The Koryaks. Surrounding Society and the Main Economic Activity of the Region

The Koryak area has four districts: Karaga, Olyutorsky, Penzhina, and Tigil. Their population is predominantly rural. The districts are divided into 27 villages and one urban-type settlement, Palana, the area’s administrative center.

The 2010 census lists the following ethnic breakdown for the Koryak area: 5,676 Koryaks, 1.327 Chukchi, 948 Itelmen, 743 Evens, and 8.669 Russians (46.2 %). Additionally, the district is home to Ukrainians, Tatars, Belarusians, and members of other ethnicities. The Census puts the overall population of the Kamchatka territory at 322.079 people. The overall population of the Koryak area as of January 1, 2021 was 15.565 people.

The area’s principal economic sectors employing the indigenous population include the fishing industry (catching and processing fish and seafood), reindeer breeding, and hunting. Coal mining and non-ferrous metals production, the energy sector, and transportation mostly employ people outside of the region and descendants of old-time Russian residents.

In 2004, the Federal Law “On Fishing and Preservation of Aquatic Bioresources” granted Koryaks as well as the Itelmen, Chukchi, and other indigenous peoples the right to “engage in fishing to sustain the traditional way of life and traditional economic activities.” The Public Foundation for Reviving and Developing Reindeer Breeding and Fishing in the Kamchatka Territory (OFVRORKK) was established. Activism among Koryaks and other indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, and their improved legal awareness inspire confidence in their success in preserving and developing their unique ethnic cultures even amid harsh market circumstances.