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.

63 on the situation of the Kola Sámi community in the general social sense, such as leading to economic impoverishment and poverty, high mortality among adults of the Sámi community, and marginalization. The Kola Sámi community suffered both losses of population due to the high mortality in the period after relocations and to the migration of the Sámi people to other regions, seeking better life conditions. The topic of the forced relocations of the Sámi people can also be discussed on the national level as an example of one the indigenous peoples’ of the Russian Federation, which have historically lost access to their traditional activities and territories as the results of introduced Soviet policies. In the Nordic perspective the forced relocations are an absolutely exclusive part of the history of the Kola Sámi people. Similar forced relocation policies have not been experienced by the other Sámi communities in Norway and Sweden. The situation partially touches the Skolt Sámi people and their relocations to Finland after the introduction of the Soviet state. Otherwise, the processes undergone by the Sámi community in Russia produce a separate perspective. In these new places the Kola Sámi people have had to change their day-to-day culture, occupations, and language, as well as work out new society-building patterns in order to adapt to the new living conditions. The situation the Kola Sámi community today has to be regarded and evaluated with the respect of the undergone processes. Therefore, in my view the history of the Kola Sámi people should be approached individually, rather than purely in reference to the Nordic Sámi perspective and position of the Sámi people in the Nordic countries. If we look at the global and international scale, the situation of the Kola Sami community will resemble many instances of the relocated indigenous communities in the Circumpolar North, particularly in Canada and Greenland (see BOREAS). The closing and relocation of their communities beginning in the 1920’s still arouses discussions on long-term consequences of the relocated indigenous peoples in both countries in an attempt to re-build their communities after the relocations. The main topics of these discussions have also been brought up in the current study, reflecting in particular the inclusion of local perspectives into decision-making processes, consequences of the economic policies, and the elaboration of the methods for making future relocations less traumatic and more easily overcome. I conclude that the Kola Sámi community faced multiple risks as a result of the forced relocations which can be seen from several perspectives. The process shows its complexity and interconnection in many aspects of individual, social and political