Yesterday's Nomads and Modern Money

Title

Yesterday's Nomads and Modern Money

Project Year

2009

Region

Central Asia

Country

Altai Republic, Russia

Project Description

The project aims to study the social practices and relationships involving money and non-monetary objects used as money or in exchange for money among contemporary Altaians, semi-nomadic pastoralists in the remote Altai province on the Russian side of the Mongolian border. Despite socio-economic modernization, which started in the 19th century and intensified during the Soviet period, livestock continues to maintain a dominant position today. Farming, hunting, and gathering provide Altaians with additional resources. According to official statistics in 2008, monthly wages in agriculture in the Altai Republic was three thousand rubles or about $100. Almost 90% of unemployed residents of the Altai Republic are rural dwellers. Thus, the vast majority of Altaians live in poverty. Despite this, a significant number of Altai villagers use mobile phones, one of the uses being to activate credit cards with commercial banks to get cash. This study seeks to document ethnographically daily life among the Altaians: living in villages, working in schools, health facilities and other institutions, as well as the unemployed and pensioners, as they begin to participate in a monetized economy.

Researcher(s)

Svetlana Tyukhteneva

About the Researcher(s)

Svetlana Tyukhteneva graduated with an MA in history from Altai State University, Department of Archaeology and Ethnology, Faculty of History, Russia in 1989. She received her PhD in Ethnography, Ethnology and Anthropology, Center for Asia and Oceania Studies, Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology of RAS, Moscow, Russia in 1996. She is currently at the same Institute, continuing to explore the culture of Altai. She is the author of two books (one co-authored), has written more than 50 publications in journals and collections of articles, and is an expert of the Network for Ethnic Monitoring and early warning of conflicts in the Republic of Altai.

Citation

“Yesterday's Nomads and Modern Money,” Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) Research Projects, accessed March 29, 2024, https://imtfiresearch.omeka.net/items/show/6493.

Output Formats