Culture | Cold United

Bruce Parry in Yakutsk, Yakutia/Siberia

On 06.25.10, In Adventures, Climate, Cultures, documentary, Environment, Lives, Photos, Projects, Societies, Travel, TV, By Bolot

Bruce Parry (with a tripod) and his team in Yakutsk, Yakutia/Siberia

Hurray! Bruce Parry with his IndusFilm crew is in the Siberian town of Yakutsk! What’s he doing here?

Bruce Parry (born 17 March 1969, in Hythe, Hampshire, England) is a former Royal Marine instructor who is now a TV presenter and adventurer, known particularly for the documentary programme series Tribe (known as Going Tribal in the United States), co-produced by the BBC and the Discovery Channel. Resource: Wiki.

I met Bruce Parry two days ago on Lenin Avenue in Yakutsk. Actually he and his team arrived early, on June 17th. They have already visited a village near the town, went for two celebrations of Ysyakh, Yakut national holiday. One was held in Gorny ulus (three hours by a car from Yakutsk) and Megino-Kangalassky region (just in the front of Yakutsk on the opposite bank of the Lena River). On the day of the meeting, they visited Epl Diamonds’ diamonds-cutting and jewelry’s factories and drove around the downtown shooting general views of the city.

First, I would love to tell the story of how his arrival happened to be possible. (more…)

Tagged with: Arctic • BBC • Bruce Parry • Climate change • Culture • documentary • Even • IndusFilms • reindeer herders • Russia • Sakkyryr • Siberia • social change • Yakut • Yakutia • Ysyakh

Indigenous people of Russia battered by hardships

On 05.21.10, In Cultures, Daily, Lives, People, Societies, By Bolot

Resource development has only led to more misery for northern Russia's indigenous peoples, Larissa Abryutina from the Russian Association of the Indigenous People of the North, tells a Laval university conference on the challenges of sustainable development and sovereignty in the Arctic on May 18.

Pollution, alcoholism, poor health care reduce life expectancy to between 40 to 45 years.

QUEBEC CITY — Many of the 280,000 indigenous peoples of Russia’s north are watching their communities and cultures teeter on the brink of extinction as economic hardships force them to leave their homelands and migrate in droves to the city.

Many of those who remain behind have abandoned traditional values and become “profit-driven in their search for compensation for their traditional lands,” Larissa Abryutina of the Russian Association of the Indigenous People of the North said May 18 in a presentation to a conference at Laval University on sustainable development and sovereignty in the Arctic.

Like other speakers, Abryutina revealed a striking irony: that it’s much easier to find bad examples of development and self-determination in the Arctic than good ones.

Abryutina, a Chukchi, is herself a casualty of the desperate choices facing northern Russian indigenous people: a doctor of radiology, she left her home region of Chukotka due to its declining standard of living.

(more…)

Tagged with: alcoholism • Chukotka • community • Culture • Far East • health care • Indigenous Peoples • Nenets • North • North Siberia • pollution • Russia • sovereignty • sustainable development

Iceberg with Dutch Artist Ap Verheggen Artworks Breaks Loose

On 05.21.10, In Arts, Cultures, Projects, Science, By Bolot

Satellite images show that the iceberg on which Verheggen placed his sculptures in March have started to move.

ArtDaily.com reports that the big moment for the sculptures of Dutch artist Ap Verheggen has come. The iceberg in Greenland on which he placed his artwork “Dog Sled Riders” back in March has broken loose. The uncertain journey can be followed on the website www.coolemotion.org, via GPS, photos, and video. (more…)

Tagged with: Arctic • Arctic Ocean • Climate change • Culture • GPS • Greenland • iceberg • sculptures

The Cool(E)motion Project launched sculptures on a floating Arctic iceberg

On 04.22.10, In Arts, Climate, Cultures, Projects, Science, By Bolot

Track the iceberg with sculptures in the Arctic Ocean

As Joel and Galya worked at their great project “Uummannaq Music Festival” in Uummaannaq, Greenland, 590 kilometers north of the Artic Circle, the team of Cool(E)motion, placed two huge sculptures on an iceberg.

The sculptures start to float shortly and will make an uncertain trip through the Arctic oceans. Cool(E)motion attached GPS systems on the sculptures so everybody can see ‘live’ where they are drifting to.

The project is launched to show the impact of climate change on local cultures.

(more…)

Tagged with: Arctic • Arctic Ocean • Climate change • Culture • GPS • Greenland • iceberg • sculptures

Mysterious Siberian paperweight

On 11.13.09, In Lives, By SusaninCanada

I bought this on ebay

This is a paperweight I bought on ebay, due to my obsession and fascination with Siberia (which is due to my obsession on Lillian Alling, known as “the woman who walked to Russia.” This paperweight is made of glass, and is about 10 cm x 6 cm, and is 2 cm high. It is etched to say:
Plywood in all thicknesses.
Siberian & General Trading Co Ltd.
1-3 Leonard Street, City Ro. London, E.C.2
Then around that it says:
Telephone London Wall 3577
Wires, Wolosey, finsquare, London
It is from the 1920s, and probably was a giveaway item for the Siberian & General Trading Co. Ltd.
Lillian Alling walked across North America and ended up in Siberia by 1929 (she started walking in 1926). I am curious about this company, and will do a bit more research to see if anything can be found about them.
Sorry for the poor photo quality, everyone, and hope you can still get an idea as to what a lovely paperweight this is. It has absolutely nothing to do with Lillian, except that both Lillian and this company were in Siberia in the 1920s! I would love to hear from any history buffs on either of these subjects.

Tagged with: Culture • History • Lillian Alling • Lives • mysteries