Chukotka reindeer herders awarded bonuses for successful work
© RIA Novosti. Sergey Eschenko

Chukotka reindeer herders awarded bonuses for successful work

Chukotka reindeer herders have been rewarded for their successful performance in 2016, the official website of the Chukotka Autonomous Area reports. A total of 861 people, including 656 reindeer breeders and 205 managerial and support staff, received bonuses of about 109,000 rubles each.

The local government recently made changes to the Chukotka agricultural industry development state program throughout 2014-2020. Resolution No. 28 of January 30, 2017, states that reindeer breeding in the northern areas is a priority and should be supported by the government. The local funding amounts to 886.6 million rubles. This is over 60 percent of the total funds allocated from the local budget for the state program this year. More than 82 percent of this sum will be spent on wages of the workers in the industry.

Currently, the region has 14 municipal agricultural production companies involved in reindeer breeding. As of January 1, 2017, they had 150,751 reindeer. Two independent farms have another 619 animals.