Line in the Sayans: History and Divergent Perceptions of Property Among the Tozhu and Tofa of South Siberia

Abstract

"This dissertation is a study of comparative change and continuity among two of the smallest and most neglected of Russia's indigenous minorities in the post-Soviet period, the Tozhu of the Republic of Tyva (Tuva) and the Tofa of southwestern Irkutsk Oblast'. The Tozhu and the Tofa are closely related reindeer-herding and hunting peoples inhabiting the Eastern Sayan mountain region of southern Siberia. Geopolitics and accidents of history have set these otherwise closely related peoples on different historical trajectories. As a result, the Tozhu have maintained their reindeer-herding traditions and native language, while the Tofa no longer practice reindeer herding nor speak their native language. I employ concepts from institutional analysis to explain the differences between these two peoples, particularly their different senses of property in land and animals, and to explain why post-Soviet development initiatives have failed among the Tozhu and Tofa."