The Way of Living

North-West Russian taiga area is covered by large forests and swamps connected by lakes and rivers. Administratively the areas are divided into Republic of Karelia, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk counties.

Traditionally the areas were mostly habitated by same-people (skolts), finno-ugric tribes (karelians and vepsians) but also people from Novgorod, Russians and Norway lived in these areas. Today we can in the area of North Karelia still meet karelians and on the Arhkangels side we meet people that are a mixture of karelians, novgorodians, russians and norweigans. Along the White Sea lives Pomors.

There are still many villages where the life is going on in a traditional way and a lot of empty villages as well. There are few working places outside the cities and outside large industrial and mining areas. People living in rural villages produce a lot of their own food. Salt and sugar as well as flour have to be bought to some extent. Butter is not used that much at all. Fresh raw materials such as vegetables, fruits, berries as well as to some extent meat and milk products area also produced at home. People living in larger villages can also buy meat and milk products from the village shop.

Winter time the rural villages are emptied on people, only some few stay for the winter in the villages whereas summer time children are brought to stay with their grandparents in the countryside.

Late afternoon in Vershinino village on a street. August 2012

Smaller roads are often in poor conditions, especially village roads. In this region you will also still find villages without road connections. You enter them easiest by boat via the lake and river systems and some even by airplane or helicopter.