Rural Communities of Yakutia in Conditions of Permafrost Degradation: Key Risks, Social Consequences, and Adaptation Mechanisms

Annotation

During the period of global climate change, the territories of the Russian Federation, within which permafrost is widespread, are at particular risk. The aim of this article is to identify the social consequences of permafrost degradation on the example of a number of rural settlements in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and to determine the emerging mechanisms of adaptation to the challenges associated with changes in the habitual state of the environment. In this regard, for the first time, the villages of Amga, Yunkur, Argakhtakh, Lippe-Atakh and Ulakhan-An, located in Yakutia, were the focus of relevant interdisciplinary research conducted during 2019–2022. The work in these settlements made it possible to establish local features of both the consequences of the degradation of permafrost and the specifics of their perception by the local population. It is noted that in the rural settlements studied, permafrost degradation limits the development of traditional economic activities, including among the Arctic and Subarctic indigenous population, limits the possibilities for the spatial development of settlements, leads to problems with the safety of the housing stock, and hinders transport communication. The observed changes entail an increase in the financial burden on the population, economic entities and local administrations, and negatively affect the social well-being of the inhabitants of the studied villages. At the same time, the conducted research allowed to reveal that the mechanisms of adaptation and sustainability of rural communities that are being formed in this regard are largely based on traditions of rural mutual assistance.

About authors

Aleksandr A. Suleymanov, Cand. Sci. (Hist.)
alexas1306@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8746-258X
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Vasiliy M. Lytkin, Cand. Sci. (Geogr.)
gidro1967@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3780-6505
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia; 
Melnikov Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Merzlotnaya, 36, Yakutsk, Russia

Liliya I. Vinokurova, Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Senior Researcher
lilivin@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5779-6893
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Stepan A. Grigoryev, Cand. Sci. (Hist.)
DeTample@yandex.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9365-0122
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Svyatoslav I. Fedorov, Research Assistant
fedorov.si@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8610-3689
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Viktoriya Yu. Golomareva, Research Assistant
borodina-vichka@inbox.ru
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Nikolay I. Basharin, Research Assistant
nikolay_b89@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8501-9186
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia;
Melnikov Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Merzlotnaya, 36, Yakutsk, Russia

Dmitriy A. Aprosimov, Research Assistant
dmitrii.aprosimov@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4418-297X
The Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, Yakutsk, Russia

Keywords

Arctic, Yakutia, rural community, life support system, permafrost, thermokarst

DOI

10.37482/issn2221-2698.2023.52.199

UDC

572.021(571.56)