Enero-Junio 2022

Vol. 12 No. 1

Alina Igorevna Kirillova / La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la población

indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

Interacción y Perspectiva Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506

Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X

enero-junio

ENSAYO

La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la

población indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6555382

Alina Igorevna Kirillova *

Resumen

El artículo está dedicado al problema del alcoholismo de la población indígena de

Kamchatka, así como a los conceptos y teorías que explican el problema del fuerte

aumento de la dependencia del alcohol de los pueblos del Norte en los años 70-80. El

concepto (idea) del llamado "gen del norte" ha sido una de las explicaciones lógicas

durante mucho tiempo, sin embargo, hoy en día se critica activamente. Incluso antes de

que se formara la idea del gen nórdico, había habido una lucha activa contra la

alcoholización de la población de Siberia y el Lejano Oriente. Estas prácticas no son

menos importantes para entender la situación actual y encontrar soluciones a este

problema humanitario.

Palabras clave: Alcoholismo, Pueblos indígenas de Kamchatka, Pequeños pueblos

indígenas del Norte, Gen del Norte. Abstract

Social work practice on combating alcoholization of the indigenous population

of Kamchatka: The concept of the "Northern gene"

The article is devoted to the problem of alcoholization of the indigenous population of

Kamchatka, as well as concepts and theories explaining the problem of a sharp spike in

alcohol dependence of the peoples of the North in the 1970s – 1980s. The concept (idea)

of the so-called "northern gene" had been one of the logical explanations for a long time.

However, today it is actively criticized. Even before the idea of the northern gene was

formed, there had been an active struggle against the alcoholization of the population

of Siberia and the Far East. These practices are no less important for understanding the

current situation and finding solutions to this humanitarian problem.

Key words: Alcoholization, Indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, Small indigenous peoples

of the North, northern gene.

Recibido: 27/12/2021 Aceptado: 15/03/2021

Candidato a Ciencias Históricas, Profesor Asociado del Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad Estatal

de Kamchatka llamado así por Vitus Bering, Rusia. E-mail: astra1155@yandex.ru

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 12 No 1 / enero-junio, 2022

1.- Introduction

The problem of alcoholism and related medical and humanitarian problems is not

fundamentally new for Siberia and the Russian Far East. The problem was discussed

during the period of "perestroika" in 1985 – 1991, in the process of the anti-alcohol

campaign that began, including in the societies of the small indigenous peoples of the

North (hereinafter – the SIPN). However, scholars and ethnographers have written about

the existence of this problem since the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, I.I.

Gapanovich (1926: 12) wrote about the inhabitants of Kamchatka the following:

"The Russian newcomers did not improve the life of the natives; on the contrary,

they rewarded it with new ulcers. All Kamchadals are subject to alcoholism and

will give everything they have for alcohol. It is not for nothing that they say that

anything can be left in the tundra without the risk of loss, except alcohol (the

temptation is too great even with the high honesty of the natives)".

The Swedish researcher S. Bergman writes no less sadly about the drunkenness of

the inhabitants of Kamchatka; he mentions drunkenness among the local population.

According to the scholar, the most popular goods among the local population were tea,

tobacco, flour for cakes, and alcohol. Moreover, the local population got drunk quickly

and behaved quite violently. The researcher writes that he repeatedly witnessed the so-

called "alcohol orgies", which were considered a kind of form of leisure and well-deserved

rest (Bergman, 2000: 107-108). Such records are not isolated. Similar descriptions can

be found in the works of journalists and ethnographers of the 1970s – 1980s:

"In the house of some collective farm worker... they pushed it down copiously, I

can't say for what reason. Without a reason, most likely out of habit... my

appearance dangerously excited... a not quite young, portly Evenki. I knew her,

but only when she was sober... she studied at the Institute of the Peoples of the

North named after Herzen and therefore was considered an educated national

cadre" (Pasenyuk, 2002: 8).

