Chukotka’s governor supports Inuit hunting

The recent election of a new governor in Russia’s far-eastern Chukotka province has brought hope to Inuit both in that region and in Alaska.

Roman Abramovich was elected governor of Chukotka Dec. 24.

The former governor, Alexander Nazarov, was widely despised for trying to halt the subsistence practices of Chukotka’s indigenous people.

Nazarov also refused to collaborate with Alaskan Inuit to help manage shared resources such as the bowhead whales and polar bears of the Bering Sea.

Charlie Johnson, chairman of the Alaska Nanuq Commission, is relieved by the change in power. “The former governor, Nazarov, did everything he could to break down native organizations,” Johnson told the Arctic Sounder newspaper.

Since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Russia’s centralized economy, Inuit in Chukotka have largely been left to fend for themselves, in communities with little food or heating fuel. For them, reviving their subsistence hunting traditions has become an issue of survival.

The new governor, Abramovich, has pledged his support for Inuit hunting rights, and has promised to work with Alaskans to maintain wildlife levels in the region.