Indigenous economy and state involvement
The focus of the EU-funded project 'State, power and unaccountability in ''neo-capitalist'' east Russia: The case of nephrite business' (NEPHRITE BUSINESS) was on the commercial activities of a small ethnic group in Siberia known as Evenki. Researchers studied a jade mining business set up by Evenki in Russia from 1990 to 2014 that resisted actions by government officials to seize operations, and collect taxes and bribes. Findings showed that Evenki were successful in their resistance because they were not accountable for their business practices. Their accounting principles revealed just enough details while failing to disclose other information. An article was presented detailing anthropological research on accounting practices and the deliberate attempts by indigenous companies to withhold certain information to keep from being transparent to authorities and consequently taken over by government. A book was published that contained data from fieldwork on reindeer herding and hunting Evenki. It mainly looked at hunting and other business activities of Evenki merchants and relations with local Chinese buyers. The anthropological monograph also investigated how these two clashing cultures were able to maintain good business dealings. During fieldwork, researchers also used photography to capture the life of Evenki hunters in the Siberian boreal forests. Over 17 000 photos were taken, including photos of gathering, hunting and reindeer herding practices. This collection of visual material was used to analyse their social structure, behaviour, and natural and man-made surroundings. NEPHRITE BUSINESS offered new insight into native peoples, their level of business accountability, and the complex interplay between them and the state. The project has wider implications for social scientists and the emerging field of anthropology of the state.
