Allemann, L. The sami of the Kola Peninsula : about the life of an ethnic minority in the Soviet Union / Lukas Allemann ; [transl. by Michael Lomax]. - Rovaniemi : University of Lapland Printing Centre, 2013. - 151 p. : ill., map, portr. ; 25 см. - (Senter for samiske studier, Skriftserie ; 19).

The Sami of the Kola Peninsula We should, however, bear in mind that "whoever separates actions and experi­ ences from the contexts of their origin and effect, cannot write the proper history of everyday life" .9 For this reason, despite the above-mentioned limited time focus, it would be wrong not to include in any analysis of the interviews and of the literature both the historical run-up to and the after-echoes of the period in question. For both the author and the reader of this work, a due degree of contextual knowledge is es­ sential. "The hypothetical construction of a life in a concrete society and historical situa­ tion requires at times considerable background knowledge. The more precise the general knowledge of the society in question, of the historical events and development-psychological dynamics, the more accurate the background con­ structions from which the individual structures emerge. "10 The players themselves - here the interviewees - are also shaped, in their past and present actions and memories, by the context, that is by the ever-changing social discourses which surround them. As it is to be expected that a person will from time to time rearrange and restructure his existing memories, the historian who is inter­ ested in life worlds and in constructions of meaning must also concern himself with the intervening period between the era which he is setting out to investigate and the interview recording date. It is in this intervening period that we can find the reasons why a person will reinterpret past facts and change his portrayal of them. This is par­ ticularly evident in the case of my interview partners: one of the most serious breaks in their lives - the break-up of the Soviet Union - took place precisely between the main period under investigation and the recording of the interviews. This break can­ not be left out of account when interpreting their present statements about the for­ mer Soviet times. Being shaped by one's environment also means "that we are not dealing just with the 'little people'. The influence and status, power and prestige of the 'big peo­ 9 Ludtke 1989, 11. 10 Fischer-Rosenthal/Rosenthal 1997, 152. Senterfor samiske studier, Skriftserie nr. 19 3