We are Sámi

The Sami people are a small group Finno-Ugric people, who live in a region located on a territory shared by Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, 1771 Sami people in total live in Russia and 1599 of these live in the Murmansk region.

The basis of the traditional way of life of the Kola Sami was «pogost» until the 1930s. This included places of permanent and temporary residence of the community and also routes of migrations, tribal lands, and fishing grounds.

In 1930-1970, as a result of collectivization, the development of the military industry and the industrial development of the Kola Peninsula most of the Sami pogosts were closed. The Sami were transferred to a sedentary lifestyle and moved to the central part of the Murmansk region, to Lovozersky distict in particular.

The authors of the study «Kola Sami Relocated Groups» believe that many social, demographic and ethnocultural problems of the minority are associated with these events, including a significant loss of native language and culture, a high mortality rate, a high unemployment rate, compared to other residents of the area, etc. 

Lovozero, Revda
April, 2019