"Children of the Tundra": State Policy and Social Mobility in the North of Yakutia in the 1960s – 1980s.

Vinokurova Liliya Innokentevna ORCID: 0000-0002-5779-6893 PhD in History Leading Researcher, Institute for Humanitarian Research and Problems of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 677027, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Petrovsky str., 1, room 403 lilivin@mail.ru

Grigorev Stepan Alekseevich PhD in History Senior Researcher, Yakut Scientific Center Institute for Humanitarian Studies and Problems of Indigenous Population of the North SB RAS 677027, Russia, respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, kab. 403 DeTample@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Relevance.The period of the second half of the twentieth century for the Yakut ASSR was a time of active industrial development of its Arctic territories, mainly inhabited by indigenous peoples of the North.

Involvement in the national industrial course with the subsequent gradual urbanization of life could not but affect the entire life of the indigenous population. The complex economic, social and demographic transformations that took place within the indigenous Arctic societies radically changed their daily way of life and value system, gave rise to a change in traditional life strategies. At the same time, Arctic rural communities remained an important source of human resources for the development of various branches of the regional economy, actively involved in national socio-political and cultural processes.

The new socio-cultural environment that emerged due to the industrialization of the Arctic region, as a whole, contributed to the improvement of the general cultural and educational level of the population and opened up new opportunities for the realization of the personal aspirations of local residents. It was during this period that conditions began to develop for the formation of the intelligentsia of the northern aboriginal ethnic groups, some representatives of which became prominent figures of culture, science and literature not only on the scale of the Yakut ASSR, but also of the RSFSR. Their destinies are an interesting example of the implementation of the life strategies of the ethnic elite, which subsequently became an important actor of new socio-political changes.

The development of the Arctic region of Yakutia in the second half of the twentieth century has been a subject of interest in Russian historiography for a long time. In relation to our study, it is necessary to highlight the works of specialists on the ethnosocial development of rural areas of Yakutia, in particular the works of I.A. Argunov ^[2] and S.I. Kovlekov ^{[9, 10]}. L.I. Vinokurova's research was devoted to the formation and labor activity of agricultural personnel of the republic, including the Arctic regions, during the 1960s-1980s ^[3]. From the latest regional historiography, studies focused on the history of settlement, the development of the areas of activity of the indigenous ethnic groups of Yakutia, as well as the fate of their traditional economy in the twentieth century are close to the issues under consideration. The works of V.V. Filippova ^{[24, 25, 26]} and Ya.M. Sannikova ^{[18, 19]} can be noted. The problems of the formation of the educational environment and the intellectual stratum among the peoples of the North in the republic have not been fully studied to date. Scientists engaged in this area focused on the sprouts of this social group in Yakutia as a whole during the first half of the twentieth century. through the prism of historical events of this period. Here it is necessary to point out the works of N.N. Dyakonova ^[6], E.P. Antonov ^[1] and A.K. Sofronov ^[21], who covered the stages of the formation of the national intelligentsia, its role in the cultural and social life of Yakutia. Some aspects of the involvement of representatives of the indigenous peoples of Yakutia themselves in the space of humanitarian study of the Arctic aboriginal communities are reflected in the monograph by A.A. Suleymanov ^[22].

Results and discussion.By the middle of the twentieth century .

The North of Yakutia with its Arctic and subarctic regions remained a territory focused mainly on the rural economy, including traditional crafts – reindeer herding, hunting and fishing, i.e. the main niche of activity of the small peoples of the North. By this time, the indigenous population of the Arctic regions was in a significant quantitative minority on the lands of traditional residence. According to the results of the All-Union Census of 1959, 6,550 representatives of the small peoples of the North lived in 13 circumpolar regions of the JASSR ^{[24, p. 46]}, which was only 7.4% of the total local population (88,942 people) ^[5].

