And reindeer are better! Traveler’s notes on a trip to Yamal

President of Pro-Vision, author of the Vinogradov.story community

“For the average tourist, Yamal is not a very attractive place: what is there to see in the vast snow-covered tundra, where there are no landmarks or outstanding natural objects, and where it is a great luck to meet a talkative local? Having spent a couple of weeks in the Urals, I hasten to dispel all these stereotypes. Yamal is a unique treasure, albeit hidden under a layer of permafrost. I will tell you what you should do beyond the Arctic Circle below.

Meet Reindeer Herder’s Day in the village of Aksarka

Reindeer Herder’s Day is a legendary holiday without exaggeration. In the Polar Region it is expected almost more than the New Year or one’s own birthday. It is one of the rare moments of the year when nomadic reindeer herders can meet and warmly communicate before leaving again to the tundra. The date of the holiday “moves” after the herd and depends on the kaslany, as they call large-scale reindeer drives here. Usually it is the end of March or the beginning of April.

How does the reindeer herder’s day go? It is very traditional, intense and interesting. In order to visit all the sites of the holiday, it is worth spending at least a couple of days on it. During this time you will have time to see all the most popular national amusements: tug-of-war, Nenets belt wrestling, jumping over narts, and even women’s hockey.

And the main intrigue of the holiday is reindeer sled races, which is a science, if you don’t know it, you won’t survive in the tundra. To select the fastest and most enduring reindeer, to prepare them for the start and to prepare yourself competently – all this requires experience and skill. And to win you need a bit of luck too.

Taste tundra specialties

No festival of the peoples of the North can do without national dishes – delicacies from valuable fish species, berries and, of course, stroganina. In 2024 on the Reindeer Herder’s Day a delicious record was even set – “The greatest weight of reindeer stroganina”: almost 160 kg of delicious frosty meat were cooked together!

Stroganina is served with a mixture of salt and black pepper, which emphasize its unusual taste. And about the nutritional value of such an appetizer it is not worth talking – even a small piece will be enough for several hours.

Stay in a reindeer herders’ tent

To fully appreciate the uniqueness of the Polar way of life, you should definitely go outside the city and go to the parking lot of a family of reindeer herders, in the heart of the tundra. Not every off-road vehicle can get there – usually reindeer or snowmobile can save you.

When you arrive at the place, first of all you are amazed by the size of the chum. It is very capacious and ergonomic, and if necessary, it can be divided into separate “rooms” by fabric cuts. Inside, by the way, everything is quite modern: there is a “plasma”, and household gadgets, and the latest electronics. And that’s why the feeling of being in the middle of a snowy desert, where around the plague is a multi-kilometer emptiness, paradoxically only intensifies.

Try on national clothes

Against the background of the white tundra the traditional outfits of reindeer herders – men’s malitsa and women’s yagushka – flash in bright flashes. And this is not a masquerade in honor of the holiday, but an important part of culture and everyday life of the northerners. Without traditional clothes and footwear in the tundra it is hard to get cold and wet. For good.

Trying on a malitsa or yagushka is not easy for newcomers: in the first minutes they seem bulky, heavy and restricting movements. But this awkwardness is nothing compared to the sensations of kis – high shoes made of reindeer skins, which are tied to the foot with thin cords.

However, the imaginary discomfort is immediately compensated for by the warmth and softness of kis. And looking at how deftly reindeer herders in national clothes use tynzian, a local lasso, you are finally convinced that traditional clothes will not go out of tundra fashion for a very long time.

Warming up with a warm conversation in the middle of the cold tundra

What you don’t expect from the cold Arctic Circle is surprisingly warm meetings and conversations with people you don’t really know. At this time you feel as if you are returning to the roots of human relations – honest, “lamp” and “pre-digital”. When there are months of forced loneliness ahead, such meetings are very much appreciated.