The article deals with the dynamics of the number and demographic characteristics of the Siberian Nenets in the first third of the XX century. The article shows the formation of the nomadic population accounting and the influence of traditional lifestyle and ideas about a person, time, family, language differences and relations with Russians on statistics. The calculated demographic indicators indicate a simple reproduction of generations and the absence of extinction. Based on the analysis of census data and land management expeditions, it is proved that the recorded high absolute growth is the result of population refinement, as well as assimilation processes.

Keywords: ethnodemography, ethnography, Samoyeds, Nenets, forest Nenets, Yamal Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Yamal, Circumpolar census, demographic processes.

During the 17th and early 20th centuries, information about the peoples of the North was collected mainly by foreign councils for fiscal purposes. The events of the All-Russian Population Census of 1897 were timed to coincide with the release of foreigners to the points of payment of yasak, during which scientific principles of accounting (universality, self-determination, naming, etc.) were used for the first time. After the end of the civil war, the practical tasks of administrative-territorial, judicial, cultural, and economic reconstruction in the northern regions persistently demanded the organization of statistics on a scientific basis. It is the basis for obtaining reliable, complete and diverse information about "Siberian aliens".

During the period under review, researchers still focused on the problem of the growth of indigenous peoples of Siberia, which was raised in the pre-revolutionary literature. If at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries they were characterized as nonviable and on the verge of extinction or "slow extinction" (Yakobiy, 1893;Patkanov, 1911a; Dunin - Gorkavich, 1995; Yadrintsev, 2000), then in the first third of the 20th century, an increase in their numbers led some authors to conclude that this type of population is not sustainable. The question was invented by Siberian regional officials "in order to draw the government's attention to the natives" [Plotnikov, 1925, p.25].

Analyzing the materials of the Circumpolar Census for three categories of the population: Russian, sedentary and nomadic "native" peoples, P. E. Terletsky pointed out a drop in the birth rate and an increase in mortality with a complication of living conditions, which, in his opinion, "creates a certain order in population growth; the Russian, more cultured population, leading a sedentary lifestyle, has a higher level of social development. quite a successful increase; sedentary natives with a significantly reduced cultural level give a smaller increase and, finally, the nomadic population, which is in extremely unfavorable conditions in terms of fertility and mortality, gives a very modest birth rate, high mortality and extremely low natural increase..." [1932, p.48]. At the same time, his data on the Nenets people, who are nomads, do not fit into this situation and show high birth rates and low mortality rates [Ibid., pp. 50, 53, 60]. The results of expeditionary research of medical and ethnographic detachments in the Obdorsky North in the 1920s also testified to

in the absence of degeneracy and the presence of a small increment or equilibrium (GUTO HA in Tobolsk. f. 687. Op. 3. d. 51. L. 223 vol.; F. 695. Op. 1. D. 78. L. 96). The analysis of data on the distribution of age groups and the number of children in families using demographic methods presented in this paper makes it possible to find out demographic trends among the Siberian Nenets in the first third of the 20th century and explain the contradiction found. The geographical scope of the study includes the territory of modern residence of Siberian Nenets within the administrative boundaries of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Tyumen Region in 1924-1930. it belonged to the Obdorsky district of the Tobolsk ROC. Ural region.

Sources. Demographic characteristics are obtained from the published materials of the All-Union Census of 1926 [1928] and the Circumpolar Census organized within its framework [List..., 1928], supplemented with primary data. The latter include post-economic cards of the Circumpolar census (GUTO GA in Tobolsk. f. 690. Op. 1. D. 49,54), post-economic forms and cards of northern development expeditions (GAJNAO. F. 12. Op. 1. D. 51 - 56, 90, 91, 128, 135): Yamal Region, 1932-1933. (580 forms), Nadym 1933-1934 (221 household cards) and Tazovo-Purov 1934-1935 (327 cards).

