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.

39 happen or has already happened, when the announcement was made by the local managers. At the time, the response of the population was not taken into account and people had no opportunity to influence proceedings: 124 Informant I: They did not ask people if we wanted or did not want to leave, they closed the village by administrative decision and that was it, everyone had to move. So everybody left using reindeer, these people moved to Kanevka, others to Sosnovka, some to Lovozero. Everywhere they could move, they left to the places where they had relatives. No one asked the people, they went everywhere they could. There was a resolution of the government, so it should be executed. [...] Everything was liquidated there or sold, and a part of the farm household was passed to Gremiha. There [in Gremiha] cows were kept to produce milk for the kindergartens, and other cattle were harvested, so people left. Herders left immediately, they had nothing to be occupied with. No work, no farm. Without salaries, without anything, how would people survive? The Sámi village Varzino was located on the coast of the Barents Sea near the mouth of the river Varzino. The residents of its winter settlement Semiostrov’e were resettled to the summer settlement Varzino, where the Semiostrovskij village council was established in 1942. In 1938 the total Sámi population of the village was recorded as 90 people. I have carried out interviews with the oldest natives from Varzino village and managed to receive data about the first wave of relocations on resettlement of the winter settlement to summer settlement in 1937-1938: Informant C: We, Varzino Sámis, had two places where we spent more time. From the summer village we moved to the autumn place. What did we do- we were fishing in the lake, we did not pick mushrooms, but the blackberry we picked... sometime in August, September, October we began to move to the winter village. […] But it was also a permanent residence place, it was not just temporary, so as everybody had these two homes ... - was it bad the way we lived? But the winter village Semiostrov’e existed until around 1937. A: Why it was closed? Why were people moved to the summer settlement? Informant C: Well, how were we to manage the farm? Some of the people are here, some of the people are there. The way of life, which was normal for the Sámi, the life we were used to, to move with the reindeer, the Soviet government was not satisfied with... We lived here a bit, then lived there a bit... How were they to arrange the control? Maybe a person is gone to nowhere? Maybe he is in Semiostrov’e, maybe somewhere else. And when a collective farm was established, the Soviet system had already been established and, therefore, the farm chairman, secretary, was staff organized. And what formed was a basis for comprehensive farming - herding, fishing, cattle, and the conditions were created. Elementary schools would be there, medical points, and local authorities. […] The collective farm worked until 1968. Later, when all the people were relocated to the summer settlement on a permanent basis the collective farm “Bol’ševik” was established. This state farm dealt with fishing and reindeer herding activities for over 30 years. In connection with the 124 Chatty, Colchester 2002:11.