There is a peak of heat on the Kola Peninsula behind the polar circle for the month of June. With +30°C, it is 18°C above maximum averages which has been kept for 10 days. Young girls go to bathe in a stream near the family country house in Lovozero.
Being part of the last indigenous of Europe, the Saami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power. Reindeer herders in the tundra on the Kola Peninsula, the Saami were forced to live in apartment buildings in Lovozero village, considered as a reserve. Settled to work in kolkhozes, the saami language and the traditional costume were prohibited. Today, there are 1500 saami people, and some 200 speak the language, most of them are elderly. Proud of their traditions, they strive to preserve their culture while adapting to modernity and global warming in the Arctic region.
Being part of the last indigenous of Europe, the Saami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power. Reindeer herders in the tundra on the Kola Peninsula, the Saami were forced to live in apartment buildings in Lovozero village, considered as a reserve. Settled to work in kolkhozes, the saami language and the traditional costume were prohibited. Today, there are 1500 saami people, and some 200 speak the language, most of them are elderly. Proud of their traditions, they strive to preserve their culture while adapting to modernity and global warming in the Arctic region.