Abstract. The objective of this article is to identify the historical and institutional factors explaining the cardinal differences in the development of reindeer husbandry in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug following the collapse of the USSR. In the former region, the reindeer population grew due to the active development of the private family sector, while in the latter, reindeer husbandry experienced contraction and stagnation despite massive state support. The reasons for these differences are the subject of ongoing discussion in the literature (Golovnev 2006;
Pilyasov et al. 2017; Khakhovskaya 2024; etс.). The article is based on the analysis of materials from the state archives of the Yamal-Nenets and Chukotka Okrugs and the author's field notes. A key difference in the relationship between private family and public (state farm/sovhoz) reindeer husbandry during the Soviet period may be the most crucial. In Yamal the private sector was never completely suppressed; authorities were forced to support it, recognizing its role for the indigenous population. Yamal reindeer herders used various informal mechanisms to preserve their personal herds. Today, a peculiar economic symbiosis has formed here between nomadic households owning reindeer herds and municipal enterprises. In Chukotka, conversely, a rigid “sovhozization” model was implemented, which not only reduced the private sector to a minimum but also led to the complete depersonalization (loss of ownership/individual identification) of the remaining personal reindeer. The economic base of private reindeer husbandry was liquidated, and herders were remotivated. Thus, the success of Yamal reindeer husbandry is secured by nomadic herder households, while the problematic state of Chukotka’s reindeer husbandry is linked to the systemic suppression of the private sector. It may be advisable for Chukotka to critically evaluate the Yamal experience, redirecting measures for reindeer husbandry support directly to the nomadic brigades and families.