Modernization or Domestication? Experience of the Evenki in the Global Context

Abstract

The article aims to study the encounter between Russia and the Siberian native peoples, notably the Evenki, through the lens of world-­systems analysis. It covers the history of Evenki during the pre-revolution, Soviet and post-­Soviet periods as well as the major changes in their traditional economy. The author traces the connection between the global economic processes, the goals of the state and other economic actors and the way modernization affected the Evenki and other Siberian natives. By putting their history in a more global context certain conclusions are drawn on the nature of modernization. The author sees inequality of the parties involved and the one-sided nature of modernization as the main reasons for its failures.