From a Cut to a Tag: Formalization of Reindeer Marking Practice by the State and its Consequences in the North of European Russia and Western Siberia

Taking the practices of reindeer ear- and fur-marking in northern European Russia and Western Siberia as its primary focus, this article analyses modifications of informal “traditional” practices as a part of their appropriation by state institutions and highly bureaucratized state-owned enterprises. The practice of making and reading ear- and fur-marks is highly situated and workable only when embedded in a wider web of social communication. Analyzing three cases of the practice in formal institutions, we show that the modifications represent attempts to eliminate the situatedness and embeddedness of the practice. Some modifications can be explained by the attempt to extend the scope of the practice to the level of individuals, but this has made the practice unworkable without reference to special databases and is useless for reindeer herders.