ИСТИНА

The communities of the Bering Strait (Russia and the U.S.) are inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, having common historical and cultural heritage. At the same time, well-documented changes in the natural environment and the difficult socio-economic conditions of the region have a significant negative impact on the traditional lifestyle of the local population. Such impact in this hard-to-reach region remains understudied despite of the efforts to preserve the cultural heritage and traditional livelihoods. Russia and the United States pursue different government policies on adaptation of indigenous peoples to contemporary threats but these efforts can be inefficient. This can lead to the loss of a unique culture of marine hunters and continuity of generations, reduced quality of life of the local population and economic damage. The aim of this study is an assessment of the main threats to sustainable development of the indigenous communities of the Bering Strait. Social and economic problems determine the overall determine the overall lower quality of life of the population of the region compared to the population of the mainland. This leads to the abandonment of the original lifestyle and the deterioration of the ethno-cultural situation in general. The traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples is also closely related to the environmental and climatic conditions of the surrounding territory, therefore, the observed natural and socio-economic changes directly affect the preservation of the culture. An increase in temperature and permafrost thawing leads to a decrease in buildings and infrastructure stability, activation of such negative processes as thermokarst, thermo-erosion, frost heave, etc. The reduction of seasonal ice leads to a spatial and temporal displacement of the migration routes of marine mammals and the conditions for hunting. Accelerated coastal erosion leads to the destruction of engineering facilities and requires settlements relocation. Such changes pose a threat not only to the traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples of the Chukotka-Alaska region, but also raise questions about the relocation of residents to safer, but less convenient for living and preserving the traditional nature management sites. The study was supported by RSF grant 19-77-00045.