The number of Siberian Nenets. The peculiarities of the fiscal system tied to the points of payment of yasak, the nomadic lifestyle (according to the Charter of 1822, Samoyeds were classified as wandering foreigners), living in hard-to-reach areas, and the self-sufficient nature of reindeer husbandry caused a systematic underestimation of the Nenets, which affected changes in their numbers and was supplemented in some years by the action of epidemic diseases. In the winter of 1897, the census covered first of all the foremen of Samoyedic bands and Samoyeds who personally appeared to pay yasak to foreign councils. Their total number, according to S. Patkanov's calculations based on information about their native language, was 4,431 people [19116, p. 26].

Foreign councils, which had been in charge of the Siberian Nenets for 300 years, were abolished only in early 1920. Instead of them, " a foreign department was formed at the executive committee (Tyumen Gubernia Executive Committee. - E. V.) with two persons appointed to it by the administration" [Destinies..., 1994, p. 63]. With the creation of the Obdorsky district at the end of 1923, issues related to nomads were resolved by the non-native sub-department under the Obdorsky district executive committee, one of the important tasks of which was to register them for the collection of agricultural tax, which replaced the yasak [Ibid., p. 84].

According to the" Provisional Regulation on the management of native tribes on the northern outskirts of the Tobolsk District", adopted in 1925, the nomadic population was to be registered by tribal councils. They retained this function with the transition in 1926 to the "Temporary regulation on the management of native peoples and tribes of the northern outskirts of the RSFSR" [Ibid., pp. 101, 114]. In 1926-1927, the Ural, Taz and Yamal native nomadic councils were organized, of which only the latter existed without interruptions in their work. The reasons for this were the weak provision of material and transport facilities, low wages and difficult living conditions (GASPITO. F. 105. Op. 1. D. 8. L. 127). In particular, the Ural Native Council could not start working for a long time due to the lack of a secretary and means of transportation (Ibid., l.127).

An indicator of the work of nomadic councils is the following fact. If during the year of its existence (1926-1927) the settled native soviets took into account the entire population living on their territory, the nomadic ones took into account only "about 25 farms with up to 90 souls of both sexes..." [Destinies..., 1994, p.135]. For the census of the nomadic population, the Yamal Nomadic Native Council was forced to resort to coercive measures. For some time, trading posts located on its territory were not allowed to trade with Samoyeds of the Yamal tundra, who did not have a certificate from the council on their registration [Ibid., p. 144]. In 1928, only South Yamal up to the Yuribey River was developed by the Yamal Tuzrik. The Nenets who roamed further north did not know or recognize it (Evladov, 1992, p. 216).

Registration of the indigenous population was complicated by their negative attitude to any censuses in general, due to the fear that "the Russians will probably take them as soldiers, take their children away from them and send them to schools..." [Destinies..., 1994, p.143] (see also: GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 4. L. 2). The Nenets at a general meeting held in April 1927 in the Khadytta area of the Yamal tundra refused to correspond, explaining this as follows: "First of all, when a comrade in the All-Union Census came, he said that he was bigger than you no one will rewrite it... and secondly, their main reason... is that when the entire non-native national tribal population finds out about this and agrees, then we will agree... "[Ibid., p. 128].

During the development of Soviet construction in the North and the formation of the administrative apparatus in the 1930s, there were practically no contacts with the nomadic population, which could not but be reflected in statistical data. At this time, complex relations between the Nenets and Russians are noted in connection with collectivization, dekulakization, disenfranchisement, organization of new soviets, opening of trading posts, etc. All the events held sharply contradicted the traditional way of life

the lives of nomads who didn't want to put up with it. Their discontent manifested itself in various forms: meetings and elections were disrupted, names and surnames, family composition, and the number of deer were hidden. Sometimes disturbances escalated into armed clashes, the largest of which was called the Mandalade [Petrova, 1998, p. 102; Alekseeva, 2005, p.111-118]. It is not by chance that the reports of the Yamal District Statistical Office of this time emphasized that the data on nomads are indicative (GAYNAO. F. 34. Op. 1. D. 2. L. 2), and in office documents there are discrepancies in the figures [Report..., 1935, p. 7] (GASPITO. f. 23. Op. 1. d. 258. l. 3-8; GAYANAO. F. 12. Op. 1. d. 189. L. 124). Under these circumstances, the only official source of information on the number of Nenets before 1939 was the materials of the Circumpolar Census.

