Shadow Networks: Border Economies, Informal Markets, And Organized Crime In Vladivostok And The Russian Far East

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2006The breakdown of the Soviet Union has led to fundamental changes in Russia. New cultural and economic practices emerged out of the fragments of the collapsed state. Exploring economic activities in the Russian Far East at street markets and border crossings, the thesis focuses on new informal economic practices and non-regulated commercial organizations and seeks to understand the emerging roles of entrepreneurs, organized crime, and the state in post-Soviet Russia. The informal, the non-state; the illegal, and the gray in contemporary Russia are the subject of this thesis. Questions at the center of the inquiry are: What are shadow networks, how are they structured, and how is their social reality to be described? Based on anthropological fieldwork in the Russian Far East, especially in the port city of Vladivostok, the thesis focuses on large open-air markets, on so-called shuttle traders, mostly ethnic Russians crossing the Russian-Chinese border on a regular basis to import cheap goods for local markets, and on different organized crime groups, which evolved during the transition in the Far East. The underlying theme of the dissertation is the question of what the elements of stability in times of rapid economic and social change are. Different forms of shadow economies have been established in post-Soviet Russia during the last decade and the border between legality and illegality has become increasingly blurred. Moving beyond the established legal/illegal dichotomy to distinguish different forms of parallel economies, the thesis presents an alternative way to differentiate the various forms of shadow economies. Based on the analysis of social networks and focusing on different qualities of relational ties, the thesis proposes a methodological and theoretical apparatus to understand the mechanics and dynamics of informal economic networks more thoroughly

Hierarchies of trade in Yiwu and Dushanbe: the case of an Uzbek merchant family from Tajikistan

This article focuses on the trading trajectory of an Uzbek family of merchants from Tajikistan. This family runs businesses in both Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, and China’s famous international trading city: Yiwu. The analysis is centred on the accounts placed by Tajikistan’s Uzbek merchants about their historically sustained experience, often across several generations, in trading activities. These merchants’ claims of belonging to a ‘historical’ trading community rather than being ‘newcomers’ to long-distance commerce are articulated in relation to notions of ‘hierarchies of trade’ as they evolve in a twofold relational model linking Yiwu’s Changchun neighbourhood and Dushanbe. I suggest that the forms of conviviality enacted in Yiwu’s Changchun neighbourhood need to be understood in terms of the historical, multinational and transregional contacts that have occurred within the spaces of the former Soviet Union, as well as along the China-Russia and China-Central Asian borders. Equally, the hierarchies of trade of Uzbek merchants from Tajikistan in Yiwu’s Changchun neighbourhood cut-across markers of identity that juxtapose the roles of Tajik and Uzbek communities in Tajikistan’s contemporary politics and economics

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures. Please see AfricanHoneyguides.com/abstract-translations for Kiswahili and Portuguese translations of the abstract

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures

Weaving Shuttles and Ginseng Roots: Commodity Flows and Migration in a Borderland of the Russian Far East

The breakdown of the Soviet Union has transformed the Russian Far East into an economic, national, and geopolitical borderland. Commodity flows and labor migration, especially from China, have created both economic challenges and opportunities for the local population. The article investigates the intricate relationships between commodities, migration, and the body in the borderland between the Russian Far East (Primorskii Krai) and northeastern China (Heilongjiang Province). Small-scale trade and smuggling in the Russian-Chinese borderland represent an important source of income for the local population. Especially tourist traders, the so-called chelnoki who cross the border on a regular basis, profit from the peculiar qualities of the region. The article explores how border economies entangle bodies and commodities on both material and conceptual levels. Chinese commodities and economic activities shape local perceptions as the experience of local Russians with migrant workers from China is mediated through encounters at open-air markets and regular shopping sprees to neighboring China. The intimate entanglement with the border and its commodity flows means that perceptions of, and involvement in, cross-border commodity flows are experienced in a very corporeal form. Chinese labor migration into the Russian Far East is perceived as a threatening consumption of one’s own land, population, and resources. The economic and social interchanges in the Far East blur the boundaries between objects and people and at the same time connect the economic actors to the unique geography, flora, and fauna of this borderland