Thus, we see that the problem was not completely new, and we can already initially

conclude based only on these data that the peoples of the North are predisposed to

drunkenness and are not able to overcome alcoholism. Alcoholism is a natural

consequence of interaction with Russians. However, these conclusions are extremely

superficial, although they are actively broadcast in the Russian media (Kofman, 2014;

Newsru.Com, 2014).

2. Materials and methods

Modern historical science has a wide range of methodological approaches and

research methods. We chose the following for our research:

Alina Igorevna Kirillova / La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la población

indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

– case-study, which will allow focusing on one problem – alcoholization of the

population of the North of Siberia and the Far East and ways to combat this social evil

(using the example of materials from Kamchatka and Yakutia);

– comparative approach: a historical-comparative method, in which we will take a

vertical comparison (that is, the study of the methods of the state's struggle with the

problem in historical retrospect);

– historical and genetic approach (to determine the genesis of the idea of the

"northern gene" and the directions of its development).

Thus, this article is based on the classical approaches for the Russian historical and

ethnographic school.

3. Results

The idea of the "northern gene": origin, development, and criticism

The data of ethnographers and research scholars, government officials who

conducted censuses and judicial practice (a significant part of offenses were committed

while intoxicated) of the 19th – early 20th centuries showed that the peoples of the

North (foreign researchers include the peoples of the Arctic) are prone to alcoholization.

Numerous notes and memoirs of party workers, correspondents, and scholars have

formed in the everyday consciousness, including scholars, the image of an eternally

drunk or actively drinking northerner. The quotes given in the introduction about

northern drunkenness are only a small part of what could be quoted on the problem. For

this reason, by the middle of the 20th century, the scientific community had already

formed a question about the causes of the so-called "northern drunkenness".

The first steps to solve this issue were genetic studies of the 1970s – 1980s, which

allowed determining that the genotype of the peoples of the North differs from the Indo-

Europeans. More in-depth studies in this direction revealed that "representatives of the

SIPN do not have genes that contribute to reducing intoxication of the body when taking

alcohol, which causes accelerated intoxication and addiction to alcohol-containing

beverages" (Borinskaya et al., 2009b). Moreover, it was not only about taking fortified

alcohol (vodka, cognac, absinthe), but also any so-called "low-alcohol drink" (beer, wine,

ale, etc.). Thus, a medical and biological explanation of the causes of the deep and

accelerated alcohol dependence of the peoples of the North on alcohol was formed in the

1980s – 1990s. It was reinforced by research in the early 2000s. (Belkovets et al., 2011;

Borinskaya et al., 2008a, 2009b; Marussin et al., 2004). The peak of the development

of the concept of a special genotype of the northern peoples, and as a result of a special

threat to them of alcohol, can be called 2008 – 2015, when these materials were widely

published in the mass media, including ethnic media, and were actively discussed by

both the scientific community and the ethnic intelligentsia.

The explanation of the phenomenon of northern drunkenness from a medical point

of view has several advantages:

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 12 No 1 / enero-junio, 2022

1) the presence of a single explanation and identified causes of alcoholization of the

population – it's all about genes, namely,

"Ethnogenetic (more precisely, ethnophenotypic) features of the populations of

the peoples of the North concerning enzyme systems that ensure the exchange

of ethanol in the body and its involvement in metabolism. Since the main cause

of the neuro- and somatotoxic effects of alcohol, the formation of alcohol

dependence, is acetaldehyde, the resistance to alcohol reduces as the body's

ability to oxidize ethanol decreases without the formation of increased

concentrations of acetaldehyde" (Kershengolts et al. 2012: 22; Solopekin, 2011:

72);

2) there is a single method of solving the problem – direct restriction of consumption

to avoid further consequences, which by the beginning of the 2000s were already fully

manifested: there was a "decrease in population resistance to alcohol in generations,

established back in the 80–90s of the 20th century" (Kershengolts et al. 2012: 24). Legal

levers can also be used to restrict access;

3) in some cases, the inebriating of the indigenous population can be explained and

presented in a negative light (this was especially consistent with the Marxist

methodology, which described the pre-Soviet period as a prison for peoples, so the sale

of alcohol to the northerners was interpreted as the destruction of the indigenous

population, now a clear scientific justification has appeared under these conclusions).

