Vankarem
Encyclopedia
Vankarem is a village (selo) in Shmidtovsky District
of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
, in the Far Eastern
Federal District
of Russia
, situated on Cape Vankarem
on the coast of the Chukchi Sea
. Municipally, Vankarem is subordinated to Iultinsky Municipal District and incorporated as Vankarem Rural Settlement.
and Siberian Yupik people and has a population recorded in 2006 of 210 people.
word "Vankaremen" meaning Tusk People, as indigenous hunters referred to their prey as "Walrus People".
Other sources think that the name means "Temporarily Abandoned Bone Dwellings", a thought which has arisen due to puzzlement over the precise history of the settlement. Indeed, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
's expedition in the 1870s found a number of recently abandoned houses in the nearby village of Rykaypiy
which were full of ivory carvings.
There is an airfield in the village.
In 2006, participants of the World Wildlife Fund Bear Patrol project reported that the village was as besieged by polar bears, with up to thirty polar bears visiting the village every night.
Shmidtovsky District
Shmidtovsky District was an administrative district of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, which existed in 1973–2011. Municipally, together with Iultinsky Administrative District, it was incorporated as Iultinsky Municipal District...
of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
, in the Far Eastern
Far Eastern Federal District
The Far Eastern Federal District is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia, while being also the least populated, with a population of 6,291,900 . The Far Eastern Federal District was established in 2000 by then-President Vladimir Putin and is currently being governed by presidential...
Federal District
Federal districts of Russia
The federal districts are a level of administration for the convenience of the federal government of the Russian Federation. They are not the constituent units of Russia . Each district includes several federal subjects and each federal district has a presidential envoy...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated on Cape Vankarem
Cape Vankarem
Cape Vankarem is a cape in the Chukchi Sea on the northern coast of Chukotka between Cape Schmidt to the west and Kolyuchinskaya Bay to the east...
on the coast of the Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...
. Municipally, Vankarem is subordinated to Iultinsky Municipal District and incorporated as Vankarem Rural Settlement.
Demographics
It is largely inhabited by indigenous ChukchiChukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
and Siberian Yupik people and has a population recorded in 2006 of 210 people.
Origin of the name
The origins of the name of the settlement are disputed. Some people believe that the name is associated with the traditional beliefs commonly held by indigenous Asian Arctic peoples which equate sea creatures closely with humans and that the name comes from the ChukchiChukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
word "Vankaremen" meaning Tusk People, as indigenous hunters referred to their prey as "Walrus People".
Other sources think that the name means "Temporarily Abandoned Bone Dwellings", a thought which has arisen due to puzzlement over the precise history of the settlement. Indeed, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Freiherr Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld , also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld was a Finnish baron, geologist, mineralogist and arctic explorer of Finnish-Swedish origin. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists...
's expedition in the 1870s found a number of recently abandoned houses in the nearby village of Rykaypiy
Rykaypiy
Ryrkaypiy is a rural locality Ryrkaypiy is a rural locality Ryrkaypiy is a rural locality (a selo just to the west of Mys Shmidta in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Municipally, Ryrkaypiy is incorporated as Ryrkaypiy Rural Settlement.-Demographics:...
which were full of ivory carvings.
Culture and Sights
The region's ancient coastal hunting and fishing cultures are preserved by the local population.There is an airfield in the village.
In 2006, participants of the World Wildlife Fund Bear Patrol project reported that the village was as besieged by polar bears, with up to thirty polar bears visiting the village every night.