Resettlement, Resistance, and Coastal Niches on the Chukchi Peninsula

As were other regions of Russia’s North, Chukotka (Chukotskii avtonomnyi okrug) was subjected to dramatic changes during the last century. Among the major long-lasting impacts for the Chukchi and Siberian Yupik Indigenous populations was a state-implemented village relocation policy that deemed dozens of historic settlements “unprofitable”, thus subject to forced closure and resettlement. Traumatic loss of homeland, the curbing of native patterns of (maritime) mobility, and the vanishing of traditional socioeconomic structures sent devastating ripples through the fabric of Indigenous communities, with disastrous results on societal health. To explore the intricate relationships between state-enforced resettlement and landscape interaction, particularly the perception and utilization of the environment, it is critical to look closely at Chukotka’s coastal environment. The article argues that the unique coastal landscape of Chukotka has influenced—while mitigating—the effects of the forced relocations. Improvised design and the reclaiming of formerly closed settlement sites play a paramount role here, with the reoccupation of old settlement niches representing a reconnection with a lost relationship to the littoral environment. The contemporary inhabitation and utilization of formerly closed villages show how the coastal landscape represents not only a “reservoir” in an ecological sense, but also a littoral reserve by providing the space for alternatives outside the congregated communities. Displacement destroys the sense of community, but in a reverse logic, a sense of community can also be established through renewed emplacement. The creation of autonomous social spaces is therefore part of an ongoing spatial resistance that actively uses the ecological niches of a coastal landscape to counter the long-lasting and detrimental effects of state-enforced resettlement policies.Comme d’autres régions du nord de la Russie, la Tchoukotka (Čukotskij Avtonomnyj Okrug) a subi des changements spectaculaires au cours du siècle dernier. Parmi les principaux impacts durables pour les populations autochtones Tchouktches et Yupik de Sibérie figure une politique de relocalisation des villages mise en oeuvre par l’État, qui a jugé que des dizaines des hameaux historiques n’étaient pas « rentables » et qui devaient donc être fermés et relocalisés de force. La perte traumatisante du territoire d’origine, la limitation des modèles autochtones de mobilité (maritime) et la disparition des structures socio-économiques traditionnelles ont eu des effets dévastateurs sur le tissu social des communautés autochtones, avec des conséquences désastreuses sur la santé de la société. Pour explorer les relations complexes entre la réinstallation forcée par l’État et l’interaction avec le paysage, en particulier la perception et l’utilisation de l’environnement, il est essentiel d’examiner de près l’environnement côtier de la Tchoukotka. Cet article soutient que le paysage côtier unique de la Tchoukotka a influencé, tout en les atténuant, les effets des relocalisations forcées. La conception improvisée et la récupération de sites de peuplement autrefois fermés jouent ici un rôle primordial, la réoccupation d’anciennes niches de peuplement représentant une reconnexion avec une relation perdue avec l’environnement littoral. L’occupation et l’utilisation contemporaines de villages autrefois fermés montrent comment le paysage côtier représente non seulement un « réservoir », au sens écologique du terme, mais aussi une réserve littorale en offrant un espace pour des alternatives en dehors des communautés rassemblées. Le déplacement détruit le sens de la communauté, mais dans une logique inverse, un sens de la communauté peut également être établi par un nouvel emplacement. La création d’espaces sociaux autonomes fait donc partie d’une résistance spatiale permanente qui utilise activement les niches écologiques d’un paysage côtier pour contrer les effets durables et néfastes des politiques de réinstallation imposées par l’État.Как и другие регионы Севера России, Чукотка (Чукотский автономный округ) за последнее столетие претерпела кардинальные изменения. Среди основных долгосрочных последствий для чукчей и сибирских эскимосов-юпик была проводимая государством политика переселения, в соответствии с которой десятки исторических поселений были признаны «нерентабельными» и поэтому подлежали принудительному закрытию, а их жители – переселению. Травматическая потеря родины, сдерживание местных моделей морской мобильности и исчезновение традиционных социально-экономических структур стали причинами разрушительных изменений повседневности общин коренных народов, что привело к катастрофическим последствиям для здоровья общества. Для изучения сложных взаимосвязей между принудительным переселением со стороны государства и взаимодействием с ландшафтом, особенно с восприятием и использованием окружающей среды, крайне важно внимательно изучить прибрежную среду Чукотки. В статье утверждается, что уникальный прибрежный ландшафт Чукотки повлиял на последствия вынужденного переселения – смягчил их. Импровизированная структура и рекультивация ранее закрытых поселений играют здесь первостепенную роль, при этом повторное занятие старых поселений представляет собой восстановление связей с локальной прибрежной средой. Современное заселение и использование ранее закрытых деревень демонстрируют, что прибрежный ландшафт представляет собой не только «резервуар» в экологическом смысле, но и прибрежный заповедник, предоставляя пространство для альтернативных социальных практик за пределами Собранных сообществ. Переселение разрушает чувство общности, но в обратной логике чувство общности также может быть установлено посредством нового заселения. Таким образом, создание автономных социальных пространств является частью продолжающегося пространственного сопротивления, которое активно использует экологические ниши прибрежного ландшафта для противодействия долгосрочным и пагубным последствиям государственной политики переселения

Russian Arctic Sustainability

ISSN:1863-042

The ecology and evolution of human‐wildlife cooperation

Abstract: Human‐wildlife cooperation is a type of mutualism in which a human and a wild, free‐living animal actively coordinate their behaviour to achieve a common beneficial outcome. While other cooperative human‐animal interactions involving captive coercion or artificial selection (including domestication) have received extensive attention, we lack integrated insights into the ecology and evolution of human‐wildlife cooperative interactions. Here, we review and synthesise the function, mechanism, development, and evolution of human‐wildlife cooperation. Active cases involve people cooperating with greater honeyguide birds and with two dolphin species, while historical cases involve wolves and orcas. In all cases, a food source located by the animal is made available to both species by a tool‐using human, coordinated with cues or signals. The mechanisms mediating the animal behaviours involved are unclear, but they may resemble those underlying intraspecific cooperation and reduced neophobia. The skills required appear to develop at least partially by social learning in both humans and the animal partners. As a result, distinct behavioural variants have emerged in each type of human‐wildlife cooperative interaction in both species, and human‐wildlife cooperation is embedded within local human cultures. We propose multiple potential origins for these unique cooperative interactions, and highlight how shifts to other interaction types threaten their persistence. Finally, we identify key questions for future research. We advocate an approach that integrates ecological, evolutionary and anthropological perspectives to advance our understanding of human‐wildlife cooperation. In doing so, we will gain new insights into the diversity of our ancestral, current and future interactions with the natural world. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Abstract: Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free‐living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long‐term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures. Please see AfricanHoneyguides.com/abstract‐translations for Kiswahili and Portuguese translations of the abstract