Ivanna Yaptune (32) is a Nenets woman who belongs to the tundra of the Taimyr Peninsula (Northeast Siberia). Our main character is young, although she is considered old by tundra standards. In her reindeer skin coat and surrounded by her five children, Ivanna roams the tundra together with other nomads.
In this society, men normally take care of the reindeers, while the women care for the household. But Ivanna’s husband Gena is an alcoholic and has moved to the city nearby, so Ivanna does the work of two people – both husband and wife. Every day is a matter of survival.
But living alone in the tundra soon proves impossible, too.
In the far distance is the city of Dudinka; the northernmost port city on earth. She dreams of normal life in the big city, of flat and decent working place, but she still depends on the tundra – reindeer bring meat and therefore money, children are safe within big indigenous family. Ivanna starts to plan her move to Dudinka; where she hopes to find a job, buy a flat and live like a normal city dweller.
So not only will Ivanna be the first person in her family to leave the tundra. She will be abandoning the traditions of a surviving family, one of the few that could carry on the Nenet’s traditions
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