Until relatively recently, the Yukaghir people lived on the bleak, frozen tundra of northeast Siberia in the same way they had done for centuries, surviving on fishing, hunting, gathering and reindeer herding. Today, there are only 1,813 of them remaining, according to the latest census, after conquest, disease outbreaks and assimilation by Russian settlers as well as industrialisation during the Soviet era. Now, what is left of their traditional lifestyle is threatened by the changing climate.
This is knowledge of the natural rhythms associated with a particular spot,” Yukaghir elder Vyacheslav Shadrin told Al Jazeera. Then we’ll move on to some other place’ and so on. And this allowed us to exploit these natural resources effectively and in the most environmentally friendly and ecological manner.” But these weather cycles are no longer predictable, Shadrin said.
They try to explain why this is happening – because we’ve committed too many violations.” Temperatures in Russia – the fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, the United States and India – are rising at more than twice the global average. This has led to mounting environmental consequences not only on the Siberian tundra but also for the entire planet. As a result, a group of activists filed a lawsuit against the Russian government four years ago, first through the Russian Supreme Court, then the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Known as the Russian Climate Case, it argued that the Russian government has been irresponsible and failed to meet its international climate obligations. But in June, an ECHR judge ruled the case inadmissible. Personally, I think it was a political decision. … I believe the court was reluctant to deal with Russia on such a serious issue.” Makichyan noted the consequences risked by many of the plaintiffs.
Along with other members of his family, Makichyan was stripped of his Russian citizenship in 2022, which he believes was retaliation for his activism. In Siberia and Russia’s Far North and Far East, the climate crisis is an everyday reality. Russia’s worst wildfire season since records began was in 2021 when nearly 190,000sq km (73,400sq miles) – larger than the area of Syria or Uruguay – were incinerated.
Although the situation has improved recently thanks to weather conditions and enhanced fire protections – only 10,000sq km (8,860sq miles) have burned so far this year – fires can occur nearly year-round, including within the Arctic Circle and during the winter, which had normally been spared. Another issue is melting permafrost, which lies beneath more than half of Russia’s surface. Permafrost, short for permanent frost, stores vast amounts of greenhouse gases and organic matter over millennia.
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