In 1926, in order to maximize the number of nomads, special expeditions to the areas of their traditional seasonal nomads were organized for the first time (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 1. L. 3 vol.); census forms were filled in during direct communication with people; control measures were provided to identify the proportion of the under-accounted population. Obdorsky Samoyeds were rewritten by members of several detachments (Yamal, Taz, Nadym-Poluysky, and Syne-Kunovatsky) that worked in the Obdorsky district (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 4. L. 3). Due to the registrar's illness, hard-to-reach places of residence and limited funds, information about the forest Nenets was recorded from the words of tribal elders in Nore and Surgut [List..., 1928, pp. 210-211] (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 4. L. 6 vol.). Data on the Gydan Nenets of the Obdorsky district were obtained mainly by the registrar of the IV census area in the Dudinskaya volost of the Turukhansky district [Turukhanskaya expedition..., 2005, pp. 129, 343-348].

In general, the census of 1926-1927 was held at a high level for that time; only 115-140 Samoyedic farms were not registered, which is approximately 575-700 people, or 7.7-9.4 % of the total population recorded, with an average farm size of 5 people.* Thus, according to the Taz detachment, they were allowed to pass "no more than two or three dozen farms" of grassroots Samoyeds (GASO. f. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 4. L. 6-7). With regard to the forest and Yamal Nenets, the concern was expressed that 15-30 (Ibid., l. 6 vol.) and approx. 80 (Ibid., l. 7) farms. To eliminate the omissions, three detachments of the Obdorsky Veterinary Bacteriological Institute, sent to work in the summer of 1927 in Yamal, the Northern Urals and the Taza River basin, received forms and certificates for registration of nomads who, for one reason or another, did not pass it earlier (Ibid., l.12). An additional census in the Tazovsky district was not required to be conducted by the secretary of the Tazovsky Village Council (Ibid.). Census forms were provided to the expedition detachments of the Academy of Sciences headed by L. V. Kostikov and V. N. Gorodkov, who were heading to the Gydan tundra [Turukhansk expedition..., 2005, p. 134] (GASO. f. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 4. l. 12). The data obtained were corrected by subsequent expeditions of V. L. Evladov [1992], V. N. Skalon [1931], G. D. Verbov [1936], and A. Kurilovich [1934].

Conducting the Circumpolar Census in the Obdorsk Nenets ' areas of residence took about seven months instead of the expected four. The work planned in 1926 "from the beginning of December to the end of March" was forced to start as early as November for the registration of Zyryans and Zyryansk Samoyeds near the village of Labytnangi and continue until the beginning of April, and in Yamal - until the beginning of May 1927 (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. Vol. 1. l. 2.; Vol. 4. l. 4, 8 vol.). Participants in the Northern development expeditions of the 1930s had to collect information for a year. They primarily corresponded with families who roamed around the trading posts and came for goods and groceries. In 1939, in the Far North regions of the Omsk Region, the census was conducted for 183 days (Podyachikh, 1957, p. 115).

Determining the number of Nenets was complicated by the presence of different territorial groups in their composition, as well as groups of mixed origin. Registrars in 1926 were instructed to decide the question of nationality "on the basis of self-determination and ethnic characteristics" (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 1. L. 105). In the materials of the Circumpolar census in the column "Tribe" there are names: Samoyeds, Yamal, stone, grassroots, forest Samoyeds, Yuraks. According to the instructions, the "stone", "grassroots" and "forest" groups had to correspond to separate tribes that differ in linguistic characteristics (Ibid.). Based on ethnic indicators, mixed groups of Ostyak-Samoyeds, most of whom considered Samoyedic their native language, and Samoyeds-Zyryans, who belonged to the Zyryan language group, were identified [List..., 1928, pp. 164-165].

