Russian Gas and the Nenets Backdrop Blur
Russian Gas and the Nenets Poster

Russian Gas and the Nenets

In the heart of the Arctic, the Yamal peninsula is the world’s largest gas exploitation zone, a symbol of Russia’s energy hyperpower, which caused the appetite of oil corporations. But the Yamal peninsula is also the ancestral home of the Nenets, who have been pasturing here with their droves for over 200 generations. Every year the nomads undertake a journey of 1500 km. But for how much longer can they survive? Today in Yamal, pastures have given way to gas fields. Growing towns, a railway, an airport, the deep scars on the landscape caused by extraction of gas and oil, and the new nuclear-powered icebreakers, which will create busy shipping lanes in the Arctic, are all changing the local ecosystem. With the industry dramatically modifying the landscape, accelerating the effects of global warming, the Nenets way of life is under threat. The documentary gives a unique insight into a vanishing way of life, enhanced by stunning aerial footage, and rare access to an extraordinary people.

Top Cast

  • Florian Stammler

    Florian Stammler

    Self - Interviewee

  • Julienne Stroeve

    Julienne Stroeve

    Self - Interviewee

  • Alexandra Terekhina

    Alexandra Terekhina

    Self - Interviewee

  • Vassily Serotetto

    Vassily Serotetto

    Self - Interviewee

  • Alik Serotetto

    Alik Serotetto

    Self - Interviewee

  • Galina Serotetto

    Galina Serotetto

    Self - Interviewee

  • Olga Serotetto

    Olga Serotetto

    Self - Interviewee

  • Tolik Serotetto

    Tolik Serotetto

    Self - Interviewee

  • Myadme Khudi

    Myadme Khudi

    Self - Interviewee

Overview

In the heart of the Arctic, the Yamal peninsula is the world’s largest gas exploitation zone, a symbol of Russia’s energy hyperpower, which caused the appetite of oil corporations. But the Yamal peninsula is also the ancestral home of the Nenets, who have been pasturing here with their droves for over 200 generations. Every year the nomads undertake a journey of 1500 km. But for how much longer can they survive? Today in Yamal, pastures have given way to gas fields. Growing towns, a railway, an airport, the deep scars on the landscape caused by extraction of gas and oil, and the new nuclear-powered icebreakers, which will create busy shipping lanes in the Arctic, are all changing the local ecosystem. With the industry dramatically modifying the landscape, accelerating the effects of global warming, the Nenets way of life is under threat. The documentary gives a unique insight into a vanishing way of life, enhanced by stunning aerial footage, and rare access to an extraordinary people.

Rating

8.7 / 10
3 Reviews
0 Popular

Recommendations

We Live in Public

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

We Live in Public

6.9 2009