Thus, the medical justification of the phenomenon of "northern alcoholism" provides

fairly simple answers to the questions posed for science, allows creating ready-made

and unambiguous solutions to the problem of reducing alcoholism.

However, the idea of the "northern gene" was already criticized in the 2010s. Thus,

scholars noted, "the well-established opinion in Russian society that the propensity to

drunkenness and alcoholism is almost an innate, "genetically determined" feature of the

"peoples of the North" should be revised" (Kozlov et al., 2013: 79). After all, it was the

mass publication of materials about the features of the northern genome that led to the

fact that a similar opinion about the northerners was formed in the broad philistine

consciousness. For this reason, an exclusively medical explanation of the problem of

northern drunkenness can lead to harassment of the indigenous population, a negative

stereotype about their craving for alcohol and the separation of the entire Russian

society, an opinion about the representatives of the SIPN as weak people, unable to self-

control, and other negative ideas. An equally important reason for criticizing the idea of

the "northern gene" is that "small indigenous peoples of the North" are "an association

based on social and political principles, but not on the anthropological similarity of ethnic

groups ... it is a gross mistake to suggest any "unified solutions", as is often done"

(Kozlov et al., 2013: 77). Indeed, the composition of the SIPN only in Kamchatka

includes representatives of Paleoasitic ethnic groups – Koryaks, Itelmen, Chukchi,

Tungus-Manchurian – Evens and Evenki, the mixed population – Kamchadals. Thus, the

difference in origin, material and spiritual cultures, as well as the historical path of

development is too great to offer the only correct solution suitable for each ethnic group.

Alina Igorevna Kirillova / La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la población

indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

The third reason for criticizing the idea of the northern gene as exclusively true and the

only one that explains the reasons for the alcoholization of the SIPN in the 20th century

is the ineffectiveness of the fight against alcoholization of the population during the "dry

law", under the restrictions by the Soviet authorities on the sale of alcohol to Northerners

and active health care in the 2000s, including coding and other means.

All these factors allow concluding that the phenomenon of northern alcoholism is a

medical and social phenomenon, the roots of which are not only in the genetic differences

of the SIPN from the Indo-Europeans but also in the differences in the culture of alcohol

consumption (or its absence in some ethnic groups), during the transformation

processes in the societies of Northerners in the 20th century, including the growth of

well-being and the emergence of leisure in the 1970s – 1980s, as well as in the

destruction of traditional social and family structures of the SIPN (genera and multi-

generational families) in the Soviet and post-Soviet period. An equally important reason

for the alcoholization of northern societies was the socio-economic upheavals of

perestroika and the first post-Soviet years (Funk & Zaitseva, 2021: 684-693). For this

reason, the idea of the "northern gene" continues to develop today, the medical and

genetic justification is an important part, but not the only explanation for the causes of

alcoholization of the peoples of the North. Knowledge of the genome and

ethnophenotypic features of the populations of the peoples of the North allows

ethnographers, historians, and anthropologists to study the problem more deeply and

approach its solution more consciously, as well as formulate proposals to reduce the

level of alcoholization of the northern population. At the same time, it is necessary to

refer to the experience of previous generations and summarize various attempts to solve

this problem.

The practice of combating alcoholization of the northern population in the 20th – early

21st centuries

This article uses materials from the history of Kamchatka (most of them are

associated with the Bystrinsky district) to analyze the practices of combating northern

drunkenness in the 20th century.

