Reindeer herder's thinking

Kirill Istomin

Kirill V. Istomin is a professional anthropologist and a senior researcher at the Center for Arctic Social Studies, European University at St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, Russia) and at the Institute of Language, Literature and History, Komi Science Center of the Ural Division, Russian Academy of Science (Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia). Istomin worked at the Max Plank Institute for Social Anthropology (Halle, Germany) for 7 years and has long and deep experience conducting fieldwork among his native Komi (whose language he has spoken since childhood) and Nenets reindeer herders. His areas of scientific interests are broadly those contained in this book. Istomin is married, has two children as well as a passion for reindeer herding, literature and life in the north.

Mark Dwyer

Mark J. Dwyer conducted his multidisciplinary doctoral research at the University of Cambridge (Scott polar research Institute & Selwyn College). Supervised by Piers Vitebsky (anthropology) and Gareth Rees (physicist), as well as an external supervisor, and fellow Selwyn graduate, Nicholas Tyler from Tromsø University (biologist), Dwyer subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Cambridge's Geography Department before entering the field of international development. Specialising in public-private infrastructure and finance for over a decade in Africa, Dwyer returned to the north and is currently CEO of a group of companies operating in the fields of mining exploration, energy and rapid deployment. Dwyer is married to a former Komi reindeer herder, has three children and is passionate about reindeer herding, oral history, art and the arduous yet indelible connections with the land.