The Saami homeland stretches from Røros in Southern Norway to the Kola Peninsula in the Russian Federation. Originally, the Saami people inhabited the coast, as well as the inland, of the peninsula, and of what is now known as Murmansk Oblast.
Saami villagers were forced to move during the Soviet time, as the authorities decided to use their traditional land areas for industrial and military purposes. Saami persons born in the 1960s barely remember their home towns and villages.
Today, most of the altogether 2000 Saami persons in the Russian Federation (number according to the 2002 census) live in Murmansk, Lovozero, Revda, Monchegorsk, Apatity and Olenegorsk. Some also inhabit the smaller towns of Murmashii, Shongui, Verkhnetulomsk and Loparskaya between Murmansk and Lovozero, as well as the villages in the tundra, such as Krasnoschelie, Sosnovka and Kanevka.
Four Saami languages have been spoken among the Saami in the Russian side; Akkala-, Ter-, Skolt- and Kildin Saami. Akkala Saami seems to be extinct as a language, whereas below 20 persons understand or speak Ter Saami. Skolt Saami is spoken by less than 20 individuals in the Russian side, and Kildin Saami is spoken by 300-700 individuals.
Barents Indigenous Peoples' Office (BIPO) is located in Murmansk and is led by Tatiana Egorova. BIPO can be contacted for information and assistance regarding indigenous peoples in the Russian part of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region.
bipo.barents@gmail.com +7 9212837714