At the same time, it was during this period that the foundations of a new settlement picture were laid, suggesting an increase in the number of urban-type settlements, as well as the enlargement of rural settlements. The share of people living in working settlements and cities in the North of Yakutia gradually began to exceed the number of villagers, thus marking the beginning of the urbanization of the region. This process was accompanied not only by an infrastructural leap in the development of the northern territories, but also, importantly, by the intensification of their cultural and ideological development, expressed in the expansion of the network of party-agitation, educational, entertainment and creative institutions. The formation of a new cultural environment, carried out in parallel with the active state industrial intervention, could not but have an impact on the local communities of the small peoples of the North, forced to adapt their way of life to rapidly changing conditions.

As a result, one of the important consequences of the social processes taking place in the Arctic regions of Yakutia during the study period was the active inclusion of a significant number of representatives of local aboriginal ethnic groups in the social life of Soviet society. This was expressed, first of all, in the integration of small peoples into the generally accepted paradigm of the Soviet way of life by obtaining a unified education, adopting new cultural and political-ideological standards.

The period under review in Yakutia was marked by general achievements in the education system: the number of students in all types of schools increased significantly, and a program for the transition to universal secondary education was implemented. The contingent of students was constantly increasing, by the beginning of the 1985/86 academic year there were 176.1 thousand people, i.e. 1.3 times more than in the 1965/66 academic year ^{[8, p. 434]}. According to the calculations of the staff of the sociological laboratory of the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the SB of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which studied social processes among the Evens and Evenks of Yakutia in the 1960s and 1970s, the number of representatives of these ethnic groups studying in secondary specialized educational institutions increased from 71 people in 1960 to 175 in 1970. In other words, in just one decade their number has increased almost 2.5 times. The number of young people receiving higher education at the only higher educational institution in the republic at that time – the Yakut State University, increased almost 3 times over the same period, from 31 people in 1960 to 87 in 1970 ^{[17, L. 143-144]}.

It is necessary to note the political role of the CPSU in the training of personnel from among the indigenous peoples of the North of Yakutia.  By the middle of the twentieth century, in the North of Yakutia, as in the rest of the republic, a system of public relations based on the unity of ideological attitudes and a unitary party-administrative management structure had finally developed. During this period, the gradual absolutization of the role of party bodies in the management and control of the development of the national economy and public life begins. As a result, by the 1970s. The Yakut Regional Committee of the Communist Party (obkom), as well as its regional branches – district committees (district committees) actually managed the entire economy and culture of the republic. "Without the approval of the regional committee, the local party organization, not a single important decision was made in the field of economy and culture. Increasingly expanding its command functions, the party apparatus took over the solution of almost all everyday issues, thereby replacing Soviet, economic and public organizations" ^{[8, p. 372]}.

The rural population of Yakutia was relatively poorly involved in political and ideological structures: the proportion of members and candidates for membership of the Communist Party of the USSR among workers in agriculture and crafts has always been significantly lower than among workers in industrial and manufacturing industries. But in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a structural expansion of party bodies in all spheres of life of the population, which somehow affected the life of every villager. The network of primary party organizations of the Yakut Regional Committee of the CPSU was expanded from 1084 in 1966 to 1284 in 1981 ^{[14, p. 36]}. Almost every department of state farms had its own party cell at that time, which had a significant impact on the daily life of the villages in which they were located. Despite the fact that the share of members and candidates for membership of the Communist Party among agricultural workers of the republic, as well as throughout the country, was significantly lower than among workers in industrial and manufacturing industries, in rural settlements the party influence was comprehensive. At that time, the network of primary party organizations of the Yakut Regional Committee of the CPSU was expanded from 1084 in 1966 to 1284 in 1981 ^{[14, p. 36]}. Almost every department of state farms had its own party cell at that time, which had a significant impact on the daily life of the villages in which they were located.

It should be noted that social elevators in the communist system of relations opened up a wide range of directions for personal and professional self-realization. The management structure established in rural settlements not only dealt with all aspects of the life of the local population, but also provided certain opportunities for the most motivated representatives of indigenous ethnic groups to receive education and build a career. In the republican training programs for specialists of secondary special and higher education, special attention was paid to natives of the Arctic and northern regions, even to the point that they were allocated separate quotas.

