Maya Ettyryntyna

Maya Ivanovna Ettyryntyna (russian: Майя Ивановна Эттырынтына; 21 December 1940 – 19 January 2002) was a Soviet and Russian politician and former Member of the Federation Council from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (1994–1996).

Early life and career

Maya Ettyryntyna, an ethnic Chukchi, was born on 21 December 1940 in Toygunen reindeer encampment (in the 1950s it was merged with other small encampments into Neshkan village) in the far northern corner of Chukotka.

In 1964 Ettyryntyna graduated Khabarovsk State Medical Institute and later worked as a primary-care physician in Anadyr and Khabarovsk. In 1974 she was promoted to chief doctor of the Chukotsky District, in 1980-1985 Ettyryntyna was chief of medical statistics at the Chukotka Central Okrug Hospital, and in 1985 she became chief doctor at the Chukotka Okrug Tuberculosis Dispensary.

People's Deputy

Maya Ettyryntyna was active in local politics, being elected to the District and Okrug Soviets of People's Deputies.

On 18 March 1990 Ettyryntyna was elected people's deputy of Russia from Chukotka national-territorial constituency No.166. She was also elected to the Supreme Soviet of Russia, where in September 1991 she was appointed to the Soviet of Nationalities Commission on Social and Economic Development of National Autonomies and Small Indigenous Peoples. Ettyryntyna also was member of the Communists of Russia faction.

As a people's deputy, Maya Ettyryntyna was major proponent of expanding Chukotka Okrug's autonomy, implementation of regional khozraschyot, and economic and administrative independence of the Chukotka Okrug Soviet of People's Deputies. Former Soviet of Nationalities Chairman Ramazan Abdulatipov in his memoir noted Ettyryntyna's help in securing Northern delivery service.

Maya Ettyryntyna was consequential opponent of Boris Yeltsin and his reforms. Pro-Democratic Information Analysis Unit in its bulletin gave Ettyryntyna scores of -74 during I-IV Congresses of People's Deputies and -100 during VI Congress, which refers to "radical communist" in their classification (among major reformist pieces of legislation Ettyryntyna supported depoliticisation of the Army and professionalisation of deputy's status). In February 1992 Ettyryntyna was among 43 people's deputies, who signed a motion to the Constitutional Court of Russia to review the legality of President Yeltsin's decrees that outlawed CPSS and CP RSFSR. Ettyryntyna later joined 22 other deputies in signing the appeal to the prosecutor's office to investigate actions of security officers, who allegedly used physical force to escort people's deputy Yury Slobodkin from the audience during the 5 June 1993 Constitutional Consultation.

During the 1993 constitutional crisis Maya Ettyryntyna stayed at the besieged Supreme Soviet, where she and Lyudmila Bakhtiyarova were responsible for food rationing. Ettyryntyna and fellow female people's deputies Svetlana Goryacheva, Zoya Oykina