The circumpolar census reflected the complex ethnic composition of the Obdorsky district's population. When summing up the results, some mixed groups added to the larger ones, which led to differences in data from different sources. As a result of household counting, Samoyeds-Zyryans, Ostyako-Samoyeds and Yuraks were classified as Samoyeds [List..., 1928, p. IV, XXXIV] (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. d. 184.

* This indicator is given in the reports of the first third of the XX century (GAYNAO. f. 12. Op. 1. d. 189. L. 24 vol.).

L. 85). In the materials of the All-Union Census, the last two groups were considered separately [All-Union Census..., 1928, p. 104]. A detailed ethnic structure of the nomadic population of the Obdorsky district is presented in the "List of settlements of the Ural Region" [1928] (Table 1).

Differences in quantitative data in the sources of the period under review are related to the use of different accounting units (individual or household) and categories of population (available or permanent), the chosen time of year, the duration of census work and the territory covered by them. During the Circumpolar Census of 1926-1927, a household survey was conducted. All-Union population censuses counted each person separately.

In 1926, the difference between the published data of the Circumpolar and All-Union censuses in the 06-Dorsky district was 532 people in favor of the latter. At the same time, in the first case, all family members were related to the nationality of their head, and in the second case, the nationality of each individual was taken into account separately. Despite the marked significant mestizo population in the North [List..., 1928, p. IV], the household census showed a lower number of Samoyeds than the demographic census - 7,462 people, respectively (in 1,385 Samoyedic farms) [Ibid., p. XXXIV] and 7,994 people. [All-Union Census..., 1928, p. 292]. According to the CSO data, the existing population was taken into account, including those belonging to other administrative regions, but at the time of the census it was located on the territory of the Obdorsky district [List..., 1928, p.IV].

As a result, the Obdorsk Samoyeds included Samoyeds from the Komi Autonomous Region and Turukhansk Krai, as well as forest Samoyeds (509 people) from the Surgut district.

In the 1930s, despite the official introduction of the self-designation "Nenets" with the formation of the Yamal (Nenets) National District, the old name "Samoyed" was still used in documents. For the forest Nenets, who were considered a special tribe, names borrowed from the tundra Nenets were used - "pyan-khasovo" or "pyaki".

The total number of Nenets on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the first half of the 1930s, according to land management expeditions, did not exceed 9,000 people, and according to the materials of the All-Union Census of 1939, there were already 13,454 people. The above examples show that this figure is the result of clarifying the number and simplifying the ethnic structure of the peoples of the North, including due to the replacement of old names with self-names. The latter led to the fact that in most cases Ostyak-Samoyeds, Samoyeds-Zyryans, and Yuraks, who were previously counted separately, were counted among the Nenets. In the ethnographic literature, they are considered as the Nenets genera of the Khanty and Enets rivers.-

The number and national composition of the nomadic population of the Obdorsky district according to the Circumpolar Census of 1926-1927 Table 1.*

* Compiled from: [List..., 1928, pp. 164-165].

** The absolute number is shown in parentheses.

Fig. 1. The number of Siberian Nenets according to the All-Russian and All-Union censuses of the late XIX - first half of the XX century (according to: [Patkanov, 19116, p. 26; All-Union Census..., 1928, p. 292; List..., 1928, p. XV; Destinies..., 1994, p. 279]).

Exodus and European Nenets in Siberia (Verbov, 1939; Dolgikh, 1970; Vasiliev, 1979). Therefore, the high absolute growth of Siberian Nenets between the censuses of 1897, 1926 and 1939. (over 5,000 people) is the result of the processes mentioned above (Figure 1).

