| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,232 (2020–21 census)[1] to 500,000 (2002 informal estimate)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Russia:Arkhangelsk Oblast,Komi Republic andMurmansk Oblast Russia[3] Russia:East Coast ofLake Baikal[3][4] | |
| Languages | |
| Dialect of Russian:Pomor dialects | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodox Christians,Starovers |
ThePomors (Russian:помо́ры,romanized: pomory,lit. 'seasiders',IPA:[pɐˈmorɨ]) are anethnographic group traditionally thought to be descended from Russian settlers (primarily fromVeliky Novgorod) living on theWhite Sea coasts and nearby regions, with their southern boundary marked by a watershed dividing the White Sea basin from river basins that drain southward.[5][6] They primarily live inArkhangelsk Oblast. The Pomors are typically considered to be a subgroup of the Russian ethnos.[7]
They have historically played a significant role in the Russian development ofSiberia.[8] The Pomors engaged in sea mammal hunting, fishing, and trade as part of their livelihood.[9]
The namepomor is derived frompomorye, the Russian word for coastland, frompo ("by") andmore ("sea"), literally meaning "by the sea".[9] The same root appears in the toponymPomerania (Polish:Pomorze) andArmorica (Gaulish:Aremorica) and also in the Gaulish ethnonymMorini. The term "Pomor" is poorly defined and can have different meanings. Russian ethnography posits the Pomors as asubethnic group of the Russian nation that might have unique anthropological features due to different origins and isolation but is still part of the broader Russian ethnicity. As such they are also recognized by the Russian census. However, some Pomors prefer the model of a separate ethnicity ofUralic or mixed origin that predates Russia and would thus deserve recognition as an indigenous nation. This view is often backed by international science. However, the term can also denote non-ethnic regional identity of a multiethnic or Russian Pomorye region, a socio-economic group of theWhite Sea coasts based around maritime hunting, fishing and salt production or an ethnographic group of the Russian ethnicity with no implied diverging origin. Generally, their ethnic self-consciousness is preserved to this day.[10]
As early as the 12th century, explorers fromNovgorod entered the White Sea through theNorthern Dvina,Mezen,Pechora andOnega estuaries and founded settlements along the seacoasts ofBjarmaland.Kholmogory served as their chief town until the rise ofArkhangelsk in the late 16th century. From their base atKola, they explored theBarents Region, theKola Peninsula, andNovaya Zemlya. Reliable records of the Pomors regularly visiting Novaya Zemlya andVaygach Island date to the 16th century.[11] One such record includes the 1556 expedition ofStephen Borough, who was escorted by the Pomors fromKuloy River in the White Sea as far as thePechora.[11] The settlement ofPustozersk, founded in 1499, served as an important stopover, and the Pomors organized the first private sea voyages to the region of the lowerOb andTaz.[12]
Later, the Pomors discovered and maintained theNorthern Sea Route between Arkhangelsk andSiberia. With their ships, known askoches, which were adapted for sailing this route, the Pomors penetrated to the trans-Ural areas of northern Siberia, where they founded the settlement ofMangazeya east of theYamal Peninsula in the early 17th century, a hub betweenSiberia, Central Asia and the West, trading valuable goods likefurs,ivory, andprecious metals. In fact, by 1615 the trade volume of the city was higher than the one of all of centralized Russia combined. With the election ofCzar Michael, he shut down the Pomor trade route threatening the death penalty, leading to the downfall ofMangazeya.[13] In its function as a wealthy de facto independent city state, it has been described as a "virtual Baghdad of Siberia"[14]
Tatyana Bratkova has reported that some historians speculate that in the early 17th century, Pomors settled the isolated village ofRusskoye Ustye in thedelta of theIndigirka, in north-easternYakutia.[15] Pomors also discoveredSvalbard in the 16th century or earlier, with debates whether they have been the first people to land there, and started regular hunting on the islands in the early 17th century.[16]
The termPomor, which in the 10th–12th centuries meant "a person who lived near sea", gradually was extended into one to apply to this population living relatively far away from the sea. Finally, in the 15th century, the people became disconnected from the sea. The sea was not a major part of economy of this region. At the same time, people began using the termPomorye to refer to a territory of practically the wholeRussian North, including theMurmansk,Arkhangelsk andVologda regions; andKarelia andKomi republics.[17]
The traditional livelihoods of the Pomor based on the sea included animal hunting,whaling and fishing; intundra regions they practicedreindeer herding. The Pomortraded by sea in corn and fish with NorthernNorway, which became important to both sides. This trade was so intensive that a kind of Russian-Norwegianpidgin languageMoja på tvoja (orRussenorsk) developed on the North Norwegian coast that was used from 1750 to 1920.[18]
In the 12th–15th centuries, Pomorye was considered an extensive colony of the Russian city-state ofNovgorod. By the early 16th century, the annexation of Pomorye byMoscow was completed. In the 17th century, in 22 Pomorye districts, the great bulk of the population consisted of free peasants. A portion of the land belonged to monasteries and to the Stroganov merchants. There were no landlords in Pomorye. The population of Pomorye districts was engaged in fishing, mica and salt production (Sol'-Kamskay, Sol'- Vychegodskay, Tot'ma, etc.) and other enterprises.
The RussianBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, in its 1890–1907 edition, classified Pomors asGreat Russians or referred to them as Russian traders and trappers of the North. To date, no encyclopedia or encyclopedic dictionary refers to the Pomor as a separate ethnic group.
In the2002 Russian census, respondents had the option to identify as "Pomors", this group being tabulated by the census as a subgroup of the Russian ethnicity. However, only 6,571 persons did so, almost all of them inArkhangelsk Oblast (6,295) andMurmansk Oblast (127).
Pomor rules were bound bycustomary law. These werecodified in many instances, creating rulebooks for various aspects of life like codices of behavior for industrialists, as such the ones ofNovaya Zemlya were bound by the naval regulations (Russian:Морской устав), or the Ustyan Rulebook (Russian:Устьянский правильник), that fused religious and profane commandments, determining their professional, business, as well as moral and ethical relations each other. It includes statements like the legality and moral desirability of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, which will be recognized as voluntary almsgiving by the rich,Nikola Morsky as the "quick helper" having a certain limit of directly answerable prayers without needing intervention of God, immoral men not being allowed on industrial campaigns, the decree to hospitality even in shared spaces, forgiveness after sincere apology, women not being allowed to cross their legs or people not sitting down until an elder commands them to in his presence. One sentence from the book that underlines its deeply cosmological dimension is "If the submission to the navkler (feeder) is kept for show, and there is rumor and rebellion inside, then a demonic provident awaits us", showing the sacralization of leadership and sincerity that are elements of law which explicitly refers to the "eternal commandment of the sea".[19] Pomors also placed a great importance on mental labor, reflected by an emphasis on education, highliteracy rates and importance of enterprise and its success, that was shared among the citizens, including care for widows and orphans, including long voyages until theBering Strait and beyond.[20] This emphasis on success, however, also led to practices like sending girls that were disabled or of low intelligence and skill to the monastery so they would not tarnish the family instead of "good girls", at the same time underlining the comparatively high status of women.[19]
Pomors are mostlyOrthodox Christians in faith. Prior to theRevolution of 1917, a large percentage of Russians from Pomorye (or Pomors) were practicingOld Believers;[21] thePomorian Church still has around 400 thousand members.[22] Pomor Christianity has traditionally coexisted and been infused with ananimism, which is based on sacral geography, in asyncretic manner, resulting in a strongenvironmental ethic. This led to the classification of certain animals like thebeluga whale as holy and resistance to modern fishing techniques in the 20th century.[23]
As part of the broader category of "cold societies" that are based around the concept of eternal return like the neighboringSami,Nenets orKomi, the Pomor worldview reflects a complex interaction between ancient piety,shamanism, and ritualistic practices aimed at maintaining homeostasis within their communities,[24] on the substrate of ananimism but anti-pagan.[23] However, this homeostasis is an active and fluid concept called dynamic constancy and does not represent absolute standstill. The Pomors believed that preserving the static structure of their society was essential for survival in the environment of Pomorye, where the poet-storyteller (starinshchik) as a keeper of "deified memory" played a key role in maintaining this balance through mythopoetic expression.[24] These poets, transformedshamans, were considered interpreters of the meaning of life and recreaters of it in the word, thereby controlling it, emphasizing the ability of the people to engage in world-building, for example as a calmer of the sea on boats. Suchsacred information can also be transformed, transmitted and stored in black boxes like crosses, temples or chapels.[25] While these structures are dynamic, applied semi-religious law was also codified in rulebooks and similar documents.[19]
The passage from winter to summer was culturally connected to rebirth and rituals like making a sacrificial vow to the "sea god"Nikola Morsky and celebrating the farewell to sea like a funeral played a key role in the light of these philosophical elements. During the main holiday, the conjunction of Old and New Year, the demiurge defeats the bearer of chaos and death each year anew, emphasizing the concept of cyclical time and eternal return. The total sacrifice and descend into chaos which leads to the poiesis of a new world is all-encompassing and does not only apply to people, but alsogods andbeasts.[24]
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These spiritual beliefs also played a large role in daily life, as it is a part of the "Pomor fate" to actively engage in this battle, which is not only shaped by actions but also the words of the starinshchik, the person who has knowledge of the ritual turns of speech and sacred formulas.[24] This shows that despite a general non-dualism the Pomors had a concept of good and evil, these two forces were indeed seen as in a constant fight embodied by the sacred geography of the landscape, as for example the western wind was identified with the antichrist.[23] Elemental gods and goddesses play an important part in this fight that involves good and evil spirits and forces, as they are connected with the seasons and even different times of the day.[20] The winter is considered a dreamtime, which is ended by localized celebrations of symbolic rebirth that greet thesun,[24] which plays a key role in Pomor mythology as it is also represented by theBird of Happiness in Pomor households.[26]
One of the critical aspects of the Pomor spiritual world was the sacred status of the bathhouse, which was viewed as an archaic sanctuary-temple. Thebathhouse played a central role in initiatory and medical rituals that symbolized the "second birth" of a person, just like the festivals connected to the sun. The connection between thebathhouse and the forge is notable, as both were considered marginal spaces associated with transformation and rebirth, drawing from their symbolic links to fire and water. The sacred geography of the Pomors placed thebathhouse on the periphery of the settlement, reinforcing its chthonic associations with both life and death.[27]
The sea, central to Pomor life, held a significant mythopoetic meaning as a threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This view of the sea as a boundary endowed navigation with profound religious significance. The Pomors regarded the northeast wind, or "polunoshnik," as asacred force, connecting themundane world to the mystical realms of the North, where contact with the otherworldly was inevitable. The sea, with its destructive and creative powers, was perceived as both a source of chaos and a pathway to salvation, reflecting the dual nature of the northern lands adjacent to the Polar Mountain, which were simultaneously regions ofheaven andhell.[28]
As the last two elements show, the combination of destruction and creation, life and death, or even the sacred and the mundane at the same time instead of a clear-cut separation of dual forces, is pivotal to Pomor philosophy, reminiscent of concepts likeYin and Yang. This highlights the importance ofliminal spaces and thresholds. Even the sacred always has a dark side which is in this case represented by the "guardians of the threshold" while the "axis of the world" or "northern mountain" which was believed to exist behind the sea was recognized as aparadise. However, it is not possible to enter the realm of the sacred without experiencing its ambivalence and dark aspects, represented by the guardians. Elements like the "wind rose", which helped Pomor sailors navigate, were also considered to be sacred knowledge, reflecting the Pomor emphasis on education and enterprise.[28]
