Chukotka

Danilo Antón

Chukotka is the easternmost region of Siberia, contiguous with the Arctic and the Bering Strait. It has about 52,000 inhabitants in a surface of 720,000 km2 and rigorous subarctic climate. Its unfavorable climate for agricultural operations and a history of first Czarist and then Soviet colonization are the causes of the very low population density.
It is the traditional home of chukchi, chuvanos, evenos and inuits that lived (and still live) of reindeer husbandry, fishing and seal hunting.
In the 19th century it was colonized by Czarist Russia to incorporate it into the production and trade of furs through the cruel exploitation and elimination of native communities.
During the Soviet period, forced collectivization and sedentarization were imposed, reducing considerably the traditional ways of life that are still maintained. It has important mineral resources, including hydrocarbons and tungsten. Today it forms a federal autonomous district of the Russian Federation whose capital is the city of Anadir with 12,000 inhabitants. The census determined that 23.5% of the inhabitants were chukchi (23%), inuits 2.85% events 2.6% and chuvanos 1.77%. Russians and Ukrainians constituted 60% of the population.
The ex-Governor of Chukotka, Russian ultra-businessman Román Abramovich is known for buying the English football club Chelsea (one of the most expensive in the United Kingdom) to a large extent taking advantage of the country's riches. As you can see 70 years of Sovietism failed to eliminate the tremendous differences that persist between local populations and oligarchs.