Anna Nerkagi is a Nenets writer, novelist, and social activist of the

Nenets people The Nenets ( yrk, ненэй ненэче, ''nenəj nenəče'', russian: ненцы, ''nentsy''), also known as Samoyed, are a Samoyedic peoples, Samoyedic ethnic group native to northern Arctic Russia, Russian Far North (Russia), Far North. Acco ...

in Siberia, writing in Russian language.

Biography

Anna Pavlovna Nerkagi was born on February 15, 1951, on the Yamal Peninsula, near the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

coast in

West Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia (russian: Западная Сибирь, Zapadnaya Sibir'; kk, Батыс Сібір) is a part of the larger region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russian Federation. It lies between the Ural region an ...

, Russia. In 1958, at the age of six, she was removed from her parents by the Soviet authorities and forced to live in a boarding school, where the indigenous languages and native culture were banned. She was only allowed to visit her parents during holidays. In 1974, she graduated from the Geology Institute at

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

Technical University. Nerkagi debuted as a writer with the autobiographic ''Aniko of the Nogo clan'' in 1977. She writes in the Russian language. In 1978, known for publishing ''Aniko'', she became a member of the Writer's Union. She left

in 1980 and returned to the nomadic way of life in the Yamal Peninsula, where she lives with her husband. In 1990, she started the

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 ...

School for Nenets children. She currently lives and works near the village Laborovaya in the Yamal tundra, educating Nenets children. In 2012, a documentary film about Nerkagi's life, directed by Ekaterina Golovnya, won the Grand Prix at the Radonezh film festival in Russia.

Bibliography

* ''Aniko of the Nogo clan'', 1977 * ''Ilir'', 1979 * ''The White Yagel'', 1986 * ''The Horde'', 1992-1998 (dedicated to the memory of the poet

Daniil Andreyev Daniil Leonidovich Andreyev ( rus, Дании́л Леони́дович Андре́ев, p=dənʲɪˈil lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ɐnˈdrʲejɪf, a=Daniil Lyeonidovich Andryeyev.ru.vorb.oga; November 2, 1906, Berlin – March 30, 1959, Moscow) ...

) * ''White Arctic Moss'', written in 1994, published unabridged in 1996 (a sequel to ''Aniko of the Nogo clan'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nerkagi, Anna 1952 births Living people Nenets people Russian women novelists 20th-century Russian novelists 20th-century Russian women writers People from Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug