Sireniki

Geography

The placement of the settlement owes much to a sizeable polynia at the shore of the village, allowing the inhabitants to hunt all year round. The village is situated north of Cape Stoletiya and Southeast of Cape Zelyony on the coast where the Maingyvykvyn, Sirenik-Keivuk and Sineveyem empty into the sea. There are numerous high clifs surrounding the village, some of which have been named by the local people with poetic names such as "Sokol" (falcon) and "Yablochko" (little apple). Nearby is a marine grotto called "Sochi" after the Black Sea resort, which the villagers use for swimming in the summer.

Wildlife

The existence of the polynia attracts a wide variety of sea life, numerous species of whales and seals inhabit the area, and the village is situated along the main spring migration route of the Bowhead whale, the target of the majority of the Yupik inhabitants hunting. To the east of the village, the Imtuk Lagoon is rich in fish and the inhabitants catch cod during the winter and salmon in the summer. there are also a wide range of different bird species that nest in the high cliffs surrounding the village, including puffins and gulls.

Early history

Sireniki is the only historically Yupik settlement in Chukotka, and the village has been established on the same site for 2-2,500 years, and originated because it was situated on the migration route of whales. It is also the only pre-historic village in Chukotka to have been continuously occupied to the present day. There are numerous traces of ancient Yupik settlement in and around the village, however the majority of this is now buried under the village fox farm. There are three separately identified areas of ancient settlement. The oldest of these is called Valvurak, which was inhabited from the 1st century AD until its abandonment in the 19th century. The other two are called Sliygu, a set of three dugout dwellings dating from the Punuk Period and Tykylia, another set of dugout dwellings cut into the side of a volcano and used as habitation from the start of the 19th century to the mid twentieth century. The dwellings in these old part of the village were supported by the bones of the whales that the inhabitants harvested.

The origin of the name of the village is a matter of debate. Some sources state that it means "Mountain of Horns", though others suggest it comes from the words for "Valley of the Sun" or "Wheatgrass".

Recent history

Historically the village has been populated by Yupik, however in the 1960s, following a drive to force the reindeer herding, nomadic Chukchi to live a more settled life, a number who lived in the Kurupkan River valley were moved to the village, though the Yupik of the village still practice traditional marine hunting.

Municipal reorganisation

On September 10, 2010, a law was passed abolishing Novoye Chaplino and Sireniki at municipal level. Novoye Chaplino as an entity continues to exist, but it is no longer a rural settlement on its own, but simply an inhabited locality within Provideniya urban settlement. The right of the village to local administration was removed and such responsibilities were taken over by Provideniya municipal administration on January 1, 2011. Provideniya municipal administration also took control of all municipal property, all municipal property rights and all local budgets on this date.

Demographics

The population according to the most recent census data is 469, of whom 239 were male and 230 female, a reduction on a 2006 estimate of 533 (although other sources merely state a population over 500). The head of the rural settlement is Natalia Protopopova.

Economics

The Yupik population in the village continues traditional sea hunting practices, and preserve traditional methods of construction for boats. In addition there is also a fox farm which, along with sea hunting is the main source of employment in the village. There is also a general store, a school and a library in the village, though following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the school shrunk from a ten-grade school to a six-grade school due to the difficulty in finding suitably qualified teachers.

Transport

The village is a 15-minute flight from Provideniya, although according to a 2006 source, there are no scheduled flights available. Other than approaching the village by sea, the only other route is a 70 km unpaved road across a number of mountain passes.

Climate

Sireniki has a Tundra climate (ET) because the warmest month has an average temperature between 0 °C (32 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F). The coldest month of the year is January, whilst the warmest is July. On average, the temperature does not rise above freezing between November and April and it snows at least once in every month except July and August.