Paper short abstract:

Collapse of the Soviet Union brought dramatic changes for coastal communities at the White Sea. Fishing used to be the main source of subsistence and identity for local people. Now this identity is under threat of disappearing. However, the sea has acquired a new role which may revive local economy.

Paper long abstract:

Kuzomen' is a village on the White Sea coast in the north-west of Russia, near the Arctic Circle. It was established as a fishing place in the 18th century. People living there constitute a local group of Russians who have been traditionally called Pomory, from Russian po moriu which means by the sea. For two centuries, sea fishing has served as a main source of subsistence as well as identity for local people. A true Pomor is the one who has fished at sea; who has lived by and travelled along the sea; who does not suffer from sea sickness.

Things changed dramatically with the collapse of soviet system: local economy deteriorated, sea fishing declined considerably and people say there are no true Pomory left in the village. Pomor identity has entered a crisis and is in danger of disappearing.

At the same time, urban citizens who had left Kuzomen' in the 1950s-70s during mass exodus of Russians from village to city now started to come back to their homeland because after the collapse of soviet regime they cannot not afford travelling to summer resorts at sea in the south any more. Coming to Kuzomen' for summer, they bring in a vivid dynamics to the place and to a certain extent keep it alive. Within a short period of time, the role of the sea has transformed from being a main provider of subsistence to becoming a source of leisure, which in turn may revive local economy.