The practice of state monitoring of vocational education of representatives of indigenous minorities of the North in the republic, the allocation of individual quotas existed throughout the period under review, as evidenced by archival documents of the second half of the 1980s. Thus, the Department of the Peoples of the North in charge of this issue under the Council of Ministers of the JASSR indicated that, according to the results of 1987-1988, among the first-year students of secondary specialized educational institutions, the proportion of persons from among the indigenous northern minorities was 6.6%. At the same time, it should be taken into account that 67.2% of the total number of enrolled students came from rural areas ^{[13, L. 145-146]}. As is known, the share of indigenous peoples of the North in the population of the Yakut ASSR, according to the Censuses of 1959 and 1989, fluctuated about 2-2.7% ^{[27, p. 42]}. At the same time, applicants enrolled in higher educational institutions from among them accounted for 3.3 and 3.6%% in 1985 and 1986, respectively, which seems to be a good indicator ^{[13, S. L. 145]}. We emphasize that the issues of their consolidation in universities, especially in the central ones, are not considered in the article.

The party bodies practiced individual support for talented, talented students and students from among the indigenous peoples of the North. As a result, providing access to vocational education, targeted support for the ambitions of young generations expanded the new social stratum of Northerners. In this case, against the background of the trend of urbanization of the Arctic territories and related socio-economic processes, the intelligentsia of the indigenous peoples of the North has grown quantitatively and qualitatively.

In the context of the topic under consideration, the biography of a boy born in a large family of reindeer herders in 1937 in the Baydunsky nasleg of the Srednekolymsky district of the Yakut ASSR is indicative. I studied at the elementary school, then at the seven-year school. In 1956 he graduated from the Srednekolymskaya secondary school, the teaching staff of which invited the graduate to his place. Two years later he moved to Komsomol work, then to the field of cultural education. With a brilliant recommendation, he was sent to study in Leningrad, where in 1966 he graduated from the Herzen Pedagogical Institute, known for targeted training of personnel for the North. Upon his return, he was the director of an eight-year school, but an interest in scientific research had already taken shape ^{[11, p. 25]}. In 1970, he entered graduate school and defended his PhD thesis in 1974. Being an academic employee, along with scientific talent, he showed great social activity. In the 1980s, it was he, the son of a reindeer herder, who headed the primary party organization in the humanitarian research Institute, which in any region of the country was positioned as the flagship of ideological work. The linguist, teacher and social activist Vasily Afanasievich Robbek during the years of glasnost was among the first in Yakutia who identified pain points in the development of indigenous peoples of the North, proposed real mechanisms for the revival of their language and culture ^{[15, 16, 20]}. The brilliant education received back in the Soviet years, the innate gift and experience of the organizer allowed him to become a significant political figure in the field of interests of the aborigines of the Arctic. As part of the article, we omit the enumeration of his regalia and awards, as in subsequent biographies.

Originally from Kolyma, another bright representative of the Soviet intelligentsia, who saw the light in 1938 in the usual plague of the Olerinsky tundra. After elementary school, he began working as a shepherd at a local reindeer herding collective farm, but according to the existing law on compulsory seven-year education, he continued his studies at the Andryushkin seven-year school of the Nizhnekolymsky district. In 1954, a sixteen-year-old boy entered the Churapchinsky Pedagogical College, known as the forge of the rural intelligentsia of the republic. The craving for education and outstanding humanitarian abilities were family – everyone spoke Yukaghir, Yakut, Even and Chukchi fluently, and the youth enthusiastically read literature in Yakut and Russian. The training provided the young man with admission and successful studies at the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute named after A. I. Herzen. He completed his studies in 1962. Such an "unconventional" turn in the fate of the young man was due to an objective factor: there was an acute shortage of educated personnel of various profiles in the Arctic regions, so local party and Soviet bodies regularly "looked out" for potential students from the indigenous population.