Demographic characteristics of the Siberian Nenets in the first third of the XX century A comparative analysis of the primary documents shows that the full and reliable accounting of the Nenets was hindered by the system of their traditional ideas related to the name and age of a person, birth, death, and marriage. All of them are considered in detail in ethnographic works (Tereshchenko, 1966,1967; Khomich, 1976; Susoy, 1994). Lack of understanding and ignorance of the specifics of traditional Nenets culture by registrars sometimes led to the absence, incompleteness or unreliability of demographic information.

According to traditional rules, among the Nenets, one and the same person could have three names: according to an ancestor (its use was limited), a nickname given according to the circumstances of birth, and a Russian one [Khomich, 1976, p. 17]. The distinctive features of traditional anthroponymy were reflected only in the address part of the census form developed for the Circumpolar census, where the Russian and "native" variants of the surname, first name, patronymic and nickname were indicated. Fearing that the size of the nomadic population would be exaggerated due to the census of the same person two or more times, including due to the presence of several names, all those who were registered were issued certificates (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181.T. 4. L. 7).

Among the Nenets, the role of a surname was performed by the name of the family to which the head of the farm belonged. The Nenets anthroponymic system did not assume patronymics due to the corresponding prohibitions, so these lines were left blank. In the household forms of the 1930s, only the name of the head of the family was often recorded, the wife was called by the name of the eldest child, for example, Ayu nebya, Ene nebya (mother of Ayu, mother of Ene), sometimes by the name of the genus to which she belonged before marriage: Vanuito, Susoi, Lapsui. The census taker's ignorance of the Nenets language and culture, traditional prohibitions on pronouncing a person's name aloud after a certain age or life event, and replacing it with another one led to the fact that in census documents the name was replaced by the Nenets term of kinship or property used in the family when referring to: meya, lyapa or nyaba (daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law), nyabako (older sister), not (woman, wife), etc. In some cases, the names of the wife, children, and other relatives were omitted altogether.

As far as age is concerned, the selected age groups assume a conditional value in the first half of the XX century, and for the elderly and old people - throughout the century. In demography, age is defined as the total number of years completed on the last birthday, obtained as an answer to the question about the date of birth or, if the respondent does not know it, about the number of years completed on the last birthday [Medkov, 2002, p.418]. The Nenets could not give an exact answer to any of these questions. The number of years received the least attention. The age of a person was taken into account only in the first four to five years of life, and the birthday was celebrated once, after the umbilical cord fell off in the baby [Susoy, 1994, p. 36, 50]. The importance was attached not to the number of years lived, but to the ability of a person to perform a particular social function. According to the Nenets ideas, for women it is the ability to procreate [Kharyuchi, 2001, p.156]. Some confusion in the calculation of years is caused by differences in the duration of the "Russian" and "Nenets" years. The latter is divided into two periods (winter and summer), each of which is considered as a whole year [Susoy, 1994, p. 49; Golovnev, 1995, p. 49]. 302; Khomich, 1995, p. 199]. Dr. M. L. Shapiro-Aronshtam, based on the results of an expedition of the Regional Health Department in the Circumpolar North of the Tobolsk district in 1926-1927, reported that the Nenets "do not know the score well. They can't say about the child's age. Old people, having 50 years, call the figure 75-100 years... "(GUTO GA in Tobolsk. f. 695. Op. 1. D. 78. L. 30). In addition, "Samoyeds are completely ignorant of time counting and therefore do not know their age. The age of children is known only up to three years. A Samoyed can't say 25 or 40 years old. Therefore, the age has to be determined by eye. < ... > In general, Samoyeds who were in close contact with Russians and Zyryans usually define their age in this way: "Sanku Shakhova

2. Distribution of Samoyeds in Obdorsky district by gender and age according to the All-Union Population Census of 1926 [1928, p. 292], % of the total number of men and women.

