Siberian Movements: How Money and Goods travel in and out of Northwestern Sakha
Siberian Movements: How Money and Goods travel in and out of Northwestern Sakha

Summary/Abstract: In this article I want to discuss the notion of distance, movement and civilisation in Siberia. I focus on a particular type of people – traders – and their movements. The travels of traders in Siberia accompany the movement of goods and money and this movement is the main reason for their travels. In Siberia there exist many different perceptions of space and time. Incomers perceive the territory as a network linking the islands of civilisation. A Siberian native or sibiriak views his country as a large territory that is harsh and where movement needs a special investment in time and energy. I would like to show that traders as both incomers and sibiriaki define space, distances and time in a way that unites both discourses. The construction of space and distance is affected by economic, social and cultural factors that are rooted in the history of the region and a life style caused by the climate, economy and historical development of the region.

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