In the future, the biography of the young man included creative self-realization in the field of literature and an awakened interest in science. He becomes famous as a poet, works a lot with folklore and the language of his native people, enters graduate school, defends his PhD thesis. During perestroika, the well-known figure of culture and science Gavril Nikolaevich Kurilov joined the circle of activists of the national revival of the indigenous peoples of the North, became the leader of the disappearing Yukaghir ethnos. His name and fame, I think, played a significant role in the processes of ethnic mobilization, in organizational steps to ensure the rights of northern minorities ^[4]. A typical example of a successful fate and career for a representative of the aboriginal population of the national outskirts of the USSR, the poet and scientist Kurilov in the period from 1992 and in the 2000s became a co-organizer and participant in all congresses of indigenous peoples of the North of Russia and Yakutia, chairman of the Council of Elders of Yukaghirs, a member of the Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Yakutia ^{[12, pp. 265-266]}.

In the 1960s and 1970s, compulsory eight-year, later ten-year education allowed several generations of northerners to join the general education system of a large country. The unified program of the so-called universal education opened up opportunities for both boys and girls to study in specialized secondary and higher educational institutions throughout the country. So, a graduate of an ordinary Srednekolymskaya secondary school, having worked for two years in production in her native district, in 1966 she was able to enter the prestigious psychology faculty of Leningrad University. The further biography of the native of the North reveals an equally successful path to science and successful implementation in the public field. In the 1990s, she not only became the first doctor of sociology in Yakutia, but also one of the most recognizable faces of the regional movement for the rights of indigenous peoples. Deputy of the regional parliament, organizer of science and education Ulyana Alekseevna Vinokurova continues to be active to the present ^{[7, pp. 56-57]}.

As can be seen, in the 1960s and 1980s, the human resources of the Arctic settlements of Yakutia were successfully involved in the cultural and educational environment of the country. When sending to educational institutions, postgraduate distribution and further placement of specialists, the ethnic component was taken into account: the so-called "national cadres" could count on special support from the authorities. In this light, ethnicity in Soviet times could also become a kind of mobility tool: there are cases when aboriginal origin gave a preferential opportunity to join the CPSU, get a chance for career growth. This practice had, along with everything else, a propaganda background: successful trajectories of cultural and professional growth of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North served as an illustration of the successes of national policy in the USSR.

The examples of the reviewed biographies clearly show that a whole stratum of well-educated, fully integrated into Soviet society representatives of the indigenous population of the North gradually formed.  It must be recognized that representatives of the generation under consideration have passed the mandatory stages of professional growth and stages of work "on the ground", which included a large amount of field work, deep immersion in the culture of native ethnic groups, already being armed with higher education. They taught in their native lands, gave lectures, participated in pioneering scientific research in the Arctic and northern territories, which undoubtedly increased the level of education and enriched the overall cultural atmosphere.

Conclusion. Thus, the undertaken research highlighted the important directions of the social and cultural policy of the state in relation to the indigenous population of the Arctic villages in the period 1960 – 1980. During the period under study, the active industrial development and gradual urbanization of the Arctic territories contributed to the penetration of new cultural and value attitudes into the rural environment, the spread of non-traditional life strategies for the indigenous peoples of Yakutia. Along with objective socio-economic and cultural factors, ideological propaganda, organized by the Communist Party, played an important role in this. The Soviet policy of cultural integration in the North of Yakutia, for all its ambiguity, turned out to be quite effective in the field of education. The expansion of the education network and the development of boarding schools made it possible to reach children from Arctic villages with mass education. The growth in the number of people with incomplete and completed secondary education opened up opportunities for professionalization. This factor should be assessed as a fundamentally important achievement of the period under study.

Natives of the Arctic and northern regions were given special attention in the republican training programs for specialists of secondary special and higher education. Ensuring access to vocational education and supporting the ambitions of young generations generated a new social stratum of Northerners. It is indisputable that the formation of an educated, creative part of any society, its elite, always occurs during the complex internal transformation of social groups. In this case, against the background of the processes of urbanization of the Arctic territories, there was a quantitative and qualitative strengthening of the intelligentsia of the indigenous peoples of the North. It should be noted that its representatives, with their experience of successful personal socialization, formed the intellectual core of ethnic social activism in Yakutia during the perestroika and post-Soviet periods.