Tuoi-Khaia: Gone from Maps, but Not from Memories


Anastasiia Alekseeva, Graduate Student NEFU, Researcher of the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts.
What is Yakutia known for? Its cold, giant territory, and its diamonds. The formation of the diamond mining industry contributed to the improvement of the infrastructure of Yakutia. But it is hard to deny that industrial enterprises pollute the natural environment.

The large-scale development of diamond deposits in the Mirninsky District of Yakutia in the middle of the 20th century required a large amount of electricity, so the construction of the Vilyui Hydroelectric Station began in parallel. While creating the Vilyui Reservoir, part of the territory was flooded, including the Tuoi-Khaia Village with a population of 500 people. More than 500 residents were left homeless, cut off from their homes, their trade, and their occupations. The people of the village had to be relocated to other villages of the Mirninsky District.

During the resettlement, the authorities promised comfortable housing, material assistance, and monetary compensation in the new place. But they received nothing.
In the 1990s, migrants by necessity, with the help of Deputy Spartak Andreev, fought for their rights and achieved social benefits for themselves.
In May 1992, the Government of the Republic issued a Decree "On Social Benefits for Migrants in the Village of Tuoi-Khaia, Mirninsky District", but they were later dismissed in 2003.
The film we are presenting is approximately 90 minutes long. The documentary film will preserve the memories and recollections of the Tuoi-Khaia settlers. By creating this film, we are planning to draw attention of the authorities and the public to the problems faced by migrants. Most of Tuoi-Khaia's residents had worked at the Novyi State Farm, which no longer exists. The diamond industry took over the lands on which the indigenous population was engaged in reindeer herding.
Searches
At the moment, our team has approached about 200 internally displaced persons, and we have filmed interviews with 50 displaced persons in the Mirninsky District; the filming took place in the following settlements: Mirny, Syuldyukar, Taas-Yuryakh, Svetly, Arylakh, and the Suntarsky Ulus. We are also working with archives data, and various materials on the migrants.
What do they want?
The surviving former residents of the Tuoi-Khaia Village wish to renew the Decree "On Social Benefits for Migrants in the Village of Tuoi-Khaia, Mirninsky District", dismissed in 2003, and obtain migration certificates.
Result
The result of the work will be a documentary film reflecting Yakutia's ethno-ecological tragedy.
Living in a state of constant protest and resentment, Yakutia's internally displaced persons have been facing this reality in their native Republic as environmental refugees for 60 years.

Every year there are fewer and fewer witnesses who are still alive, but through this documentary we are giving them a voice. Our task is to help our fellow countrymen tell their story to the inhabitants of the Republic, because very few people know about their tragedy.

With this film, Yakutia's internally displaced persons and the project team are making a statement in hopes that such a tragedy may never repeat itself anywhere in the world.
Uliana Vinokurova
uottaah1707@gmail.com
Anastasiia Alekseeva
anastas.olonkho@mail.ru
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