The Soviet era was marked by many discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. It was a time when, for the first time, a woman became a long-distance sea captain. But that wasn’t the only achievement.
One of the most remarkable stories was the three-year expedition of Varvara Grigoryevna Kuznetsova, who immersed herself in the everyday life of the Chukchi people.
An Ethnographer in the North
Varvara Kuznetsova was born on October 31, 1912, in Vyatka Province. At first, she wanted to become a teacher and even enrolled in a pedagogical institute — but lasted only a month.
She later moved to Leningrad, where she entered the history department at Leningrad State University. During the war, she remained in the city, contributing in any way she could.
Then, on March 17, 1948, she set out on an expedition to Chukotka. Her mission was to live among nomadic families and study their way of life.
Life with the Chukchi
Living with the Chukchi was extremely challenging. Kuznetsova stayed with a reindeer-herding family that strictly followed old rituals and traditions.
She was treated as an outsider, and the hostility was obvious. She was fed leftovers, given the coldest and least comfortable sleeping space, and forced to walk behind the sleds while the family rode on them.
Still, the expedition lasted a full three years. Over time, the family slowly began to warm to her presence.
But the harsh conditions took a toll on her health. Just six years later, Kuznetsova had to give up her work due to a brain cyst. She died in 1977.
The Results of the Expedition
During her three years with the Chukchi, Kuznetsova gathered an enormous amount of material. She kept detailed journals, writing:
“Old Tymnenentyn is a devoted follower of tradition. In his yaranga, every custom and ritual is observed strictly. Any deviation is treated as an intolerable sign of disrespect toward Chukchi customs and is immediately suppressed.”
She often wrote late at night by the light of an oil lamp. But for the Chukchi, lighting a fire without a clear need was believed to attract evil spirits. The head of the family even blamed her for his wife’s death during the expedition.
Later, she reflected: “It was a mistake for an inexperienced person to go alone — especially a woman — to such a people as the solitary tundra Chukchi. A mistake of inexperience, along with my baggage.”
And yet, despite all the hardships, she managed to collect invaluable information about the real life of the Chukchi — a nomadic people who, until then, had been almost entirely unstudied.