In general, the following periods of development of the problem of alcoholization of

the population of Kamchatka in the 20th – early 21st centuries can be distinguished:

1) the 1920s – 1930s: the first period of a high degree of alcoholization: the reasons

were active smuggling of alcohol and moonshine (in the protocols it was called

"zyudavarenie" in the Far East), up to 1928 – 1929, and in the early 1930s the usual

high level of alcohol consumption was still preserved;

2) the mid-1930s – 1950s, the first period of the decline in alcohol consumption

among the Kamchatka SIPN. The decline is associated with the development of the law

enforcement system (the appearance of police departments in the districts) and tougher

penalties for alcohol smuggling and clandestine production of alcohol, as well as with

state control of the import of alcohol-containing products in the district and its turnover,

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 12 No 1 / enero-junio, 2022

as well as active cultural and mass work was carried out, and leisure was extremely

limited: the population attended educational schools, mandatory meetings, etc. after the

working day, performed additional types of work to help the front during the war years;

3) the 1960s – mid-1980s, the second period of growth of alcoholization in the

northern population of Kamchatka. The main reasons are: the enlargement of

settlements and ill-considered settlement, which led to an excessive concentration of

labor in new settlements and the formation of hidden unemployment, the growth of real

incomes of the population (the excess of funds could be spent on alcohol), the increase

in the duration of leisure and the appearance of more free time;

4) the mid-1980s – 1990s was the period of the anti-alcohol campaign, during these

years it was difficult to "get" alcohol, its quantity was quite limited in the country,

however, there was no significant reduction in alcohol consumption due to the revival of

moonshine, especially in remote villages and settlements;

5) 1991 – 2012, the third period of growth in alcohol consumption, associated with

the crisis phenomena of the 1990s, the general economic recession, and crises, as well

as the decline in the rural population. During this period, alcohol becomes a means of

combating depression, as well as an option for organizing leisure activities.

The last 9 years from 2012 to 2021 are still difficult to include in the periodization, it

is necessary to study the trends in the development of societies and the processes taking

place in them more carefully, probably this refers to a new stage associated with a

gradual decrease in the amount of alcohol consumed.

At each stage, even though the problem was not always made public, the state was

aware of its presence and fought against the alcoholization of the population. The Soviet

government faced two problems related to alcohol in the 1920s: the smuggling of alcohol

and alcohol-containing beverages and the fairly frequent use of alcohol by the indigenous

population of the peninsula (after all, it was for alcohol that merchants and traders

exchanged furs from the northerners). Thus, the Customs in Kamchatka in the early

1920s was only in Petropavlovsk, so it worked unevenly, however, in 1925, 23

detentions were carried out of 1747 rubles 25 kopecks within the Customs area, and 31

detentions of 3706 rubles 71 kopecks outside the Customs area, more than 70% of the

amounts were for the smuggling of alcohol and alcohol-containing beverages (Russian

State Historical Archive of the Far East, n.d.a). However, it turned out to be almost

impossible to quickly stop alcohol smuggling, so in 1928 M.S. Antropov wrote about

drunkenness among Lamuts the following:

"There is a special kind of alcohol dealers in Kamchatka – alcohol carriers. The

alcoholic comes into the yurt under the guise of a friend, treats the whole family,

and starts bargaining... Lamut drinks on an empty stomach, does not eat

anything... and not only adults drink ... they accustom children to drinking"

(Antropov, 1931: 25).

The reasons were both a large number of alcohol carriers, merchants who sold

alcohol, and the insufficient material and technical base of the Kamchatka Customs:

Alina Igorevna Kirillova / La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la población

indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

employees did not have enough ammunition, weapons, there was not even a boat to

patrol the water area and rivers, trips were carried out on private ships (they also carried

smugglers). However, the government did not give up the fight: The Kamchatka

Provincial Revolutionary Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Gubrevkom) banned

"the import of all kinds of alcoholic beverages, the distillation of moonshine and other

surrogates" (Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East, n.d.b) on January 17, 1923,

extremely high fines were also imposed for appearing drunk in public places. In general,

the fines imposed by the Gubrevkom were high: the fine was from 300 to 1000 rubles

in gold for the import or sale of alcohol at the initial violation, and the violator was

threatened with a fine from 1000 to 10,000 rubles or imprisonment at the repeated

violation; the fine was up to 25 rubles for appearing in a public place drunk (for the

primary violation), and the person should have been brought to court in case of a

repeated violation (Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East, n.d.b).

