This sad tale comes from northern Russia, which is the ancestral home of the Sami people, who traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle based on the herding of reindeer.
Because metals and oil have been discovered in that area of Russia, and because the Barents sea is home to many naval bases, the Sami have been corralled and forced to live in towns. Though they still attempt to herd reindeer, their herds are shot at by bored naval officers and they are barred from using land that has been coopted for industrialization. They try to keep their culture alive by teaching the young ones the language and keeping traditional crafts going, but their tribe, by its own admissions, does not understand communism or capitalism as political systems and really can't seem to integrate. Unlike other stories I have read about tribal systems and their interface with the modern world, the Sami seem to be able to see no alternatives for themselves.
It is telling that this story of cultural destruction is posted in the business section of the BBC's news site. This suggests that the 1,600 Sami people left are simply an interference in the progress of capitalist Russia, as it removes what resources are left from the ecosystem that it started laying waste to decades earlier.
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I don't know much about the Sami in Russia, but fortunately the ones in Scandinavia are starting to get recognition and the autonomy they need to preserve their culture; yet, many have integrated the national system, so maybe there is an alternative. Obviously the conditions in Scandinavia and Russia are very different, though.
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