THE "RESOURCE CURSE" PHENOMENA IN POST-SOVIET SIBERIA (RUSSIA): ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

The proposed course traces key developments in anthropological research on phenomena of the "resource curse" in post-soviet Siberia. After discussing some fundamental terminology used in the course and overviewing official documents drawn on in social impact assessment practices, as well as following a brief discussion of the history of resource extraction in territories inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and social and cultural consequences of industrial development in the region, the author goes through various case studies of so-called "ethnological impact assessment" (in Russian: etnologicheskaya ekspertiza) conducted in Siberia, taking note of some major problems of interaction between the state, business companies and indigenous peoples, and analysing underlying theoretical approaches in each of the cases.