The concept of islands also held a sacred significance in Pomor rituals, particularly in burial and memorial practices. Islands were seen as chthonic spaces that connected the living with the ancestors, ensuring the stability of the ethnic group's sacred traditions. In Pomor belief, these island-topos served as symbolic models of theuniverse, where the three co-temporal and co-spatial domains of the dead, the living, and the descendants intersected, creating a space where the past, present, and future were fused into a single continuum. Ritual remembrance, particularly through the act of memorial rites conducted on these islands, reinforced the eternal memory of the ancestors and the sacred geometry of the cosmos, thereby preserving the cultural identity of the Pomors.[29]
These traditions live on in modern Pomor society where asyncretic belief is widespread next to a number of (new) religious movements, that are based on traditional Pomor worldviews, which emerged after the fall of theSoviet Union, which was officiallyatheist. Modern Pomors have a free, fluid and diverse conception of religion and may celebrate traditional holidays like the Pomor New Year in September or theRoe Deer Festival, partake in Orthodox pilgrimages, or meditate in places of power where they may also leave ribbons and coins. These traditions are however often combined into a single syncretic worldview with a topographical basis that includes local locus cults and hierotopic practices without clear boundaries between thesacred and the profane. Affiliation with theRussian Orthodox Church is low.[30]
One important aesthetic feature of Pomor culture isMezen painting, a highly symbolic style for wood and household objects, as well as the style of Palashchelye, where Pomor painting was originally developed. These are uniquely rooted in the local geography, however syncretic, combining influences not only from South Russian peasants but also theFar East,India, decorative motives ofTurkic people andGreece, includingswastika motifs of pre-Aryan origin. Items liketuesa (storage boxes),polotuhi (flat boxes) andkoroba (baskets) were made from birch bark. There was also a strong tradition ofceramic production, with the Pomorpottery craft rooting from the village of Timoschel’e, while metalwork like copper casting was based aroundKimzha.[10] Another one of Pomorye's most important artistic traditions isKholmogory bone carving.[31] Pomor houses were traditionally very big and populated by extended families, with each of them possessing a two-story house including a gallery and a ramp, cellars, a bathhouse, a stable, granaries, and often a mill, all inside. The doors to those houses were traditionally left unlocked, one of their oldest customs. In gardens, 2–3 meters high votive or funerarycrosses could regularly be found, as until theSoviet revolution the dead were buried next to their home.[10]
In Pomorye, the social role ofraspetushye (Russian:распетушье) has traditionally existed: araspetukh (Russian:распетух) is a person of indeterminate sex, who can be either bornintersex or a biological male with appearance, behavior, lifestyle and occupations that are closer to a woman. According to societal norms, these people did not have a certaingender and therefore have difficulties with integration into the traditional patriarchal society of a village. However, they were also seen as people with magical knowledge and secret skills like healing. While never being able to be a full part of society outside of intermediate positions, they were able to have social contacts and could for example sing together with the women.[32] Nowadays, theLGBT community of the region embraces the identity instead of the term "third gender", which is seen as a Western or European construct.[33]
The culture of neighboring peoples had a significant influence on the fairy tale (bylina) tradition of Pomorye. The most popular ones here are long fairy tales about adventures, in which the action is often connected with the sea. Usually, the main character of such tales is a poor man. Fairy tales with a female protagonist are no less common. They share all the trials equally with the men or turn out to be his wonderful assistant. Though, in a number of tales, girls are also innocent victims of a treacherous enemy.[34] These byliny served to preserve folk history with mythic layers, transmit values, warn against transgression, and connect listeners to ancestral memory. This was done not only by moral exemplar but also the invocation of spirit encounters. Apart from these fairy tales, Pomor spells, which have been compared tomantras, were also important in daily life and connected to traditional healing practices.[10]