However, significant results could not be achieved, due to the lack of proper police

control on the ground (there were simply no policemen and the functions of law

enforcement in the villages in the 1920s were performed by workers of rural

revolutionary committees, later village councils) and the weak material and technical

base of the police during the very first Soviet transformations. Thus, we can note that

only prohibitive measures and penalties, especially without proper control and high-

quality execution of them, did not bring practically any results. The establishment of

state control over the turnover of alcohol led to a decrease in the level of alcoholization

of the northern population only with the development of the material and technical base

of the police, the increase in the number of law enforcement officers, and the appearance

of police stations in remote settlements. Therewith, it should be noted that the

organization of leisure activities (Red Yarangs and Red Canopies, reading huts, and

clubs) also played an important role in reducing the amount of alcohol consumed by the

SIPN.

The development of the infrastructure of villages, and then the consolidation of

villages and the expansion of trade and the range of goods, as well as the rooting of

Soviet holidays (for example, the New Year and its attribute champagne; weddings with

civil registration of marriage and banquets), led to the steady use of alcohol in the Even

and Koryak environment of the Bystrinsky district. The authorities began to audit the

achievements of the first stage of the Soviet modernization of the North in the 1950s:

the consolidation of settlements began. As noted by ethnographers (V.I. Vasiliev, I.S.

Gurvich, M.Ya. Zhornitskaya, V.V. Lebedev, Yu.B. Simchenko, A.V. Smolyak, Z.P.

Sokolova), "settling in large villages should have been a complex measure, but it did not

become so: only one problem was solved – concentration of the population in relatively

comfortable settlements, its cultural and everyday services" (Vasiliev, 1989: 41). Even

in this matter, not everything was smooth: when the village of Tvayan was relocated to

Bystraya, the collective farmers had been living in temporary apartments for almost a

year, a public bath did not work in the new settlement, there were no laundries in the

kindergarten and boarding school, the bakery was in an unsanitary state (Municipal

archive of the Essovsky rural settlement, n.d.; State archives of the Kamchatka

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 12 No 1 / enero-junio, 2022

Territory, n.d.a). The store also worked intermittently, alcohol was delivered irregularly,

but moonshine met the demand. Often, it was the use of alcohol that served as a kind

of "consolation" and "solution" to problems. Also, the period of the 1950s – 1960s was

marked by an increase in real incomes of the population, which, combined with the

destruction of the usual way of life (unwanted relocation, moving without the ability to

pick up many-dimensional things, the transition from domestic nomadism to production

one, i.e. the shift method of working in herds – the rest of the time living in the village,

and often without work and organized leisure) led to an intensive increase in alcohol

consumption.

The 1970s – 1980s were marked by a surge in alcoholization of the indigenous

population of Kamchatka: according to the Essovsky Village Council, 45 families were

identified on its territory in 1976, in which one or more family members abused alcohol,

a total of 195 people (State archives of the Kamchatka Territory, n.d.b), which was 14%

of the total population of Esso and 51% of the Even population of the village (Passport

of the Bystrinsky region 1970-1990, n.d.). To prevent this antisocial phenomenon,

representatives of the voluntary citizen patrol and activists of enterprises took patronage

over each unreliable family, conducted educational conversations, visited the mentees,

and controlled their family budget, explaining how to spend money correctly and

economically, in some cases, drinkers were placed in specialized institutions. In addition

to social and medical assistance, the state again resorted to restrictive and prohibitive

measures: in 1976, it was decided to increase the sale of vodka products to 10% of all

food products, there was a clear instruction in stores to sell no more than 1 bottle of

vodka per customer and not to sell it to representatives of the local indigenous

nationality, that is, Even and Koryaks (Conversation with V.F. Fedorov, 2010; State

archives of the Kamchatka Territory, n.d.c). However, these measures did not give a

significant result: the issue of a radical change in the world picture and the loss of an

important layer of traditional spiritual culture were not resolved.

During the collapse of the USSR and the first post-Soviet years, the problem of

alcoholization of the northern population was also not radically solved: the difficult

economic conditions of the breakdown of the Soviet economic model, unemployment,

and everyday problems led to the fact that the population began to look for "consolation"

in the use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption per capita did not decrease

despite the prescient conversations about the dangers of drunkenness by both doctors

and public figures, active anti-alcohol propaganda, and the opportunity to buy alcohol

only on coupons in the early 1990s.

The development of the idea of the northern gene and the special instability of the

SIPN to alcohol led to an increase in attempts to solve the problem medically, for

example, by coding against drunkenness. Thus, on September 9, 1994, Dr. V.I. Zvyagin,

known for his methods of coding from alcohol and tobacco use, came to Anavgay. Even

shepherds from the herds came to his sessions, as well as several people from Esso

(“Absolutely sober village”, 1994; “At an angle of 40 degrees”, 1999).

Alina Igorevna Kirillova / La práctica del trabajo social en la lucha contra la alcoholización de la población

indígena de Kamchatka: El concepto de "gen del Norte"

The situation did not radically improve in the early 2000s. Young people took

alcoholic beverages to the disco, bought beer for evening gatherings in friendly

companies, the saying was very popular: "Beer for a jerk". In addition, 2-3 shelves are

standard in the shops of the district, and sometimes a whole rack was allocated for

various types of alcohol. Beer remained the most popular drink. As the locals believed,

it is not vodka, so it is less dangerous. The reasons for the continued alcoholization were

the economic and socio-cultural problems of villages that have persisted since the 1990s:

a limited number of jobs, unsatisfactory work of cultural institutions (cultural centers),

incomplete schools (sometimes there were no subject teachers for 6-8 months), the lack

of new housing construction, the outflow of young people and the able-bodied population

from settlements, etc.

Implementation of state national projects and strategies for the sustainable

development of the Far East, as well as stimulating small businesses and self-

employment, further growth of tourism and measures to preserve and revive traditional

cultures and lifestyles in the 2010s, the emergence of youth associations of Northerners,

it is the organization "Friendship of Northerners" in Kamchatka and an active advertising

campaign that being a representative of the SIPN is good, and not a shame, the

appearance in Petropavlovsk and other cities of the Kamchatka Territory of ethnic sites

that allow young people who have left their native villages not to break ties with their

ethnos allow partially solving the socio-cultural problems of the SIPN, which are also one

of the factors of the so-called "northern drunkenness".

4. Conclusion

The problem of alcoholization of the SIPN is a serious problem not only in Kamchatka,

but also in many other regions of Russia. The phenomenon of the so-called "northern

drunkenness", which began to be discussed in the 1990s, continues to be actively studied

by historians, ethnographers, and anthropologists. Attempts to explain it had been

undertaking throughout the 20th century. However, the first and most successful

attempt turned out to be the idea of the "northern gene", the special weakness of the

SIPN over alcohol due to their genetic characteristics and the absence of enzymes for

the breakdown of alcohol. However, the exclusively medical interpretation of the causes

of "northern drunkenness" turned out to be extremely narrow and unproductive, so

today researchers note not only the genetic but also the socio-economic and cultural

roots of this problem. Being a complex problem and taking into account the diversity of

ethnic groups included in the SIPN, the solution of the problem of alcoholization of the

northern peoples requires an integrated approach. Having studied the historical

retrospective of the fight against alcoholism of the SIPN, it can be concluded that only

prohibitive measures, restrictions, or a medical approach are ineffective, and it is also

extremely necessary both the intervention of the state and the desire of society itself to

solve the problem.

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