Figure 3. Distribution of tundra Nenets of the Yamal region by gender and age according to the approximate data of the Yamal Department of Statistics as of 01.01.1932 (GAYNAO. F. 34. Op. 1. D. 2. L. 2), % of the total number of men and women.

you know, so my son was born in the same year or a year later...""(Ibid., l. 87 vol. - 89).

In the instructions for filling out the household card during the Circumpolar Census, the following recommendations were made regarding age: "... the age for children younger than one year is set in months and determined by the survey, for older children, where it is impossible to get a definite answer, the age is determined by the registrar according to the appearance of the respondent, up to 10 years of one-year-olds, from 10 to 29 five-year groups and over 30 years of ten-year groups... "(GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 181. T. 1. L. 105 vol.). The coefficient of age accumulation, calculated in relation to the ages ending in 0 and 5, in 1926 was 4,916. 6 %, in 1932 - 1933 - 3,069, for the forest Nenets of the Verkhnepurovsky National Council in 1934 - 1,435,2%. The age of people in the group over 40 years is mainly represented by such values as 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 years. The result of determining the age "by eye" in the first half of the XX century was the appearance of long-livers (100 or more years) among the Nenets. In the five-and ten-year groups, the age accumulation itself was removed (Fig. 2). How strong the distortions in the gender and age structure of the Nenets could have been due to the approximate determination of age can be seen from the data of the Yamal District Statistical Office as of January 1, 1932 (Fig. 3).

Important demographic information such as family composition was not always accurate. The term family is not used in the Nenets language; it is borrowed from Russian (Dunin-Gorkavic, 1932; Verbov, 1935; Tereshchenko, 1965, p.156). The equivalent may be myad 'ter or myadnder, which means "resident of the plague" (Tereshchenko, 1965, p. 186). Census takers in the 1920s and even in the 1950s sometimes wrote down the names and gender of family members without specifying their relationship to the head of the household. A special feature of the terms of kinship and property among the Nenets is the classification nature of the names of people older than the speaker in the gender of husband or wife, except for the father and mother, who remain individual [Khomich, 1995, p.173]. A group of individuals designated by one term includes representatives of two generations, while other relatives are referred to descriptively (Simchenko, 1974, p. 271). In some cases, this led to the appearance in Russian primary documents of erroneous records of relatives along the lateral, descending and ascending lines. So, "grandmother" could actually be the aunt of the head of the family or his wife, i.e., the older sister of his (or her) father or mother, and "grandfather" - uncle. Same name for children (nude-son and non-nude-daughter) and grandchildren in the approximate determination of age led to

the fact that the elderly and old spouses turned out to have young children. One term was used to describe cousins (children of the father's younger brother and younger sister), nephews (children of the older brother and sister), and younger brothers.

Analysis of the family composition shows that in the first third of the 20th century, more than half of families (up to 53 %) included parents with children (Table 2). A significant proportion (up to 39 %) consisted of various types of complete complex families with different relatives. Among them, three-generational families consisting of a married couple with children and one of the parents, a married couple with children, one of the parents and relatives on the side line were quantitatively distinguished

Family composition of the Yamal and forest Nenets according to land management expeditions of the first half of the 1930s Table 2.*

* Compiled by: GAYANAO. f. 12. Op. 1. d. 51-56, 128.

(mother or father and brothers or sisters of the head of the household), from two or more married couples. According to the identified family-economic cards, parents (one or two wives of the father) and two sons with their wives could live together; sometimes two married brothers leading a joint household, each of whom occupied different halves in the plague. Such large-family collectives had similar features to the patronymic associations that existed among the Nenets in the past and were recorded in the sources of the XVII-XIX centuries [Social order..., 1970, p. 197].

Single-parent families in the Yamal and forest Nenets were approx. 12 %. Among them, family groups of mothers with children prevailed, less often father with children, mother with children and relatives, brothers and sisters. The patriarchal structure of traditional Nenets society was reflected in the fact that the heads of single-parent families in all cases were men: the eldest son or brother of a woman. Sometimes the head of the farm could be 10 years old.