Nowadays the Pomors are a minority inArkhangelsk Oblast where most people are descendants of non-nativeRussians but there is still a thriving cultural scene with international outreach. However, the Pomor villages are not protected by the state, which has taken the right to fish and hunt animals away from the Pomors, banned the traditional Pomor trade ofGreenland seals, and expropriates their lands to then auction them to foreign investors, turning traditional houses to firewood and banning the people from entering their ancestral grounds. Russian laws target theindigenous population, and even if promised, the Pomors do not receive any compensation. This has led to the depopulation of vast areas that are now used for military purposes. By 2012, 50% of all Pomor villages had been destroyed, dubbed a "genocide" by Pavel Esipov (Павел Есипов), the first leader of the Pomor national-cultural autonomy as registered by theRussian Ministry of Justice. Many Pomor villages are only reachable by helicopter and have lacking infrastructure, large parts of Pomorye are now used as garbage dumps.[35][36] This led to the2018–2020 Shies protests under the motto "Pomorye is not a trash heap", with more than 30,000 participants that successfully blocked the creation of a landfill atShiyes station and led to the resignation of the governor ofArkhangelsk Oblast, Igor Orlov, and the governor of theKomi Republic, Sergei Gaplikov. The movement was influenced by Pomor separatists that seek an independent Pomorye orBiarmia.[37][38][39]
One of the three universities of Arkhangelsk was named the Pomor State University (now merged intoNorthern (Arctic) Federal University).
In line with the trend in modern Russia towards amalgamating the least populatedfederal subjects into larger entities, a merger of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts, theKomi Republic, and theNenets Autonomous Okrug has beenproposed, one of the possible names of this new territory being the Pomor Krai.[citation needed]
According to genetic studies, the Pomors are more closely related to the indigenousUralic peoples of the region than to the population ofVeliky Novgorod. Their population is very diverse, with the Pomors of Onega Coast, Winter Coast and Summer Coast being divided by a genetic distance comparable to the one betweenEastern Slavs,Balts andFinno-Ugric peoples of the region. Within the Pomor cluster, the Onega Coast is especially close toFinnic-speaking ethnicities of Russia likeKarelians orVeps people, the Summer Coast shows Scandinavian admixture due to medieval contact and the Winter Coast population is rather isolated with some affinities to specific populations of Finland and Sweden. None of them show close links to Novgorod populations, putting traditional Russian historiography into question. Along the coasts,Y-DNA haplogroupsI1,R1a, andN3 each comprise about a quarter of the overall gene pool, withR1b andI2 at about 8% each,[40] while inland Pomor populations are split around half-half between haplogroupsN andR1a[41] and generally very distant from the Onega Pomors of the three coasts. The closest group to the coast dwellers are theSaami people with a genetic distance of 0.17, followed byFinns andSwedes with 0.28 each. The genetic distance toNovgorodians stands at 0.72–0.88, and the one to non-coastal Pomors inPinezhsky (0.86) andLeshukonsky (0.97) districts, surprisingly, even higher.[40] Pomors, like theNenets andSaami, show a high frequency of the haplotype DRB104-DQA10301-DQB1*0302, which is not common in eitherCaucasians orEast Asians, but inAmerindian populations, pointing to an ancient northern Eurasian gene pool. Pomors also share an Arctic component that is also present farther West inNorwegians andFinns, while being farther away fromMuscovite Russians.[2]Mezen Pomors are among the populations with the highestAncient North Eurasian ancestry, alongside the Western SiberianMansi people andAndeans, but also show smaller but significantEast Siberian admixture,[42] with about 15% neo-SiberianNganasan-like ancestry among inland Pomors.[43]
| Key locations |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Monasteries | ||
| East Slavs | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| West Slavs | ||
| South Slavs | ||