Afanasyeva, A. Forced relocations of the Kola Sámi people: background and consequences / by Anna Afanasyeva. - Tromsø: University of Tromsø, 2013. - 82 p.: ill., map, portr.
17 As can be observed from the map in the late 19 th century twenty-one sijjt were spread throughout the whole territory of the Kola Peninsula, starting from the Finnish border up to the very Eastern coast. However, in the course of certain historical processes some territories changed the jurisdiction. In particular N’javddam sijjt 48 became the territory of Norway as a result of the Norwegian-Russian border establishment in 1826. Later, after the first Soviet- Finnish War (1918 – 1920) under Jur’jevskij peace treaty between Finland and Russia in 1920, a piece of the Western part of the Kola Peninsula was transferred under jurisdiction of the Finnish state and the population moved to Finland. 49 Finally the Soviet-Finnish War in 1939 – 1940 resulted in establishment of the Finnish-Russian border in 1944. Some of the Sámi were forcibly resettled from the border region, which also influenced cultural changes 50 and change in geographical distribution of the Eastern Sámi group. Before the First October Revolution in 1917 about 80% of the Sámi still were moving from winter to summer sijt with the reindeers. 51 During the pre-revolutionary period, the Tsarist control over the Sámi population allowed a greater degree of autonomy, while Sámis were living in sijt , then it was under the introduction of the Soviet order: the Sámi lived in relative isolation and the Tsarist regime gave them a wide berth of autonomy. 52 According to Kalstad, the Kola Sámi had their own administrative territory, which was called Kolsko-loparskaja volost [Kola-lapp district]. The volost was divided territorially into four administrative areas (s. map1), which consisted of several sijt. The following volost was managed by the assembly of the representatives elected by the Sámi people themselves, 53 who negotiated with the government representatives. The assembly consisted of four elected representatives from each of the four areas, one elected representative from each sijjt and a representative of the Tsar government. The mapping below depicts the structure of the Sámi sijjt assembly and its place in the local governing. The study will not provide the detailed analysis of the structure, functions, and the role of the assembly in the national governing. The following visual aid is mentioned in order to demonstrate the existence and acknowledgement of the specific Sámi self-determination pattern, practiced on the Kola Peninsula in the late 19 th century. 48 Neiden, a village located at the river Neiden, in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in Finnmark, Norway. 49 Kiselev 1987: 27. 50 Wheelersburg, Gutsol 2008: 81. 51 Kiselev 1987:30. 52 Kuljok 1987:74. 53 Kalstad 2002: 5.
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