Marriages were both monogamous and polygamous. Old age, illness of the spouse, her infertility, the need for additional workers in the presence of a large farm served as the reasons for acquiring a second, sometimes third wife, which only well-to-do Nenets could afford [Tarasov, 1915; Khomich, 1995, p.172]. The second wives were widows who were married to the married younger brothers of their deceased husbands (Mitusova, 1929, p. 15). A man could marry two siblings (GUTO GA in Tobolsk. f. 695. Op. 1. D. 78. L. 88 ob.). All marriages were patrilocal in nature, after the wedding the woman went to live in the chum of her husband or his parents. Nevertheless, the proportion of polygamous marriages has steadily declined. In the first half of the 1930s, 7 % (11 people) of the forest Nenets of Verkhnepurovsky Village Council had two or three wives, and 3.6 % (32 people) of the Yamal Nenets. According to the materials of the Yamal cultural Base, in 1937 40 out of 800 men of the Yamal Peninsula had two or three wives; more than three did not meet*.

Ethnographers have noted that the Nenets are characterized by small families [Zhitkov, 1913, p. 219; Khomich, 1995, p. 186]. The father tried to separate his sons after their marriage into independent farms [Khomich, 1995, p. 186]. As a rule, the youngest son stayed with his parents in the plague [Startsev, 1930, p. 100]. It is no coincidence that among complex families, the majority consisted of parents and a son and wife. The circumpolar census revealed differences in the size of reindeer herding, hunting and fishing farms among the peoples of the North, among which the former were much larger than the rest [Terletsky, 1932, p. 13]. According to the "Settlement results" for Obdorsky district, the average size of farms of sedentary Samoyeds was 3.13 people, semi - sedentary-4.4, nomadic-5.4 people (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 184. L. 85). The following dependency is installed. The farms of the Nenets who roamed in the depths of the tundra are numerically superior to those whose nomads were located in coastal zones and in the basins of large rivers and lakes. A striking example is the average size of farms that fished on the Sands - only 4.8 people. In the Gydansko-Tazovsky subdistrict, the Nenets of the Gydan tundra, the Yavai, Bezymyannogo, and R peninsulas are distinguished. Pelvis, in which this indicator exceeds 5.9 people. At the same time, among the Nizhnepurov and Nadym Nenets, it was 5.7 and 5.3 people. accordingly. The Yamal Nenets have a lower-than-average size of farms that were nomadic in the area from the Yuribey River to the Yerkut River, Lake Yarroto, and Novy Port, where mostly poor families who were forced to switch to fishing were engaged in fishing. All this suggests that the change in economic activities and the transition to a less mobile lifestyle by Samoyeds who lost their deer and became impoverished led to a decrease in the size of farms. The size of reindeer farms is determined by the specific nature of the economic cycle, which requires the joint participation of a large team [Golovnev and Konev, 1989, p.80-81]. The advantage in this case was related families that acted as one family. At the same time, up to 16 people could live on the farm, and 19 people were registered among the Tazov Nenets.

High infant mortality led to the fact that most families had few children [Khomich, 1995, p. 188] (GUTO GA in Tobolsk. f. 695. Op. 1. d. 78. l. 30). Ethnographic and medical data are confirmed by statistical data (Figure 4). In the 1930s, a high proportion of children was found in farms with a large number of people due to the complex composition of families and polygamous marriages, remarriage of men after the death of the first wife. Thus, the average number of children per nuclear family was 2.8 in Yamal Nenets and 2.5 in forest families, while complex families with more than two married couples had 3.2 and 3.7 children, respectively. The obtained indicators indicate a simple reproduction of generations, which provided a slight increase in the population.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Nenets categorically refused to register birth, death, and marriage [Destinies..., 1994, p. 128, 144, 153]. The arguments given in favor of drawing up civil status certificates, in particular, that information on the number of deaths is necessary to provide timely medical care to the nomadic population in the tundra, remained inconclusive [Ibid., p. 128]. The refusal to take into account the dead was explained by religious motives. It is still considered a serious insult.

