Three Years of Chukchi Slavery: The Story of Soviet Ethnographer Varvara Kuznetsova

Varvara was sure that she could get used to any extreme conditions – after all, she worked in logging, survived the blockade and bombardment of Leningrad, and took part in defensive work. But she had no idea what awaited her.

Officially, the trip was called the Northeast Expedition of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, but Kuznetsova’s group consisted of only one person – Varvara herself. The 36-year-old woman would find an administrative position in Chukotka that would allow her to communicate with the locals.

However, it soon became clear that these plans were naïve and out of touch with reality. The scientist did not take into account the nomadic way of life of the Chukchi: it was possible to study these people only by traveling with them. Kuznetsova did not give up her intention: not knowing the language of the inhabitants of the tundra, she nevertheless miraculously managed to get along with the 60-year-old reindeer herder Tymnenentyn, who agreed to take the scientist with him.

The life of the Tymnenentyn family was no different from that led by their ancestors hundreds of years ago. His wife Uwakai did not know how old she was and measured her age by the number of annual migrations. Three nephews were listed as shepherds at the Tundrovik Collective Farm, but they did the same thing as their great-grandfathers – they accompanied the herds of deer.

The Chukchi sang folk songs, remembered fairy tales passed down from mouth to mouth for centuries, observed ancient traditions and rituals. For an ethnographer, it was a real treasure, and Kuznetsova was already looking forward to the magnificent dissertation she was about to write. However, with each passing day, his optimism diminished: “It was a mistake for an inexperienced person to go alone, and even a woman, and to such a people as Chukchi,” Varvara left such an entry in his diary.

In the Chukchi family, Varvara found herself in the position of a slave, and moreover, she was also useless. A woman slept in the cold center of the yaranga – they didn’t leave her under the warm canopy. Varvara had the worst food: while the others ate fresh game, she chewed boiled wolf meat – the corpse left over from the predators’ feast. During difficult transitions, Kuznetsova was not allowed to ride the sled – she had to follow the sled.

The Chukchi wife was not forced to work hard – they saw that she could not cope. Family members gave her small tasks, and Kuznetsova’s duties also included cleaning a place for a dwelling and trampling snow. The habits of a resident of Leningrad seemed strange and dangerous to her companions. Kuznetsova filled in newspapers in the evening, and the owners were angry: there is nothing to burn candles, evil spirits will fly away!

When Uvakai went mad and then died, the Chukchis began to treat Kuznetsova even worse – even Tymnenentyn spat in her face and tore up her diary. The stranger was suspected of witchcraft, which caused problems for the family, and almost stopped eating: Varvara’s records mention tiny portions of meat – 150 grams each – that she obtained.

For three years, Varvara learned the Chukchi language and collected a huge amount of unique material. At the end of the expedition, she felt strange and looked like a skeleton covered in leather. But Kuznetsova was sure that health would soon return home.

But the woman was wrong: she got worse. Varvara found it increasingly difficult to write, read, and even just formulate his thoughts. The scientist went on vacation to deal with brain damage, but she failed to recover. It is still not clear what was the cause of the disease: the harsh conditions affected or Varvara was infected with some kind of parasites.

After her dismissal, Varvara Grigorievna Kuznetsova, thanks to the care of her relatives, lived another 20 years. She managed to write only one article, and other scientists sorted through Kuznetsova’s diaries.

Photo: Porter Lev/TASS, wikimedia