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).

Lukas Allemann On the Kola Peninsula alone, there are four major Sami dialect groups, Notozero, Kildin, Akkala and Ter Sami, that vary considerably from one another. Several at­ tempts to codify a standard Sami language were made in the 1920s and 1930s and from the late 1970s onwards. All attempts, however, remained more or less unsuc­ cessful. Further information on this subject can be found in the section on the role of the Sami language in the Soviet educational system (Chapter 5.4.4.1). 3.4 The immigration of the Komi and Nenets The comparatively lively migratory movements on the Kola Peninsula brought the Sami into early contact with other populations. As a result their way of life was not unaffected by many different influences. The relative proximity to Central Russia at­ tracted many settlers and the sparse population of the area also meant that the pres­ ence of the Sami did not stop new settlers from establishing themselves on the Kola Peninsula. It was also in the interest of the Tsar to have as many Russians as possible settle in this strategically important border area. But the first contacts with Russians go back well before the emergence of the Russian Empire. As early as the 12th century settlers from Russia, especially from the region of Novgorod, settled on the southern shore of the Kola Peninsula on the White Sea .83 U ntil today this area is traditionally inhabited not by Sami but by Rus­ sians. These Russian colonists were known until the nineteenth century as Pomors (pomory), a word that is still familiar to everyone in the Murmansk region. Settlement of the Kola Peninsula was continuously promoted by the Russian state to block political and religious expansion from the west. If until the October Revolution the state borders were porous, a religious boundary did exist. While the Russian Sami were Orthodox, the Swedes and Finns had brought the Lutheran faith to the western Sami. Over time the monasteries that had been doing missionary work in the Kola Peninsula since the sixteenth century became the biggest landown­ ers, in a country whose natives originally had no concept of land ownership. When in 1766 it sharply reduced the Church's possessions, the government became the larg­ 83Cf.: Luk'jancenko 1994, 310. Senterfor samiske studier, Skriftserie nr. 19 36