툰드라의 순록부대 - 다큐멘터리 영화를 통해 본 북극전선과 그 너머의 역사

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the Soviet reindeer battalions, involved actively in the Karelian Front during the World War II, in the documentary films The Path of Achievement (2010) and The Northern Cavalry (2015) and to examine facts not reflected in the films. The reindeer transport battalions consisted of the ethnic minorities of Nenets, Komi, Sami, Khanty and Mansi and Russians from the Arctic. The northen ethnic minorities and their companion reindeer contributed decisively to the victory of the Soviet Union in the Arctic Front, but their story was little known during the Soviet years. These two films mainly focus on the heroic and patriotic activities of the reindeer battalions, but in fact there have been conflicts from linguistic and cultural differences between Russian officers and ethnic minorities. The achievements of the reindeer battalions by indigenous peoples have been buried for a long time with reasons related to the uprisings of ethnic minorities since 1930s, in particular Nenets mandalada in 1943. Participants in uprisings struggled against the incorporation into the Soviet system. Like the subject of mandaladas has received renewed attention since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the history of reindeer battalions deserves renewed illumination as well.