Seven Songs from the Tundra

A group of Nenets people gathers by a tree in the middle of the tundra, decorated with reindeer antlers and a small bell. They butcher a reindeer and anoint the tree with its blood, placing the reindeer head at the base. They sit together and drink reindeer blood from ceramic cups while eating the meat.

The ceremony continues as the community sits in a circle around the tree. They share the ceremonial feast, drinking the reindeer blood and eating the meat to honor their kin and land. The ritual reinforces communal bonds and a deep connection to their livelihood.

A Nenets girl is told she is engaged to a man from another village, but she runs back home during the journey. Her mother condemns her for defying her wishes and argues she should serve the men she loves. The scene shows the clash between traditional expectations and the girl's own desire.

In a montage, the girl tends the men's clothing, cleans hides, washes dishes, and works so hard she begins to cry. The men treat her as a servant and speak to her with entitlement, deepening her suffering. The sequence highlights the gendered imbalance within the arranged marriage.

Years later, she passes by the house of the man she might have married, and she laments the loss of her beauty and innocence. The moment crystallizes the personal cost of the choices forced upon her.

Four Soviet soldiers and a Nenets translator arrive on the tundra to collect reindeer under kolkhoz orders. The translator paints the man as evasive and cunning, steering a confrontation until a soldier draws a gun. The scene escalates into a tense standoff between old ways and new authority.

Two Nenets men stand by a Lenin statue as a veteran recalls the Battle of Vesyoli Village and how he prayed for bullets not to hit him, claiming he protected Lenin's city, Leningrad. He pours the remainder of his vodka at the base of the statue, hinting at complex loyalties and bitter memories. The moment contrasts personal trauma with symbolic power.

A white man in a suit steps in to move the veterans along, deeming the scene 'not done.' The Nenets explain they were praying for favorable weather and a good catch, while Russian soldiers deride their beliefs. The exchange underscores the tension between personal faith and official enmity toward indigenous practices.

Inside a log cabin, the Commissar reviews receipts and statements, pressing the group to account for their work and noting a missing report on fish. He asserts that the workers must be flawless or risk being labeled enemies of the Soviet power. The group shows exhaustion but remains defiant in the face of inspection.

Mashka and Olesya eventually deliver the missing fish report to the Commissar, who stays with the nearby Nenets family. The exchange underscores the fragility of bureaucratic control and the strain on those who toil under it. A Nenets man reassures them with the familiar line that tomorrow will be better.

Syako, a young Nenets girl, prays to the gods that their home becomes invisible so the Russian schoolteachers won’t find it. Her father explains that moving requires a permit from the collective leader, hinting at the control exerted over every family decision. The scene captures the tension between cultural preservation and Soviet expansion.

Syako's family confronts the reality of schooling as white men insist she attend, asking where their pictures of Stalin and Lenin are displayed. The mother resists, saying she will not give up her daughter, but the school system pushes ahead. By morning, the girl is dressed for school and is taken away, the mother crying out in vain.

A Nenets woman sings a gentle lullaby to calm a crying newborn, offering a moment of tenderness amid upheaval. The scene emphasizes intimate care and the enduring rhythm of family life. It stands in quiet contrast to the surrounding pressures of cultural assimilation.