Overview

The Nanaisky district, situated on the northeastern banks of the Amur River, lies northeast of Khabarovsk. The Nanai people are among the indigenous communities of the Far East, numbering approximately 12 thousand in Russia. Andrei Beldy, a cultural advocate for the Nanai community residing in the village of Naikhin, expresses concern about the fading of traditions and the Nanai language. Only a few hundred individuals can speak it fluently, with local children receiving instruction from an enthusiastic linguist from Veliky Novgorod. Beldy recounts the historical displacement of Nanais to Sakhalin during Stalin's era to populate the former Japanese territory. He criticizes the current authorities for restricting free fishing, a traditional occupation for the Nanai people. Most villages lack access to gas, and timber is exported abroad. With the onset of the war in Ukraine, many Nanai residents, including the elderly and deceased, received conscription notices.