Lovozero — Capital of Kola Saami in Russia (Part III)
In twelfth through the nineteenth centuries, aliens substantially increased the population. The first newcomers were natives of the neighboring nations, and the majority of Russians were from the Novgorod feudal republic. Newcomers forced the Sami to pay a tribute and gradually occupied the territory of Kola Peninsula.
In the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the Murmansk coast was “discovered” by Norwegians. Since the fifteenth century, they have divided all Lapps on Konchansky, Tersky, Lesheya (Forest), and Wild (non-Christian) Lapps.
In the cadastres of Tsar Alexey Mihailovicha in the beginning of the seventeenth century, a Lapp population of those with male gender was counted. According to this count, 186 persons lived in the southwest Kola Peninsula. According to the fourth census, taken in 1852, the Kola Peninsula was inhabited by 113 Lapp; and according to the tenth audit (1857-1858), there were 1605 persons.
By 1897, there were 1724; 1720 in 1926; and 1700 in 1990. A survey taken in 2002 in Russia indicated that there were only 1991 Sami (882 men and 1109 women). Many Sami moved abroad.
Only forty-two percent, and possibly fewer of them, actually spoke a native language. However, the last surveys are not reliable because many locals claimed to be Sami to collect state and foreign aid and to make an easier move to neighboring countries. Also, all intermarriage couples claims their newborns as Sami. There are only a few families living in the Murmansk region that are truly Sami on both sides.
The first permanent Russian settlements appeared on the Tersky coast of the Kola Peninsula in the middle of fifteenth century. Novgorod state, including the Kola Peninsula, joined Moscow in
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