is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
(''
selo'') in
Iultinsky District
Iultinsky District (russian: Иу́льтинский райо́н; Chukchi: , ''Ivyltin rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #149-OZ district (raion), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the ...
of
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...
, in the
Far Eastern
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
Federal District
A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Population:
the village is based on the
Iultin
Iul'tin (russian: Иультин; Chukchi: ) was an urban-type settlement in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, part of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. As of 2010 the area is uninhabited, but only thirty years ago it had a population of The ...
-
Egvekinot
Egvekinot (russian: Эгвекино́т; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Èrvyḳynnot'', lit. ''sharp, hard land'')Fute, p. 125 is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative ce ...
road, one of the few significant roads in the Okrug. Reindeer herding is the most significant economic activity in the village. Municipally, Amguema is subordinated to Iultinsky Municipal District and incorporated as Amguema Rural Settlement.
Demographics
The most recent census figures show a population of 531,
of which 279 are men and 252 women.
The village is a traditional Chukchi settlement, in which most of the citizens are reindeer herders,
[Strogoff, p.126] taking advantage of the pasture present around the river
Amguema
Amguema (russian: Амгуэма; Chukchi: , ''Oʼmvaam'') is a village ('' selo'') in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population: the village is based on the Iultin- Egvekinot roa ...
(
Chukchi:
). It is the only native settlement in the district to have a stable economy, thanks in part to the available land.
The population as of 2006 was 570,
up slightly on the 2003 estimate of 548,
[Red Cross Chukotka – Iultinsky District](_blank)
(Archived) of whom 387 were indigenous peoples and of those 379 of them were
Chukchi.
Culture
In August, the village is the host of the festival (lit. young reindeer festival), during which time, a slaughter occurs so that the residents may have sufficient skins for clothing for the forthcoming winter.
At the end of the festival, the women of the village produce a dish called , boiled reindeer stomachs, complete with their undigested final meal to which venison, blood and onions are added and is said to resemble goulash when cooked.
As with many of the settlements in Chukotka, there are neolithic remains to be found in the area surrounding the village.
Economy
The inhabitants of Amguema survive almost entirely through reindeer husbandry
[Vaté, p.48] and the
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz ( rus, совхо́з, p=sɐfˈxos, a=ru-sovkhoz.ogg, abbreviated from ''советское хозяйство'', "sovetskoye khozyaystvo (sovkhoz)"; ) was a form of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union.
It is usually contrasted wit ...
, with 11,166 head, is thought to have the second-largest number of reindeer in the whole Okrug, looked after by six brigades, the structure a remnant of the Soviet era.
[Vaté, p.47] Each brigade is responsible for between 760 and 3710 reindeer.
In an area where land-based transport is scarce, the village is fortunate to be connected to one of the few roads, being situated about halfway along the paved road that runs from Egvekinot in the south, to the former mining village of Iultin, on the 91st kilometer.
The majority of the population are reindeer herders,
with 84 people working on the tundra in 2003.
Beyond the comparative ease with which inhabitants of Amguema can reach the outside world, the village has also been a major beneficiary of the money spent on the region by the former governor,
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian Russian oligarchs, oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club ...
. The village has a boarding school for all ages, which is a rarity in the region, and the village serves as an educational hub for the surrounding villages whose schools do not cover all age groups. As well as the school, Abramovich funded the construction of 46 new homes, at a cost of nearly $2.5 million, with hot water and indoor facilities, as well as a guesthouse, barbers and
banya
Banya may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Banya, Queensland, a locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia
Bulgaria
*Banya, Blagoevgrad Province, a thermal spa and mountain resort in southwest Bulgaria
*Banya, Burgas Prov ...
. There is also a food store, a post-office, a daycare center and a bakery.
The school in Amguema is a boarding school and is used to educate not only the children from village but also other children from
Nutepelmen
Nutepelmen (russian: Нутэпэльмен; Chukchi: , ''Nutèpylmyn''), is a village ('' selo'') on the northern shores of Iultinsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. The village is a traditiona ...
and
Vankarem
Vankarem (russian: Ванкарем; Chukchi: , ''Vanḳarèman'') is a village ('' selo'') in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia, situated on Cape Vankarem on the coast of the Chukchi S ...
, who are sent there when they are seven or eight.
Transport
Amguema is situated on the Iultin-Egvekinot road, one of the few permanent roads in Chukotka. Within the village, there is also a small road network including:
[Pochtovik Mail Delivery Service](_blank)
Iultinsky District
*улица Восточный (, lit. ''East Street'')
*улица Западный (, lit. ''West Street'')
*улица Магистральная (, lit. ''Trunk Street'')
*улица Набережная (, lit. ''Quay Street'')
*улица Северная (, lit. ''North Street'')
*улица Центральная (, lit. ''Central Street'')
Amguema in Russian Naval history
A class of polar cargo ships was first developed in 1962 and named Anguema after the village. This was the first new class of ULA (the Russian abbreviation for "strengthened for arctic ice"
[Horensma, p.123]) a continuation of the ''Lena'' class of icebreaker to all intents and purposes, and was felt to have a hull shape far superior to any type of ice breaker constructed to that date.
The first of this class of ship named after the village, a polar cargo ship, was among a number of Russian cargo ships and ice-breakers stuck in ice at
Kosa Dvukh Pilotov in 1983 on a journey from
Magadan
Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region.
History
Maga ...
to
Mys Shmidta
Mys Shmidta (russian: Мыс Шми́дта, lit. ''Cape Schmidt'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located about southeast of the cape of the same name on the shore of ...
, when the winter sea ice formed significantly earlier than usual.
Climate
Amguema has a
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
climate (''ET'')
[McKnight and Hess, pp.235–7] because the warmest month has an average temperature between and .
See also
*
List of inhabited localities in Iultinsky District
References
Notes
Sources
*W. K. Dallmann
Indigenous Peoples of the north of the Russian Federation Map 3.6, ''Chukotskiy Avtonomyy Okrug''. 1997.
*
*
*
*M. Horensm
''The Soviet Arctic''(1991). Routledge.
*M. Strogoff, P–C Brochet, and D. Auzia
''Petit Futé: Chukotka''(2006). "Avant-Garde" Publishing House.
*V. Vat
Maintaining Cohesion Through Rituals: Chukchi Herders and Hunters, a People of the Siberian Arctic(2005) in ''Senri Ethnological Studies 69: pp.45–68 Pastoralists and Their Neighbors in Asia and Africa.'' Eds. K. Ikeya and E. Fratkin.
External links
Amguema photo gallery
{{Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Rural localities in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Populated places of Arctic Russia