A new profession, chum caretaker, has come into being in Russia. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation has introduced a new employment function, Nomadic Dwelling Worker, to the Stock-Breeder Professional Standard.

This decision will enable nomad women to find official employment, something that will give them a professional work record and the right to pension payments.

Previously, women who outfitted traditional dwellings (chums, yarangas, yurts) and led a nomadic life were not entitled to an official work status.

“I think that the introduction of a new employment function is an important stage in strengthening social protection of individuals belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. It will only help to preserve their original cultures and traditional way of life,” Matvey Chuprov, Chairman of the Standing Commission for State Policy and the Affairs of the Nenets and Other Small-Numbered Indigenous Peoples of the North at the Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Area, said.