2019 Chapters (Layout Features)

Indigenous Youth in Russia: Challenges and Opportunities

Korkina, Varvara

Indigenous youth are dramatically affected by globalization, climate change, cultural and social changes. These profound changes have occurred largely over the past fifty years, and have resulted in significant behavioral health disparities for young Indigenous people. In particular, these health disparities affect young men, who frequently suffer with substance abuse, violence, and youth suicide, as is profiled in research on this topic.

Youth in the Arctic today find themselves searching for ways to put traditional native values and teachings into practice in the context of dominant Russian, American, Norwegian, and Euro-Canadian culture, and find themselves largely constrained by structural and institutional obstacles.15 In the face of pressures and challenges, youth are developing specific capacities to navigate successfully. However, as case studies describe, successful transition to adulthood is possible only if a young person has access to the necessary social and economic resources critical for movement through the key developmental stages.