Adapting Christianity on the Siberian Edge during the Early Soviet Period

The focus of this article is on different adaptations of Christianity by the northern indigenous peoples of Russia in the early Soviet period. We shall examine the community of Yup’ik Eskimo maritime hunters who experimented with Christian ritual forms in order to overcome the crisis caused by the intrusion of the Soviets. Naukan Yup’ik developed a Christian-influenced ritualistic practice to fight back against growing pressure from the Soviets. We propose that the spiritual developments of this community on the edge of Siberia weretightly related to changing economic, social and political conditions.