Russian Sámi politics in the context of pan-Sámi internationalization 1989-2014

Since the collapse of the USSR, we have observed an increased tendency towards pan-Sámi cooperation - e.g. border-transcending cooperation that seeks to involve actors representing Sámi from all the four states that have divided Sápmi between them (Finlan d, Norway, Sweden, Russia). Prior to this, international Sámi cooperation had been limited to inter-Nordic cooperation, due to Cold War-related challenges. The attempts of Russian Sámi activists to integrate with the Western Sámi in common political struc tures despite not having the same political institutions; and their attempts to establish Nordic Sámi-inspired structures on Russian soil - have created controversies, both within the Russian Sámi communtiy and between Russian Sámi activists and Russian authorities, particuarly the provincial authorities of Murmansk Region. International cooperation between such unequal and long-sundered parties as the Nordic and Russian Sámi is also extremely challenging for all involved actors. The PANSAMRUS project produces an article-based PhD in history that details the development of Russian Sámi civil society, Russian authorities' political inclusion structures for Russian Sámi, pan-Sámi cooperation structures involving Russian Sámi, discourses about the Russia n Sámi and pan-Sámi activities in both Russia and the Nordic countries. This application requests funding for the final production phase of the PANSAMRUS PhD, e.g. two months during the Spring of 2014.