Northern Russian fishing and hunting hut: modern rules and transgressions

The field study, based on the interviews recorded in the village of Vozhgora, Leshukonsky District, Arkhangelsk Region, in 2021–2024, analyzes the role and place of the Northern Russian fishing and hunting huts in the life of the local community. The hut, which usually has several owners, is considered an object of the customary law: most often, a son inherits it from his father with all the adjacent lands. Joint ownership and maintenance of huts are regulated by the rules established by the community. Violation of these rules entails the closure of the huts and, as a result, conflicts both within the community and between the community and the strangers. I describe the social relationships (adult and children) that are built around the huts, analyze the established rules, their violations, as well as the actions of the community in response to transgressions. Consistently showing that the hut is a place of identity, relationships and history for the local hunters and fishers, I call it an “anthropological place” (Marc Augé’s term).