* Brodnev M. M. From the generic system to socialism. The manuscript. - Salekhard, b. g. - 432 p. - GU YANOMVK.

Fig. 4. Distribution of Nenets farms by the number of children (up to 16 years old inclusive) according to the data of household maps of land management expeditions of the 1930s (GAYANAO. F. 12. Op. 1. D. 51 - 56, 90, 91, 128, 135). 1 - one child; 2 - two; 3-three; 4-four; 5-five or more children; 6-childless.

the name of the deceased in the presence of living relatives [Haryuchi, 2001, p. 154]. Most of the Nenets believed that registering marriages would deprive families of the opportunity to receive kalym for the bride, and men-to take a second and third wife [Lezova, 2001, p. 132]. Positive comments were made by those who believed that this innovation would reduce the number of escapes and theft of wives [Destinies..., 1994, p.128].

For the first time, data on the birth rate, mortality, and natural growth of Samoyeds in the Obdorsky district were obtained during the Circumpolar Census for 98.8 % of registered farms (GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 184. L. 85). The value of the available materials lies in the fact that they are the only ones that characterize the demographic processes among the Obdorsk Nenets in the first half of the XX century. This is confirmed by the analysis of the Registry Office materials, which almost completely lack relevant information (GAYNAO. F. 34. Op. 1. D. 2, 66, 77). Nevertheless, the number of recorded births and deaths is underestimated [Mortality..., 1929, p. 32; Terletsky, 1932, p. 46]. According to absolute indicators, the birth rate and natural growth rate of Samoyeds is higher than that of other ethnic groups (Table 3). However, the indicators of Zyryans do not differ much from them, and in the period from 01.10.1925 to 01.10.1926, the mortality rate among them was even higher, which, despite the difference in the number of registered farms by almost 2 times, indicates the incompleteness of data on the peoples of the North. The high birth rate and mortality rate (among children and the working-age population) and low life expectancy are supported by the proportional ratios of children and the elderly in the age structure of the Nenets corresponding to the progressive type (Table 4).

In general, it can be noted that the introduction of new population accounting principles at the end of the XIX - first quarter of the XX century provided specialists with qualitatively different statistical information about the Nenets than in the previous period. However, conducting general censuses and civil registration did not immediately solve the problem of obtaining reliable and complete demographic data about them. The reason for this was the traditional ideas associated with various cultural events.

Indicators of fertility, mortality and natural growth of the Obdorsky district population according to the Circumpolar Census of 1926-1927 Table 3.*

* Compiled by: GASO. F. R-1812. Op. 2. D. 184. L. 85-86.

** The number of child deaths is shown in parentheses.

Demographic characteristics of the Nenets according to non-farm cards and family-economic forms of land management expeditions of the 1930s Table 4.*

* Compiled by: GAYANAO. F. 12. Op. 1. D. 51 - 56, 90, 91, 128, 135.

** In the Yamal region: women-17-50 years old, men-17-59 years old.

aspects of human life activity in the Nenets culture that differ from the Russian one. Language differences led to the fact that the recorded information was not what the interviewee said, but what the translator was able to convey within the limits of their language capabilities. The situation was aggravated by a lack of understanding of the need and unwillingness to disclose information about yourself and your family to strangers, as well as a nomadic lifestyle.

Drawing on a wide range of mass statistical data and ethnographic materials allowed us to reveal that the high absolute growth recorded in the sources of the period under review is the result of clarifying the number of Nenets, as well as assimilation processes. The calculated demographic indicators indicate a simple reproduction of generations and the absence of extinction.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 12.03.08.

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