РЕЖИМЫ АВТОНОМНОСТИ В ВОСТОЧНОЙ СИБИРИ: МЕДИЦИНСКИЕ ПРАКТИКИ В УСЛОВИЯХ ТУНДРЫ, ТАЙГИ И СТЕПЕЙ

Abstract

The article is a reflection of social anthropologists-specialists in Siberia on the topic of current changes in the field of communication and global mobility, caused by growing epidemiological risks reinforced by the pandemic situation, in particular the spread of the COVID-19. Local communities of Siberia and the Arctic can be characterized by special skills of the autonomous existence and use of local medical knowledge in a situation of remoteness from resource distribution centers and relative isolation. In the light of modern changes and the risk of spread of infections, the local medical knowledge and skills accumulated by the representatives of these communities are turning into an important resource, which allows using survival and health maintaining strategies in severe climatic conditions and in situations of supply shortages. The article is based on the extensive field experience of the authors working in three different regions of Eastern Siberia, and includes materials collected among Chukchis, Evenkis, Buryats and Soyots. The existence in a situation of a relative isolation and remoteness formed among local people special ways of interacting with the state, the economic sphere and the natural environment, aimed at maintaining the existing autonomy regimes based on following the rules of environmental ethics, rational and economical use of available resources, their secondary use and utilization. The authors analyzed examples of the local strategies that allowed to minimize the possible risks connected with the spread of diseases, as well as provide medical assistance in a situation of a relative remoteness.