Dartmouth Events

Anthropology Colloquium with Dr. Dmitry Arzyutoy, assistant professor of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University.

Indigenous Sovereignty under the Shadow of a Mushroom Cloud: a Nenets Hunter and the Nuclear Test Site on the Arctic Archipelago
This presentation delves into the tragic history of Novaya Zemlya, an Arctic archipelago, focusing on its transformation into a military zone and subsequent conversion into a terrifying Soviet nuclear bomb testing ground. The process, which took place in the 1950s, resulted in extensive environmental destruction and the forced relocation of Indigenous Nenets and Russian Pomor communities to the mainland and nearby islands. To comprehensively understand these events within the dialogues between Indigenous sovereignty and settler colonialism in the Arctic, this paper explores the life history of Tyko Vylka (1886-1960), a Nenets hunter from Novaya Zemlya. Vylka, known for his skills as a painter, epic singer, and guide in Arctic expeditions, eventually became a prominent political figure in the archipelago, earning the semi-ironic but accepted title of "President of Novaya Zemlya," recognized even by high-ranking Soviet officials. However, his ambiguous integration into Soviet politics led him to agree to the relocation of Indigenous communities from the archipelago. By analyzing Vylka's art, writings, official documents, and oral history accounts, this research offers insights into the intricate interplay of Soviet politics in the Arctic and the way it led to re-conceptualizations of Indigenous sovereignty during the early Cold War. The study draws on extensive archival research conducted by the author in Russia and Europe, supplemented by oral history accounts from Nenets families who were relocated from the archipelago. This paper is part of the author's in-progress book project dedicated to the social and environmental history of Novaya Zemlya.

Dr. Dmitry (Dima) Arzyutov is an assistant professor of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University. He is an anthropologist and historian working with Indigenous communities in Siberia and the Arctic, predominantly with Nenets and Altaians. His research interests comprise ethno-history of Indigenous peoples in Siberia, environmental history of North Eurasia, transnational history of anthropological ideas, visual and sonic anthropology.